Posted on by Staff Report

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kurt Busch called Sunday’s hard wreck into the wall at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a “devastating blow” — and one that significantly impacts his playoff standing.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver made contact with eventual race winner Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott, which caused a tire rub and sent his No. 1 Chevrolet hard into the wall on Lap 188.

The veteran and 2004 series champion finished last in the 39-car field.

RELATED: How Vegas shook up playoff picture

The poor points day dropped Busch from eighth in the standings to 14th with two races remaining in the Round of 16. Following the Charlotte Roval race on Sept. 29, four drivers will be eliminated from the postseason field.

Busch currently is 14 points behind the cutline, but as he also noted in his tweet, the entire No. 1 team “are fighters” and have produced fast race cars.

The team will have its opportunity for redemption Saturday night at Richmond Raceway, where Busch has two wins in 37 career starts.

MORE: Stacking the playoff field

Posted on by Data Skrive

Dylan Lupton placed 10th in the World of Westgate 200 on Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Austin Hill earned the checkered flag in the race, with Ross Chastain finishing second, and Christian Eckes crossing the finish line third. Sheldon Creed took fourth place, followed by Todd Gilliland to round out the top five.

Chastain swept the first two stages in the race.

Lupton qualified in 17th position at 175.473 mph.

The second-year driver still is looking for career win No. 1, but owns one top-five finish and three finishes in the top 10.

There were 32 cars in the field and the race endured six cautions and 32 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 21 lead changes.

With Hill finishing out front in Shigeaki Hattori’s Tundra, Toyota added 40 points to its season totals. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 710 points, followed by Chevrolet in the No. 2 spot with 696. Ford sits at No. 3 with 628 points on the season.

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Posted on by Data Skrive

Ryan Truex finished 14th in the Rhino Pro Truck Outfitters 300 on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Tyler Reddick earned the checkered flag in the race, with Christopher Bell finishing second, and Brandon Jones placing third. Cole Custer took fourth place, followed by Justin Allgaier in the No. 5 spot.

Bell won both Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Truex qualified in 22nd position at 173.628 mph.

The sixth-year driver still is looking for career victory No. 1, boasts four top-five finishes and 23 finishes in the top 10.

Truex battled 37 other cars in the field and the race saw four cautions and 20 caution laps. There were 13 lead changes before the checkered flag.

With Reddick driving to victory in Richard Childress’ Camaro, Chevrolet added 40 points to its season totals. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 933 points, followed by Chevrolet in the No. 2 spot with 933. Ford sits at No. 3 with 919 points on the season.

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Posted on by Data Skrive

Elliott Sadler finished 10th in the Rhino Pro Truck Outfitters 300 on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Tyler Reddick earned the checkered flag in the race, with Christopher Bell finishing second, and Brandon Jones placing third. Cole Custer took fourth place, followed by Justin Allgaier in the No. 5 spot.

Bell won both Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Sadler qualified in eighth position at 179.146 mph.

The 22nd-year driver has tallied 13 career victories, 106 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 227 races.

There were 38 cars in the field and the race endured four cautions and 20 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 13 lead changes.

With Reddick driving to victory in Richard Childress’ Camaro, Chevrolet added 40 points to its season totals. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 933 points, followed by Chevrolet in the No. 2 spot with 933. Ford sits at No. 3 with 919 points on the season.

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Posted on by Data Skrive

Brandon Jones crossed the finish line third in the Rhino Pro Truck Outfitters 300 on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It’s Jones’ fourth top-five finish of the season.

Tyler Reddick finished out front in the race, with Christopher Bell taking second. Cole Custer brought home fourth place, followed by Justin Allgaier in the No. 5 spot.

Bell won each of the first two stages.

Jones qualified in sixth position at 180.313 mph.

The fifth-year driver still is looking for career victory No. 1, but owns seven top-five finishes and 47 finishes in the top 10.

There were 38 cars in the field and the race endured four cautions and 20 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 13 lead changes.

With Reddick driving to victory in Richard Childress’ Camaro, Chevrolet added 40 points to its season totals. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 933 points, followed by Chevrolet in the No. 2 spot with 933. Ford sits at No. 3 with 919 points on the season.

Brandon Jones Driver Page | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Austin Dillon placed 12th in the South Point 400 on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr. earned the checkered flag in the race, with Kevin Harvick taking second, and Brad Keselowski placing third. Chase Elliott took fourth place, followed by Ryan Blaney in the No. 5 spot.

Joey Logano picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Truex finished out front in Stage 2.

Dillon qualified in seventh position at 177.317 mph.

The ninth-year driver has tallied two career victories, 11 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 38 races.

Dillon battled 38 other cars in the field and the race endured four cautions and 22 caution laps. There were 24 lead changes before the checkered flag.

With Truex driving to victory in Joe Gibbs Racing’s Camry, Toyota added 40 points to its season totals. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 988 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 958. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 916 points on the season.

Austin Dillon Driver Page | Get Austin Dillon Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Ryan Newman placed 10th in the South Point 400 on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr. earned the checkered flag in the race, with Kevin Harvick finishing second, and Brad Keselowski crossing the finish line third. Chase Elliott brought home fourth place, followed by Ryan Blaney to round out the top five.

Joey Logano picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Truex finished out front in Stage 2.

Newman qualified in 17th position at 176.367 mph.

