A rare party of parity is heading to Sin City.
For the first time since 1973, the first two races of the Cup Series schedule saw as many as 19 different top-10 finishers – the only repeat was Aric Almirola.
That presents a rather level playing field as NASCAR travels to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for its third regular-season points-paying event (Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM).
LAS VEGAS: Weekend schedule | Paint schemes | Betting odds
There were 20 different drivers in 1973 who placed within the top 10 in Races 1 and 2. In 1972, there were 19. Same with 1965. Those years, now along with 2022, mark the most diverse early results in the sport’s history.
The hype gets better.
A rookie (Austin Cindric) won the season-opening Daytona 500. The reigning champion (Kyle Larson) won last weekend’s visit to Auto Club Speedway.
Seventeen different drivers, though, have led laps – the most at this point in a season since the tally of 18 in 2018.
It gets better.
Thirteen different teams have a top 10 this year already – from historic names like Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports to recent newcomers in 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing. Stewart-Haas Racing actually has the most top 10s at four, followed by Team Penske with three. Hendrick Motorsports and 23XI Racing have two apiece. Nine other organizations then add one each to round out the 20 overall options.
LAS VEGAS: Practice procedures, qualifying order and more
NASCAR’s introduction of the Next Gen car has the entire garage starting from scratch, for the most part. Crews are only just beginning to learn the ins and outs of their new toy. And that’s giving those with less experience and resources an opportunity.
Las Vegas is the perfect venue to test this theory even further. The last five desert races were won by five different drivers. In the last 12, seven different.
Brad Keselowski leads his competition with three career wins, but those all came during his Team Penske run. Keselowski now turns the wheel for RFK Racing, which he co-owns.
BetMGM favors Larson to win Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at 5-1 odds. Joey Logano and Chase Elliott are the next-best options at 15-2. Ryan Blaney is then 10-1. Keselowski doesn’t tap in until 25-1 despite his strong history.
Look for the parity to continue early on in the Next Gen era – and perhaps a team or two to take an extra gamble this weekend with the potential of a win even higher than normal.
LAS VEGAS: All-time winners | Memorable moments | Preview show