What to Watch: Will Las Vegas separate the aces from the jokers?

Posted on October 3, 2026October 4, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Track length: 1.5 miles
When: 5:30 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,233,037
Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles
Stages: 80 | 165 | 267
Sunday’s starting lineup | Pit stall assignments

Contenders look to gap the pretenders at Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — There is a clear divide atop the NASCAR Cup Series standings as The Chase presented by Mobil 1 approaches its midpoint.

Kyle Larson has overtaken Denny Hamlin for the points lead, and the two rival veterans now command the championship hunt after four of 10 races in the Cup Series postseason.

Will anyone else join them as the season reaches its title-deciding fever pitch?

MORE: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Las Vegas

Entering Sunday’s South Point 400, the top four drivers in the standings are within one race’s worth of points of each other: Larson, Hamlin, Christopher Bell (50 points behind Larson) and Joey Logano (67 points behind Larson). Larson dominated last week’s race at Kansas Speedway, earning a maximum 76-point day — a race win, both stage wins and the Xfinity Fastest Lap. He and the No. 5 team have proven they are here to defend their title with a vengeance, posting two wins, one runner-up result and a fifth-place finish in the opening four races of The Chase.

“I would love to continue to put together weekends like we have where we gain a lot of points,” Larson said Saturday, “just to stretch out (so) that way, if we do have a blowout race, you can not fall down the order a lot. But yeah, I mean that’s not guaranteed. So yeah, I mean that’s really not on my mind when I’m out there. I’m just kind of treating it as just trying to get a good practice, qualify well, get a good first stage, get a good second stage and a good third stage and then you look at the points afterwards. But yeah, it’s been a good start to The Chase, obviously at this point, and would love to keep it going.”

Hamlin entered The Chase as the No. 1 seed and is firmly in the hunt — particularly entering Las Vegas as the winner of each of the last two races in the Nevada desert. But for the first time since June, Hamlin is no longer the points leader, trailing Larson by 26 points entering Sunday’s South Point 400. And in four Chase races, Hamlin has just one top-five finish. That won’t be enough if Larson is able to maintain anything close to his current pace of 59.25 points per race.

But the true championship threats still have a chance to separate themselves from the rest of the field — and perhaps already are.

“If you can separate yourself by putting really good finishes and wins together early in a Chase, then typically, yeah, you’re going to narrow the field down and narrow the competition down,” Hamlin said. “So that goes back into the ‘do the work now, and then you check out the results later’ type of mentality. But overall, yeah, it’s all just going to work itself out however it is, and there’s kind of peaks and valleys to this that some teams had a rough maybe week or two and I think that they could end up going on a run and winning a couple and putting themselves right back in it, too. You just never know.”

Behind the quartet up front sit other stars like Ryan Blaney (-91), Ty Gibbs (-94) and Tyler Reddick (-111). With the gap widening between them and the championship frontrunners, they see that time and points are already starting to slip away.

“We’ve got to win some,” Gibbs said. “I’m gonna bet on myself. We’re gonna do it this weekend.”

Even Larson isn’t ready to count most drivers out of championship contention yet, so a victory by someone like Gibbs could heavily impact The Chase standings.

“I don’t view my gap as anything, where I think a lot of media members, it sounds like, view it that way,” Larson said. “I also don’t consider as many people out of it as it seems like everybody else does. There’s just a lot of racing left. There’s a lot of points on the table. There’s a lot of things that can happen. There’s a lot of restarts left. There’s all sorts of things. So yeah, I think with that, you just stay focused on yourself and stay focused on your team and what you’re doing during the week to improve and prepare for the upcoming race.”

What lies ahead is The Chase’s most pivotal race yet — one that will set the tone for the rest of the 2026 championship chase.

Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media

Topping the charts on intermediate tracks

Denny Hamlin is in the midst of a historic run on 1.5-mile tracks, entering Las Vegas with eight consecutive top-five finishes on intermediates — a streak that ties him for seventh-longest all-time with Jimmie Johnson.

