Five to Watch: Key story lines for 2020 Las Vegas playoff race

The Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Sunday's South Point 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM). Las Vegas will mark the ninth race at a 1.5-mile track this season, and Round of 12 playoff drivers have combined to win seven of the eight so far. Denny Hamlin is the only multiple winner among the group with wins at Homestead-Miami and Kansas. The other wins have gone to February Vegas winner Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski (Charlotte), Chase Elliott (Charlotte), Kevin Harvick (Atlanta) and Austin Dillon (Texas). Cole Custer won at Kentucky and was eliminated from championship contention last weekend. Keselowski leads all playoff drivers with three wins at Las Vegas.

IMPORTANCE ON VEGAS: After hosting the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs for the past two seasons, Las Vegas will start the Round of 12. Playoff drivers will be looking at Las Vegas as an important one with Talladega and the Charlotte Roval looming.

"I think it's the second-most important race to win outside of Phoenix throughout the whole season because these next two weeks are very difficult to prepare for," said Brad Keselowski, who won the 2018 Vegas playoff race. "We'd like to get a head start on preparing for Kansas and Texas and not have to worry about breakdowns or wrecks, but we're putting a lot of emphasis on it."

HOPING FOR HOME COOKING: Kyle and Kurt Busch return to their home track each having yet to visit Victory Lane this season. Kyle, who has had to start at the rear of the field due to inspection failures in the last two playoff races, is looking at his best starting position since July -- second -- after his runner-up finish last weekend at Bristol. Kyle has one Las Vegas win (2009) and has seven races left to extend his 15-year win streak. Kurt only has five top 10s in 21 Vegas starts with six different teams.

"The Vegas track has definitely been one of the tough ones for me over the years with results and finishes not where I would have expected them to be," Kurt Busch said. "And, the teams that I've raced for just have never quite found that right magic setup or combination. And then for me, it's a track that I just have that trouble with."

HAMLIN EYES REBOUND: Denny Hamlin is looking to rebound from a tough opening round of the playoffs that saw him post an average finish of 15.3 in the three races. The Round of 16 marked the second time this season that Hamlin finished outside the top 10 in three consecutive races. Vegas hasn't been the best of tracks for Hamlin with only two top fives in 17 starts.

"I enjoy the process of trying to get better at places where I haven't necessarily run well," Hamlin said. "We didn't have the best first round, but now our focus is all-in on the Round of 12 and to work toward a championship. We've had fast cars, but there are still areas of improvement that we are working on."

REPEAT ON TRUEX'S MIND: Martin Truex Jr. leads all drivers with nine top-five finishes in the last 11 races dating back to Kansas Speedway in July where he finished third. Truex's last win at a 1.5-mile track came in this event last year and now he seeks his second win of the year. This weekend is extra special for Truex as drivers in all three series will be helping his foundation raise awareness for ovarian and childhood cancer initiatives.

"I feel like Vegas is a good place for us to go and have a good race and hopefully, potentially go to Victory Lane," Truex said. "Things have been going really well for us lately, minus Bristol. The team has done a really good job, and we have been leading laps and doing the things that we need to do."

HEAT IS ON: It seems like an eternity since the Cup Series raced at Las Vegas this season, but this time around drivers and teams will be greeted by much hotter temperatures. To go along with the weather change, teams will also have a new right-side tire.

“I think the tires are probably the most crucial part of what we do, so for it to be different, it's definitely a big unknown," said Alex Bowman, who scored five stage points and finished 13th in February. "It's supposed to be a little bit more grip. So, if it's more grip, I'd say the race will be similar to February, just in the sense that the track is going to have less, so maybe it will even out a little bit. But it's going to be really hot and really slick, so it'll be interesting to see how the tire fall-off is and just how it reacts."