The Rundown: Las Vegas

6. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing. The single-car outfit continues its ascent after Allmendinger wheeled his way to his second straight top-10 result. Allmendinger picked up three spots and now ranks fifth in the standings.

7. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. A tire vibration and subsequent pit road violation could have spelled doom for Keselowski, but he caught a break in both cases. First, the competition caution gave his team a chance to address the vibration. Much later, Jimmie Johnson blew a tire, which prompted the caution and enabled then-beneficiary of the free pass Keselowski to return to the lead lap. The 2012 Champion picks up six spots in the standings, improving to 16th.

8. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson's pit crew performed well, helping the Cup sophomore nab his first top 10 of the season.

9. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth scored his second top-10 of the year after working with his team to solve a loose-handling condition. Another big mover, Kenseth improves eight spots to now rank 10th in the points standings. | See the full Sprint Cup Series standings

10. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Two pit road speeding penalties couldn't keep Logano down, as the driver led the opening 27 laps prior through the competition caution. The Daytona 500 champion rallied to post his third straight top-10 of the year and ranks third in the points standings.

11. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. McMurray just missed recording his first top-10 of the season and improves seven positions to 25th in the driver standings.

12. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard, who narrowly avoided being collected by Carl Edwards’ incident on Lap 195, improves four spots in the points standings to 13th.

13. Brian Scott, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport Racing. Scott benefited from the beneficiary of the free pass after a caution on Lap 187 and went on to claim his best career Cup finish.

14. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing. Biffle started strong, but encountered a loose-handing condition that hindered his forward progress. Still, he improved two spots in the points standings to 11th.

15. Brian Vickers, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Vickers, in his first race back since open heart surgery, began Sunday's race by thanking his team for not giving up on him. He surged quickly through the field after starting 28th.

16. Regan Smith, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Smith weathered an early pit road penalty and returned to the lead lap as the beneficiary of the free pass after Carl Edwards’ accident on Lap 195. Smith was running fourth with 17 laps to go and was among the leaders trying to hold out for a late-race caution during the long green-flag stretch.

17. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne could seemingly run any line he wanted at Vegas on Sunday and spent the first half of the event racing inside the top five. His luck faded, though, on Lap 195 when he was traveling the high line and Carl Edwards forced him into the wall. | MORE: Kahne, Edwards clash in Kobalt 400

18. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon, the Coors Light Pole Award winner, had to start from the rear of the field after being involved in an accident with Danica Patrick during final practice. The highs and lows continued for the veteran in his final Vegas race. He improved to crack the top 10 by Lap 143, but sustained critical damage to the nose of his car after bumping Jeb Burton 29 laps later. Burton was trying to avoid being collected when Jimmie Johnson blew a tire. | MORE: Tough day for Gordon in Las Vegas

19. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Blaney recovered from early issues to find speed late in the race and post his best result so far of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season.

20. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon improved 15 spots to crack the top 10 on Lap 75, but later was dealt a pit road penalty that impacted his team's forward march.

21. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Rear grip was a problem for Bowyer in practice and on Sunday, he constantly reported a tight-handling race car. His team gambled on pit strategy by staying out during late-race, green-flag stops, but Bowyer ultimately had to stop to make it to the end.
 
22. David Ragan, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Despite qualifying 13th, Ragan started from the rear of the field after slapping the wall during final practice. The team made consistent gains and ran steadily inside the top 25.

23. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Crew chief Donnie Wingo reminded Gilliland that Las Vegas had a history of getting looser as the race continued and encouraged Gilliland to use the driver-adjustable track bar feature.

24. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Late-race gains improved the handling of the No. 9 Ford, and he held on to score his best result at LVMS since 2009.

25. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Although handling was an ongoing issue, Mears' top-25 result keeps him inside the top 10 of the points standings. He is ranked ninth going into next week at Phoenix International Raceway.

26. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola ran as high as ninth on Sunday and raced inside the top 20 until he was clocked going too fast entering pit road at Lap 197.

27. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick's team salvaged her starting spot after she was involved in a last-minute accident in final practice. She reported aero issues on Sunday, which she said made her car easy to turn sideways in traffic.

28. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne struggled to find balance all race long in his Ford, which shifted from a tight- to loose-handling condition as the race unfolded.

29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse's Vegas run was complicated after he made contact with the wall and then hit a loose tire on pit road. He worked with his team to persevere through the damage.

30. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Ford, Leavine Family Racing. McDowell narrowly avoided colliding with Michael Annett, when Annett lost the handle on his car around Lap 150. Still, McDowell held on to earn his best LVMS finish.

31. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier struggled to make forward progress after being penalized three times throughout the race by the new pit road scoring system. | MORE: Allgaier's car too light in post-race inspection

32. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Although Whitt's team struggled to find the right combination, he held on to achieve his best Las Vegas result.

33. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. A steering box issue compounded initial handling woes for Stewart, who also was dealt an uncontrolled tire violation during a Lap 84 pit stop.

34. Josh Wise, No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise kept his nose clean during Sunday's race and quietly steered the No. 98 machine to his best result at the 1.5-mile desert track.

35. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. An early pit road violation wasn't insurmountable for Cassill, who went on to post his best Vegas finish.

36. J.J. Yeley, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Yeley finished 16th in Saturday's NASCAR XFINITY Series race, but struggled to carry that momentum over into the Cup scene.

37. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Moffitt opened the race with promise after posting an eighth-place finish last weekend at the intermediate track of Atlanta Motor Speedway. He qualified 36th and struggled to make up much ground, ultimately brushing the wall as he concluded his first outing at Las Vegas.  

38. Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. The only Las Vegas native in the race -- given the absence of the Busch brothers -- was clocked too fast entering pit road on Lap 76 during green flag stops.

39. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Early in Sunday's contest, Annett wiggled exiting Turn 4 and made hard contact with the wall. Tire smoke prompted him to make an unscheduled pit stop.

40. Jeb Burton, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. The lone Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate in the field, Burton slowed to avoid Jimmie Johnson's first incident when he received an inadvertent nudge from behind by veteran Jeff Gordon.

41. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson led 45 laps during the first half of Sunday's race and appeared poised to contend for his fifth Las Vegas victory when tire issues arose. Two blown tires within 14 laps of one another sent Johnson to the garage at Lap 186. | MORE: Tire trouble ruins Johnson's day at Vegas

42. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards' promising run was cut short Sunday when his car slid up the track and made contact with Kahne. Edwards almost saved his car from a subsequent spin, but ultimately retreated to the garage with a busted oil cooler. | MORE: Edwards, Kahne clash at Las Vegas

43. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. An engine issue on Lap 28 dashed Bowman's hopes of continuing the momentum he started last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.


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