While Hamlin has flexed his muscle on intermediates, here’s a look at how all drivers in The Chase have fared on average this season, including their best 2026 finish at a 1.5-mile track, courtesy of Racing Insights:

Driver	Average 1.5-mile finish	Best 1.5-mile finish
Denny Hamlin	2.7	1st (Las Vegas)
William Byron	6.3	3rd (Las Vegas)
Bubba Wallace	10.0	5th (Kansas-1)
Chase Elliott	11.2	1st (Texas)
Tyler Reddick	11.5	1st (Kansas-1)
Ryan Blaney	11.5	5th (Kansas-2)
Daniel Suárez	12.0	1st (Charlotte)
Christopher Bell	12.0	2nd (Charlotte; Chicago)
Chase Briscoe	12.2	1st (Chicagoland)
Ty Gibbs	13.5	5th (Las Vegas)
Kyle Larson	13.8	1st (Kansas-2)
Chris Buescher	15.5	5th (Texas)
Austin Cindric	16.5	2nd (Kansas-2)
Ryan Preece	18.5	10th (Kansas-2)
Carson Hocevar	20.0	7th (Texas)
Joey Logano	20.3	8th (Charlotte)

Speed reads

Race-day essentials:

• Las Vegas hub: Weekend information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more
• Sunday Setup: Kansas lessons inform crew chiefs for Las Vegas approach | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: Bright designs for the Las Vegas lights | View gallery
• Neil Paine: Can anything slow Kyle Larson’s roll? | Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Rewind with full-race replays from Las Vegas | Watch now
• Power Rankings: Christopher Bell plays crucial role in title fight | This week’s ranks

Posted on October 3, 2026October 4, 2026 by Dustin Albino

LAS VEGAS — Toyota has reigned supreme at intermediate race tracks in recent seasons and that continued in Busch Light Pole Qualifying for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The automaker swept the top five positions, led by Denny Hamlin.

That history of Toyota dominance made Kyle Larson’s performance in Chase race No. 4 all the more impressive at Kansas Speedway last weekend.

Not far behind — .565 seconds to be exact — was Austin Cindric, scoring Team Penske’s best finish at a 1.5-mile track in 2026. The No. 2 Ford was planted inside the top five for the duration of the race, finishing the race with a 3.39 average running position, Cindric’s best in 181 career Cup Series starts.

The performance was notable, but Cindric applied lessons from the previous intermediate race at Chicagoland Speedway, nearly three months earlier. A 50-minute practice session in the Windy City allowed Cindric’s crew chief Brian Wilson to make some swings.

“Last week in Kansas, it was great to see that [progress] continued,” Wilson, crew chief of the No. 2 car told NASCAR.com, with teammate Ryan Blaney also banking a top five. “What do you take from Kansas and apply to Vegas? There’s like three or four things that we’ve done since the last time that we raced here in Vegas that we think adds some potential to the car.”

Sin City presents an entirely different challenge for Sunday’s South Point 400 (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Not only is the ambient temperature nearly 30 degrees warmer this weekend than Kansas, but the bumps over the tunnel through Turns 1 and 2 can unsettle a car, while the opposite end of the track is considerably smoother. Still, despite the stark differences between Las Vegas and the Midwest track, Wilson believes that strength could translate to another strong showing for the No. 2 team this weekend as the powerhouse organization continues to hone in on bettering its 1.5-mile program.

“Where we started the year is not where anyone in the group wanted to be,” Wilson admitted of Penske’s intermediate effort. “So, everyone’s been working really hard to close the gap. I think these next [two] weeks are really going to tell the tale. It was great to see that we were closer.

“I don’t know that we’re necessarily where we want to be, but I do feel like the last week was any indication we’ve closed the gap.”

One notable difference between Chicagoland and Kansas was the addition of struts to the front splitter, a change competition officials implemented ahead of the mid-July race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Coupled with Joe Gibbs Racing’s four entries combining to lead just 25 laps, it was enough to raise questions about whether the adjustment had altered the competitive landscape.

