Dawson Sutton Seeking Big Win in All American 400 at Nashville Fairgrounds

Dawson Sutton heads home this weekend, looking for a big win in the Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour All American 400 at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

Sutton, a former track champion in Nashville's Pro Late Model division, returns to the Fairgrounds Speedway for its marquee event, the All American 400. The All American 400 celebrates its 40th running on Sunday, November 9.

Rounding out a full-season campaign on the ASA STARS National Tour alongside his rookie season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Sutton hopes to end the year with a marquee Super Late Model victory.

"It's super cool to go home to Nashville," said Sutton while appearing on The Bullring hosted by Jim Tretow. "It's definitely my favorite race track. Every time I get to race there, it's super awesome to be so close to home and only have that 20-minute drive to the race track.

"I used to race there on a weekly basis. I'm very thankful for every time I get to go there now. To go there for the All American 400, it's a big deal. I feel like we were so close to winning that one last year, but hopefully we can have a better year this year."

Sutton enters All American weekend third in the ASA STARS National Tour championship standings. He has two runner-up finishes and a win in the Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway in his last three STARS appearances, as well as a victory in the Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series finale at Five Flags Speedway.

The Lebanon, Tennessee native balanced a robust Late Model schedule with his first full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Sutton notched a best finish of fourth at Talladega Superspeedway, with one top-five and two top-10s on the year.

"I feel like my guys have been working so hard in the shop, putting so much time and effort into the car," said Sutton. "I'm just lucky to drive them and also race in the Truck Series full-time. It helps me a lot, on the weekends I get to go race the Late Model and have fun. That's what I really love, racing the Late Model on the weekends and racing the Truck full-time."

Driving for Rackley W.A.R. in both the Craftsman Truck Series and in Late Model competition has given Sutton great resources and a strong list of mentors. Among them are Kevin Harvick, who has also competed with the team in select Late Model races this season, and his son Keelan Harvick.

"Kevin, he's done all this before in the Cup Series. It's super cool to have him as a mentor to ask questions. I feel like I can also teach him a little bit, a few things in the Super Late Model.

"They're super cool to have as teammates. Kevin and Keelan, they're awesome people and great race car drivers as well. Like I said, they're super-cool to lean on.

"I can learn so much from them, asking questions. Keelan's such a good kid, as well. It's super cool to watch them every weekend get better and better."

Looking back on the busy year, Sutton can hardly believe it is already November and time to conclude the ASA STARS National Tour season. He hopes to continue his momentum into "big race season" to wrap up 2025 and into the 2026 campaign.

"It feels like the start of the season was yesterday, almost, going to Daytona and New Smyrna. It feels like it flew by. Even the ASA STARS, it feels like I've raced every week. I've had so much fun. We've had such good runs. I feel like, when you're having fun, everything just flies by.

"We have a really good program going on right now. The guys have been working really hard. We have two really good race cars coming up for the two big races at the end of the year. Hopefully, we can get a win at Nashville this weekend and go to the Derby and try to get one there."

It will be no small feat if Sutton can join the likes of Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, and Chase Elliott as an All American 400 winner. Last year, fellows NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Jake Garcia scored the win, while Sutton led 164 of the race's 300 laps.

"I feel like everything has to go perfect," said Sutton. "It's such a long race, as well, 300 laps is a long time. Lots of stuff can happen, but at the end of the day, you need a little bit of everything to happen. You need a little bit of luck and you need a fast race car."

Fans can watch the All American 400 on RacingAmerica.TV via pay-per-view broadcast by clicking here.