The veteran driver has tallied 18 career victories, 113 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 257 races.

Newman battled 38 other cars in the field and the race saw four cautions and 22 caution laps. There were 24 lead changes before the checkered flag.

With Truex finishing out front in Joe Gibbs Racing’s Camry, Toyota added 40 points to its season totals. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 988 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 958. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 916 points on the season.

Ryan Newman Driver Page | Get Ryan Newman Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Ryan Blaney finished fifth in the South Point 400 on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s Blaney’s eighth top-five finish of the season.

Martin Truex Jr came away with the victory in the race, with Kevin Harvick finishing second, and Brad Keselowski crossing the finish line third.

Joey Logano picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Truex finished out front in Stage 2.

Blaney qualified in 23rd position at 175.861 mph. He led once for a total of one lap, but relinquished the lead for good after Lap 186.

The sixth-year drivery has tallied two career victories, 24 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 54 races.

There were 39 cars in the field and the race endured four cautions and 22 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag, there were 24 lead changes.

With Truex finishing out front in Joe Gibbs Racing’s Camry, Toyota added 40 points to its season totals. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 988 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 958. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 916 points on the season.

Ryan Blaney Driver Page | Get Ryan Blaney Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Zack Albert

LAS VEGAS — Kevin Harvick’s runner-up finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Playoffs opener wasn’t quite the dominant show of strength he flexed in the previous week’s victory at Indianapolis. Instead, the hard-fought outcome was part of a weekend-long recovery effort.

Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford led three times for 47 laps in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, holding the top spot until eventual winner Martin Truex Jr. scooted past with 20 laps remaining. The work that went into turning the tide was nearly Herculean, based on wholesale changes to improve the No. 4 car’s handling and balance.

RELATED: Las Vegas results | Playoff ins and outs

“If you’d have told me at the end of Friday night that we were going to be in contention to win the race with 25 laps to go, I’d have laughed at you,” Harvick said. “I’d have told you we were nowhere even close, and the guys did a great job scrambling and doing everything that they could to keep changing stuff and keep making the car better. We made our car better throughout the race.”

Harvick’s comeback story has origins dating back to Friday’s two practices, when the team improved from 18th on the speed chart in first practice to seventh in the final session. By the time Saturday’s Busch Pole Qualifying rolled around, Harvick claimed the third starting spot as part of a top-four sweep by Stewart-Haas drivers after major alterations to get the No. 4 entry in proper form.

Shortly after the green flag fell Sunday, Harvick drove away from a fairly benign brush with the outside wall on Lap 17. By Lap 84 of 267, the veteran driver was in the lead for the first time.

Though Harvick nearly converted for his second straight Monster Energy Series win, crew chief Rodney Childers indicated there was plenty to take away from the first weekend in the 10-race playoffs.

RELATED: Complete at-track gallery from Las Vegas

“We didn’t build the right cars for here, and it was horrible when we unloaded,” Childers told NASCAR.com. “That’s something we’ve got to do better as a company. Fortunately, the 4 team is strong enough to work hard all weekend and do the right things to make the car better and have a good race, but the only way we’re going to hold (Truex) off is to have a caution at the right time and have clean race tracks and not have to pass lapped cars.

“Their cars just had way more grip than ours all weekend and that’s something that we struggled with at Darlington also, and we turned around and did the same thing there, fought through it and got a top five out of it. So honestly to finish second from where we unloaded is huge.”

Harvick carried the torch for the rest of the SHR bunch — teammate Aric Almirola secured 13th, with Daniel Suarez 20th and pole-starter Clint Bowyer fading to a 25th-place result. But it was the No. 4 team’s ability to claw through adversity — a valuable asset for championship-ready teams — that seemed to stick with Harvick the most.

“We were a 20th-place car on Friday and today we ground one out,” said Harvick, who logged his third straight top-five result. “So that’s what you have to do on the weekends where you’re not where you need to be. You’ve got to figure out how to make something out of it and we did.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The race-winning No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driven by Martin Truex Jr. passed post-race technical inspection Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with no issues.

The No. 19 Toyota was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Truex Jr. won the NASCAR Playoffs opener, the South Point 400. Additionally, no cars are headed back to the R&D Center after the race.

Three cars were found to have one lug nut missing: The No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Aric Almirola (finished 13th), the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch (finished 19th) and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Alex Bowman (finished sixth). Those will result in fines to the respective team’s crew chiefs.

With post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

RELATED: Race recap | Full results

The post-race process is part of a new, more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced in February that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions — “a total culture change,” according to Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. In the past, race-winning teams found in violation of the rules were penalized with post-race fines, points deductions and/or suspensions, but victories were allowed to stand.

Competition officials introduced the quicker post-race inspection timetable in an effort to make the results official on race day, aiming for a 90-minute target time frame to complete their scrutineering. The new post-race inspection process was also designed to deal with potential violations more promptly, avoiding any midweek news that might cloud the previous week’s results or the build-up to the following week’s event.

NASCAR will still inspect cars and parts at the R&D Center as needed, but the more comprehensive at-track inspection will take priority.

According to NASCAR statistical archives, the last time a premier-series driver was disqualified occurred in 1973, when early retiree Buddy Baker was demoted to last place in the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The last time an apparent race winner in NASCAR’s top division was disqualified came on April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson (N.C.) Speedway was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank on his No. 85 Chevrolet.