MORE: Hamlin surges to Vegas pole | Weekend schedule

Chris Gayle, crew chief for Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, says to hold the phone. While acknowledging that Larson’s No. 5 team put together a flawless race and executed at every turn at Kansas, Gayle isn’t willing to declare that Toyota has taken a step back at intermediates based on such a small sample size. Hamlin, after all, brings an eight-race top-five streak at 1.5-mile tracks into Las Vegas, tied for the seventh-longest such streak in Cup Series history.

“That same rule was applied for Darlington. I think it’s implied that it has been because last week the storyline was the Toyotas aren’t quite as strong as they’ve been,” a fiery Gayle said, “and that’s the first intermediate we’ve been to since Indy.

“I feel like it’s, you go to all these short tracks and things where the industry goes, ‘These are not as important aero tracks.’ And then the first time we go back to what we deem an aero track — even though we kind of excluded Darlington from that judgment — I think you need a bigger sample size than one to say that. We do understand how it affected us, but we never understand how it affects others. And it would be naïve of us to assume it doesn’t affect others, too.”

With the No. 11 team entering Las Vegas 26 points behind Larson for the top spot, Gayle knows it’s critical to have track position throughout the South Point 400. Hamlin has won the two most recent events in the Mojave Desert, rebounding from a pit-road penalty to still lead more than half the race in March.

“We need points relative to [Larson],” Gayle noted. “So, we need to start up front and stack all the stage points and potentially win if we can. I think we’ll know after this race and Charlotte — we’re going to know who’s really in the thick of this thing and probably the number of cars that have a shot. I think we need two very strong runs to feel like we’re still in the thick of it.”

The weekend started with a bang, as Hamlin won his fifth pole of the season, tying his most for a single season (2013 and 2025). There were multiple tire failures in practice, including Chase drivers Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs, both of whom rebounded for top-five qualifying efforts. Josh Berry and Noah Gragson each wrecked hard after having a tire let go.

Posted on October 3, 2026October 4, 2026 by Staff Report

Chase contenders Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones found early trouble in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, dealing a setback to their postseason hopes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Jones lost control of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the 55th of 201 laps in Saturday’s Focused Health 302, shortly after a restart that began Stage 2 at the 1.5-mile track. His sudden veer toward the outside wall collected the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Allgaier, wedging both cars against the barrier. Both drivers were evaluated and released from the infield care center.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Vegas

Allgaier finished 34th, initially one spot ahead of Jones, who was sidelined by the melee. Allgaier’s crew made extensive repairs to get his No. 7 Chevy back on track for two extra laps, gaining him an extra finishing position and one extra point in The Chase presented by Mobil 1. But Jones was disqualified after his No. 20 entry was found with four or more loose lug nuts after its departure from the race, relegating him to last in the 36-car field. The penalty not only gave him last-place points, but stripped Jones of the seven stage points he had earned for finishing fourth at the first break.

Jones began the second stage in the lead after quick pit work helped him gain three spots, but the JGR driver had voiced concerns that the left-front wheel may not have been fully fastened. Allgaier had restarted eighth.

Jones said the pit-stop miscue caused a major vibration as his No. 20 Supra tried to round Turn 1, and he lamented the lapse in execution after his care center check-up.

“Yeah, shoot, it’s just the pit stop,” Jones said. “I mean, they’re trying to get me out front, I guess, and it’s just right now every mistake like this is a detriment to the season. It’s like, give up a half-second to maybe just maintain. It’s like, you just don’t have to hit the home runs right now, and I don’t know, I don’t know what we need to do better other than just execute from the the team’s standpoint. Unfortunately, I’m not a finger-pointer at all. I mean, there’s always things that I could do better on all these races, but at the end of the day, it’s all these little decisions of staying out and not pitting, and then having mistakes like this on pit road with the loose wheels. It’s like constant, nonstop things that are out of my control that I can’t figure out how to get to stop.

“So it’s difficult when it’s like this. It’s really hard to stop the bleeding. You see it time and time again with other cars and other teams and drivers. It’s whoever can not make mistakes, and the guys that make mistakes end up not winning, and they end up falling out like we currently are, unfortunately. So we’ve just got to keep pushing, though. We got to keep going race to race, can’t be a quitter. You can’t give up in these moments.”

