Memorable moments at Las Vegas

NASCAR.com takes a look back at some of the sport's top moments at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

1996

Jack Sprague wins the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Las Vegas, while Ron Hornaday Jr. wins the series championship in the final race of the season.

1997

Polesitter Jeff Green wins the first race in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Las Vegas.

1998

Mark Martin wins the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the track and celebrates with showgirls in Victory Lane. 

2003

Brendan Gaughan of Las Vegas wins the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at his home track.

2006

Jimmie Johnson beats Matt Kenseth by 0.045 seconds, the closest NASCAR Cup Series finish at the track, for his second consecutive Las Vegas victory. Johnson made a last-lap pass coming out of Turn 4 for the dramatic win.

2008

Mike Skinner edges Erik Darnell by 0.020 seconds for the closest national series finish at the track.

2009

Johnny Sauter gets his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory.

2009

Las Vegas native Kyle Busch gets his first NASCAR Cup Series win at his hometown track.

2011

Mark Martin wins his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas, making him the all-time series leader at the track in victories. Danica Patrick finishes fourth for the best finish by a woman in a national series race.

2014

Brad Keselowski wins in one of the more intriguing finishes in track history. Dale Earnhardt Jr., on a fuel gamble, ran dry on the final lap, allowing Keselowski to sneak by for the victory. Earnhardt finished second.

2017

Martin Truex Jr. wins at Las Vegas, the first of eight victories that year en route to winning the championship in the NASCAR Cup Series.

2017

Contact on the final lap of the race led Kyle Busch to confront Joey Logano on pit road, and the two drivers got into an altercation before being separated.

2018

2018 marked the first year in history that Las Vegas served as the NASCAR Playoffs opener for the NASCAR Cup Series. The high fall heat and slick track made for a show and saw Brad Keselowski win to clinch his spot in the Round of 12.

2020

Kurt Busch grabbed his first win at his home track after 21 winless efforts. The win also locked him into the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Playoffs.

2021

Kyle Larson scores his first win at Hendrick Motorsports and the first win of his eventual title-winning campaign in the spring race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

2022

During Stage 2 of the Cup Series Round of 8 playoff race, Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace made contact and wrecked coming off Turn 4. Wallace didn't take too kindly to the incident and confronted Larson after exiting his car on the track, and the two drivers got into an altercation before being separated.

2023

Kyle Larson held off a fierce charge from Christopher Bell in the closing laps, scoring the victory by just 0.082 seconds. The win propelled Larson into the Championship 4 for the second time in three years.

2024

Claiming his first pole in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the track might have been emotional in itself for Rajah Caruth, but it would be nothing compared to what was to come. A dominant effort eventually saw the 21-year-old Spire Motorsports driver find Victory Lane for the first time in his young career and additionally become the third Black driver to win in the national series (Wendell Scott, Bubba Wallace).