Cracker Barrel has roots in Middle Tennessee that will be showcased with the NASCAR Nashville race.
Cracker Barrel has roots in Middle Tennessee, and it will be on full display during the NASCAR race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.
NASCAR’s best drivers from all three national series will be running races at the 1.33-mile oval, highlighted by the Cracker Barrel 400 at 6 p.m. CT on June 1.
Cracker Barrel got its start in Middle Tennessee, actually in the same town that will be hosting NASCAR racing.
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Cracker Barrel first opened on Sept. 19, 1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee, as found on the store’s history page.
Dan W. Evins opened the first “Old Country Store” and made everything from scratch, including the famous corn bread.
In just eight years, Evins saw the success of Cracker Barrel and worked with investors, mostly local friends and other associates, and expanded with 13 stores from Kentucky to Georgia in 1977.
A big step in the company’s growth was becoming publicly traded, which helped the company blossom through the 1980s and 1990s, finally reaching a $1 billion in market value in 1992.
According to the store’s website, there are nearly 660 locations in 44 states across the country.
Now, Cracker Barrel’s location in Lebanon, the original store from 1969, is just 17 miles from Nashville Superspeedway, approximately a 20-minute drive, and has signed a multi-year deal to be the race’s title sponsor.
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Fifty-one Cracker Barrel stores are located in Tennessee. Cracker Barrel is headquartered on a 98-acre campus in Lebanon.
“Over 55 years ago, we opened our doors in Lebanon, and this partnership with Nashville Superspeedway feels like a homecoming,” Cracker Barrel chief marketing officer Sarah Moore said in a release. “Middle Tennessee is foundational to our beginnings — country hospitality, hard work and a commitment to putting people at the heart of everything we do. The Cracker Barrel 400 lets us share that with NASCAR’s global audience while honoring the community where it all began.”
This is not Cracker Barrel’s first time to sponsor a NASCAR Cup Race. The Cracker Barrel 500 was run as the fourth Cup Series race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway from 1999-2001.
Joey Logano won last year’s race at Nashville Superspeedway.
When is 2025 NASCAR Nashville race?
The 2025 Cracker Barrel 400 is set for 6 p.m. CT on June 1 at Nashville Superspeedway.
NASCAR Nashville race streaming, Amazon Prime
The NASCAR Nashville race is streaming on Amazon Prime with Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte in the broadcast booth.
If you are subscribed to Amazon Prime, you have access to Prime Video’s NASCAR broadcasts. If you are not yet subscribed to Amazon Prime Video, you can do so here with a 30-day free trial that will cover the remainder of the broadcast partner’s schedule.
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Follow sports writer Austin Chastain on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ or reach him via email at achastain@gannett.com.
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