Allgaier said he’d hoped Jones would have slowed, rather than attempt to ride out the loose-wheel issue.

“I mean, in that scenario, like you’ve already had a couple corners, maybe you just pull down and get out of the way, right?” Allgaier said. “Because when you look at three- and four-wide all the way, I mean, I think we were three- and four-wide all the way through (turns) three and four. The instinct is that you want to stay in it and keep going and maybe it’ll get better, but the law of averages says it usually doesn’t, so I don’t know. It’s disappointing.”

Allgaier, the 2024 series champion, entered the nine-race Chase as the top seed. Four races in, the 40-year-old veteran has slipped to fourth place in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, including Saturday’s two-spot drop after his early exit. He now ranks 30 points behind series points leader Sheldon Creed, who placed 13th as the final driver on the lead lap.

Jones entered the postseason as the No. 6 seed. He’s now 11th, 137 points off the top — 23 points worse than before he started Saturday’s race.

“I just, I hate it for everybody involved,” Jones said. “I hate it for the partners, for the team. I mean, they’re not trying to mess up. I know that, right? They’re not trying to put me in these bad situations. It just seems like we just can’t ever make the right decision currently.”

Posted on October 3, 2026October 3, 2026 by Dustin Albino

LAS VEGAS — After one of the most surprising developments of the 2026 NASCAR season, Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing president Chip Bowers offered insight into the circumstances surrounding their split on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The 2026 season was the final year of a five-year driving contract for Keselowski, who joined the team as a driver and co-owner ahead of the 2022 campaign. Keselowski hoped to continue his driving career well into the future while RFK wanted him to move into the lead competition role more promptly.

Within the last month, discussions between the two sides broke down and Keselowski’s future became clearer. At the end of the 2026 season, he will be looking for his next opportunity.

“We wanted to make sure organizationally that not only we set ourselves up for near-term success, but really long-term sustainable success,” Bowers said to a room full of media members at Las Vegas. “And so, when we started looking at what the next three years look like for us and beyond, it was clear that we wanted Brad to start focusing more on his role in competition.

“For us, we wanted that to be a natural transition over the next two to three years for Brad. I think he wants to continue to drive much longer than that, and that’s fine. We applaud that. Like I said, we want to give Brad, because we have such immense respect and appreciation for Brad, every opportunity to do all the things he wants to do in his career. But that’s what makes it so hard, right? This is a business, and we just weren’t aligned with that, and that happens. We just wanted to make the competition side more of a focus. He wanted to focus more on the driving side. We get that, and that’s why it took us so long to get here.”

Keselowski wouldn’t delve into the specifics of his departure, though he remains appreciative of the opportunity to dip his toes into Cup Series ownership with RFK. He doesn’t consider himself sentimental, but knew the writing was on the wall that he wouldn’t be returning to the organization in 2027 over the past 30 days.

“It’s been a hell of a ride,” Keselowski stated in his opening remarks, swarmed by the media. “I’ve gotten to enjoy everything I’ve gotten to do with RFK – and my career is not over by any means. There’s still a lot of things to work out. I can’t really go into details of how we got to where we are at least at this time until a few more things develop.”

Bowers said he was surprised that the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement to extend Keselowski’s tenure within the organization. He acknowledged that there were zero arguments between the 2012 champion and Roush Enterprises and Fenway Sports Group over the direction of the company.

Keselowski wasn’t as perplexed, mentioning: “There’s a lot of things that surprise me, but this was not one of them.”

MORE: Weekend schedule | Projected results for Las Vegas

Keselowski remains interested in being part of an ownership group in the future, saying it’s “doubtful” this marks the end of his time as a team owner in the sport.

“I still love the sport and want to be around long after my driving days are done,” Keselowski said, defiantly.

Bowers stated a solid foundation was laid internally for RFK to succeed in the future. He credits that to Keselowski’s vision for the organization as he helped change the culture internally upon arriving in 2022.

“We feel we’ve gone to an area where we’ve become more competitive than we’ve been historically,” Bowers added. “Now it’s time to take the next step. We have a great deal of belief that we have the right people to do that and look forward to adding additional talent to help us get there.”

One of Keselowski’s key hires was driver Ryan Preece ahead of the 2025 season. Preece, who won his way into The Chase presented by Mobil 1 in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, considers Keselowski a great teammate and someone who helped the New Englander find his voice. He’s not concerned about the upcoming change at RFK.

“This is an opportunity to keep building the house, man. It’s not going to get torn down,” Preece stated. “I see a lot of glass-half-empty things and I’m a glass-half-full guy. We have a really strong foundation at RFK and right now. I’m a racer; it’s taken me too damn long to win races and I feel like we want to keep going that way.”

Bowers, who leads a company of roughly 200 employees, said he isn’t concerned the change will fracture relationships within the organization. While he credits Keselowski for helping establish RFK’s new culture, he emphasized that changing the organization’s trajectory has been a collective effort.

“Culture is not led by one person; it’s led by many, and a lot of that credit goes to all the people in our organization who see the vision of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Bowers said. “It starts at the top. I’ve got a mentor in our business who always says the best recipe for success in professional sports is three ingredients: ownership, ownership, and ownership. And so, when you’ve got great ownership at the top, we trickle down the communication of we want to be great, and this is what greatness looks like in our eyes, and we want you to be a part of that.”

Keselowski says he’s received multiple phone calls from various industry members and was pleasantly surprised by the feedback he received on social media since the announcement on Tuesday. He has yet to sign anything for the 2027 season, believing there will be multiple options on the table.

“I’m open to everything,” Keselowski elaborated, admitting that running a full-time season in the Craftsman Truck Series would pique his interest, potentially becoming the first driver to win championships in all three national touring series. “I’m going to look at the best opportunity that comes at me and then make a decision.”

The 36-time Cup winner hopes to have his immediate future secured in the next two months. He’s not sweating his driving career, believing there is enough interest throughout the sport to find a new home.

As for the legacy Keselowski leaves at RFK, he’s proud of helping transform the organization from a “tier-three team” into one on the cusp of becoming a “tier one” operation within the Ford camp.

“I’m really proud about the things that we’ve done and the people that have been able to work with and see grow and develop and some of the turnaround from the company and team. It’s a thrill of a lifetime to be a part of,” Keselowski said. “You always hate to leave that, lose that, whatever that might be. It is part of life. It’s kind of like leaving high school, but that’s where we’re at.”

Keselowski will start 16th in Sunday’s South Point 400 (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on October 3, 2026 by Staff Report

Thirty-six aces are heading to Sin City this weekend. But only one will hit the jackpot.

The NASCAR Cup Series rolls to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as The Chase presented by Mobil 1 reaches the halfway mark. Once the South Point 400 is completed, just five races remain to crown the 2026 champion. Las Vegas is the second of three consecutive races at 1.5-mile circuits, and like last weekend at Kansas Speedway, it could shake up the postseason.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos

But unlike the first three Chase races, Kansas wasn’t defined by chaos. Kyle Larson dominated, leading 235 laps and scoring a perfect 76-point day — the first in this points format. That elevated him 26 points ahead of Denny Hamlin for the series lead, and as evidenced by a trio of victories in Vegas, he’ll likely be a factor again on Sunday. A finish of fifth or better would give Larson five straight top fives to open the postseason, matching a feat Joey Logano accomplished in 2014.

Read on to see drivers worth monitoring over 267 laps, as well as Racing Insights’ full projections for the key Chase bout.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

DENNY HAMLIN: A Denny Hamlin victory at a 1.5-miler is seemingly a coin flip these days. The last two times the Cup Series has visited Vegas, that coin has landed on heads. The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver scored a key playoff victory there last fall, and backed it up again this spring with his first dub of 2026. For Hamlin to keep up with Larson, he’ll need another stellar Vegas showing. Hamlin has finished fourth or better in each of the last eight races on 1.5-mile tracks, with an average finish of 2.4. His last three Cup victories all came in succession at Nashville, Michigan and Pocono — three somewhat comparable tracks even though they all feature different sizes and characteristics. The Chase has been by no means dominant for the future Hall of Famer, but that could change this weekend as he continues pursuing his first title.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: With how well he’s historically performed at intermediates, it’s almost hard to believe that Bell hasn’t won at Las Vegas before. He led 155 laps in this race two years ago before pit strategy relegated him to runner-up, his second P2 finish in Sin City. Bell finished inside the top five in five of the last seven Las Vegas races, as well as three of the last four. Widening the scope, he’s placed inside the top 10 in nine of the last 11 1.5-mile races. Despite finishing sixth last weekend at Kansas, the Oklahoman dropped 33 points to Larson up top, now facing a 50-point deficit. A strong run for Bell could launch him back into the championship discussion.

TEAM PENSKE: All three drivers from the Roger Penske-owned organization are on here for different reasons, but the common denominator is that they need strong weekends to remain in the championship hunt. Austin Cindric is on a career heater, averaging an eighth-place finish over the last seven races and coming home second last weekend at Kansas — his first top five at a 1.5-mile track. He does, however, own a pair of P6 finishes at Las Vegas, and enters the race minus-140. Joey Logano is a machine in Sin City, winning four times — the most among active drivers — with two of them coming in 2022 and 2024 (remember the even-year thing?). However, Logano has generally struggled at 1.5-mile circuits this year with a 20.3 average finish, and is 67 points behind the lead after finishing 20th at Kansas. Finally, Ryan Blaney has had plenty of lost wages in Vegas, averaging a P30 over his last four trips here. He has just four top 10s in the last nine 1.5-mile events, and desperately needs to stop the bleeding after two DNFs in the first four Chase races. Blaney sits 91 points back of Larson.

MORE: What to Watch: Las Vegas

FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR SOUTH POINT 400 (5:30 p.m. ET, USA)

Rk	#	Driver
1	11	Denny Hamlin
2	5	Kyle Larson
3	20	Christopher Bell
4	19	Chase Briscoe
5	24	William Byron
6	22	Joey Logano
7	45	Tyler Reddick
8	9	Chase Elliott
9	54	Ty Gibbs
10	17	Chris Buescher
11	7	Daniel Suárez
12	2	Austin Cindric
13	23	Bubba Wallace
14	60	Ryan Preece
15	48	Alex Bowman
16	1	Ross Chastain
17	12	Ryan Blaney
18	6	Brad Keselowski
19	77	Carson Hocevar
20	16	AJ Allmendinger
21	43	Erik Jones
22	3	Austin Dillon
23	71	Michael McDowell
24	21	Josh Berry
25	38	Zane Smith
26	97	Shane van Gisbergen
27	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28	4	Noah Gragson
29	42	John H Nemechek
30	34	Todd Gilliland
31	35	Riley Herbst
32	41	Cole Custer
33	88	Connor Zilisch
34	10	Ty Dillon
35	33	Austin Hill
36	51	Cody Ware

Posted on October 3, 2026October 3, 2026 by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS — Defending race winner Denny Hamlin capped a dominant Toyota performance in Saturday’s Busch Light Pole Qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, claiming his fifth pole position of the season and leading a Toyota top-five sweep of the NASCAR Cup Series starting grid for Sunday’s South Point 400 (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota turned a fast lap of 186.787 mph around the 1.5-mile Las Vegas high banks — topping his JGR teammate, Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Toyota by a slight 0.017-second margin. JGR’s Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick rounded out the top five in that order.

It marks only the second time Toyota has swept the top five qualifying positions. The first time came at Indianapolis last season. It marks the JGR team’s first ever top-four sweep. It’s Hamlin’s 53rd career pole position and is his 19th top-10 start through the opening 30 races.

“It is important and the races we’ve really succeeded well here, we’ve started up front,” the 45-year-old Virginian said, conceding he was more nervous going into this session because of the extreme heat. After weeks of poor weather and cancelled qualifying sessions, Saturday’s edition took place under sunny Nevada skies and temperatures in the mid-90s.

“Today was executed by the team perfectly with how we approached the week and the adjustments we made to the car for temperatures seemed to be really good changes. I couldn’t have asked for today to go a whole lot better than it did.”

Championship-eligible drivers filled the first 14 positions on the speed chart. Reigning series champion and current championship leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, was sixth fastest in the No. 5 Chevrolet, with Team Penske Ford driver Austin Cindric, Hendrick’s William Byron, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar rounding out the top 10 on the grid.

Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney (20th) and Joey Logano (23rd) were the only outliers. They come into the race ranked fourth and fifth in championship, but will have to make their way forward. Logano’s four Las Vegas wins tie him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson for most all-time.

Hamlin is a three-time Las Vegas winner and has hoisted a trophy in Victory Lane the last two races at the track. A third straight win this weekend would match an all-time mark also held by Johnson. He’s won four times in 2026, but not since earning a three-race string of trophies at Nashville, Michigan and Pocono from May 31-June 14.

Hamlin trails Larson by only 26 points after four races of the 10-race Chase schedule. Bell is third, 50 points back and Logano is fourth, 67 points off the pace.

“This sport is week by week, and we’re all guilty of overreacting on Mondays about what we just saw over the weekend,” Hamlin said of predicting the race vibe on Sunday. “But, you know, the 5 car (Larson) could easily just drive right up through there and pass us and win the race again. You never know, or we could do the same thing he did last week [in a dominating win at Kansas Speedway].

“We just don’t know,” Hamlin said offering a slight smile at the Vegas venue. “If we all knew, then you guys should go place your bets and go make a lot of money.”

Practice recap: Byron tops the Vegas board

William Byron rose to the top of the Cup Series practice leaderboard, laying down a fast lap of 182.235 mph as Hendrick Motorsports drivers went 1-2 in the opening on-track session.

Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet was just 0.065 seconds ahead of the No. 5 Chevrolet of Kyle Larson, who posted a lap of 181.837 mph. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe were third and fourth, respectively, and Daniel Suárez completed the top five in Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevy.

MORE: Practice results | Weekend schedule: Vegas

Josh Berry crashed with approximately 18 minutes left in the 50-minute session, when his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford spun at the exit of Turn 2 and made significant contact with the outside retaining wall. Berry, who was evaluated and released from the infield care center, said a tire problem caused him to lose control of his car, which sustained heavy left-side damage.

Noah Gragson’s No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford also wrecked with four minutes remaining in practice, backing into the wall in Turn 2. He drove back to the garage and was evaluated and released.

Tyler Reddick also forced a stoppage 13 minutes into the session when he brought his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota to a halt on the track’s apron with a flat left-rear tire. With the car’s lifter system deployed, Reddick drove back to pit road for service.

Fellow Chase drivers Chris Buescher and Ty Gibbs also reported having tire issues during practice.

Larson topped the consecutive 10-lap averages chart, with Briscoe second and Suárez third.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on October 3, 2026October 3, 2026 by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers will pit this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Cup Series

South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Focused Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on October 3, 2026October 4, 2026 by Staff Report

Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series this weekend as both continue their respective Chases presented by Mobil 1. The 1.5-mile track will host Race 5 of the Cup Series Chase and the second of three consecutive races on intermediate tracks. Meanwhile, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to action for its fourth of nine Chase races. Bookmark this page and return often for your race-week essentials, from qualifying orders and pit stalls to results and more.

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and HBO Max. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Eleven total sets — eight new sets for the race, two for practice and one for qualifying that transfers to the race.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Race day: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW and ESPN Unlimited. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Six total sets — four new sets for the race, one for practice and one for qualifying that transfers to the race.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on October 3, 2026October 3, 2026 by Zack Albert

Sam Hunt Racing announced Saturday that NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series points leader Sheldon Creed will join the team for next season and beyond, striking a multiyear deal as driver of the No. 26 Toyota.

Creed, who turned 29 years old Wednesday, makes the move after two seasons with Haas Factory Team’s No. 00 group. Creed replaces Dean Thompson, who will shift to the Haas team next year as it expands to a three-car effort.

Creed has rocketed to the top of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings after posting two victories in the opening three races of The Chase presented by Mobil 1. The postseason’s next round is scheduled later Saturday, when the Focused Health 302 (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) kicks off at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I’ve had the privilege to race, obviously, for RCR (Richard Childress Racing), JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), now Haas, run good with all of them, but finally found Victory Lane this year, and numerous times now, being the points leader, is massive for us,” Creed said Saturday from the 1.5-mile track. “I think, for the 00 group, for my team, but yeah, looking down the road, obviously, haven’t gotten a Cup opportunity, and obviously, that’s still my end goal. But if I don’t ever get that call, I felt like Sam’s is somewhere I can race for the next 15 years and make a good living and be able to raise my family and, yeah, just try to build a good life.”

Sam Hunt Racing also announced that crew chief Kris Bowen will return for his fifth season with the organization, which first launched at the end of the 2019 campaign. SHR also indicated that the rest of its driver and sponsor lineup for 2027 will be announced later.

“It’s huge,” Hunt said of landing Creed. “Sam Hunt Racing’s kind of been built a little bit different than a lot of teams. It’s been progress every single year. I felt like for us to take the next big step that we wanted to take, having a guy, like Sheldon make a home with us — with us and the Toyota family — was the move I needed to make, and I think I strive to be better in my role as an owner every year, and the opportunity presented itself, and I was able to work on this for a little bit and be able to go to Sheldon with the deal that not only helps him on track, but off track. Yeah, it’s the logical next step for our race team. I’m just thankful for all the partners that kind of help with this together.”

All three of Creed’s O’Reilly Series wins have come in this year’s breakout season, his fifth as a full-time competitor on the circuit. He was infamously a 15-time runner-up over the course of his O’Reilly career before breaking through, and his most recent victories have helped lift him to an 11-point advantage in the standings over former series champ Justin Allgaier.

MORE: Creed makes case as title contender

Creed admitted that his departure wasn’t necessarily something he sought out. “I have zero complaints, and I wouldn’t say it was my first choice to move on,” Creed said, “but unfortunately, business has to make sense and that overrules results and performance on track sometimes.”

Creed is an eight-time winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and he was crowned as the tour’s champion in 2020. The California native also won the 2018 title in the ARCA Menards Series as part of a four-win season.

Posted on October 2, 2026October 6, 2026 by Staff Report

Charlotte Motor Speedway will host a Celebration of Life for Kyle Busch on Friday, Oct. 9.

The ceremony will take place at the start/finish line of the 1.5-mile track in Concord, North Carolina, following the conclusion of the Craftsman Truck Series Chase race presented by Mobil 1 and will be televised on FS1.

The ceremony will be free for fans to attend at the track. Fans who bought tickets for the Truck Series race will also be welcome to stay and move toward the start/finish line for the Celebration of Life as the NASCAR community celebrates the late Busch and his legacy through stories, memories, iconic moments and the impact he made on the sport that epitomized the nickname “Rowdy.”

Busch’s widow, Samantha, will be onstage to remember her husband.

A handful of NASCAR drivers and personalities will also participate in the Celebration of Life, including NASCAR on FOX play-by-play announcer Mike Joy, Joe Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson, Daniel Suárez, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon, who will all share memories of Busch and what his legacy means to them.

Busch drove for Gibbs in the No. 18 Toyota from 2008-2022, earning two Cup Series championships and 56 race wins in NASCAR’s premier series.

Bell, Gragson and Suárez all drove for Busch’s former Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. Bell won the Truck Series championship for KBM in 2017.

Larson competed against Busch in both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Cup Series over the last decade. Busch gave the “Tiny Kyle” nickname to Larson, and Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson donned the moniker above the door of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that had a throwback paint scheme to Busch’s time at Hendrick from 2005-2007.

Larson and Busch dueled in one of NASCAR’s greatest finishes in 2018 at Chicagoland Speedway when they made contact multiple times on the final lap with “Rowdy” ultimately taking the checkered flag.

Dillon was Busch’s teammate at Richard Childress Racing from 2023 until Busch’s sudden passing on May 21.

During the ceremony, 10 of Busch’s most iconic race cars will be on display and a drone show will take place at the end of the ceremony.