LAS VEGAS — For the second straight playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell will start from the pole position.
But the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team is making one notable pivot this season: selecting the sixth stall on pit road rather than pit stall number one.
Almost without fail, the polesitter selects the first pit stall — the box nearest pit exit toward Turn 1. That box provides the shortest distance to the scoring line to determine the running order exiting pit road under caution. But each of the last three NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas has been won by the second-place starter — William Byron in the spring of 2023 and Kyle Larson in each of the past two Vegas trips — both of whom selected the sixth stall instead.
Bell finished second in the October 2023 duel between himself and Larson. He attributed much of that to the race’s final pit stop after a Lap 217 caution. Bell led 61 laps that afternoon and headed the field at the time of the yellow, but ultimately lost two positions on the final stop while Larson exited with the lead. That experience was quickly added to the notebook of Bell and crew chief Adam Stevens.
“In all reality, I think that race came down to that pit stop,” Bell said Saturday. “And Adam and I actually talked about what we were going to do if we were in this position to win the pole and what pit stall we were going to choose. You know, last year I had that number one pit stall and I couldn’t quite accelerate out of it, and I lost a couple positions in the drag race to the camera that last pit stop. So I think if a couple things go differently at the end of that race, the outcome might have been a little bit different.”
But of all pit stalls, what makes the sixth pit stall so attractive for crew chiefs aside from its recent success? The box is the next-closest to pit exit with an opening in front of it, so no team will pit directly in front of the No. 20 Toyota.
“We’ve had the pole here a few times and chose pit stall one and didn’t feel like it really had the grip to compete off pit road,” Stevens told NASCAR.com Sunday morning. “The other thing is, the camera is a little bit further away from the end of that pit stall than it is at a lot of tracks, so the inherent advantage is a little bit smaller. I’ve just lived it enough times that I was ready to do something different.”
What seem like small details like where a driver pits may prove hugely impactful to the outcome of Sunday’s race.
“They’re important every week,” Stevens said. “It’s not like we just started discussing pit-stall selection because it was the playoffs, right? It gets a couple hours of my attention every single week. Just, this one is a little bit quirky. They’re all quirks; they all have their quirks — maybe not for the polesitter, but this one does in our mind. So it was a situation that we’ve been in before and felt like we could do better with a different stall so here we are.”
The last three Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway have been dominated by Hendrick Motorsports. Kyle Larson and William Byron have combined to sweep the last nine stages at the 1.5-mile track. While those two drivers are surely threats for the win, Toyota picked up the pace this weekend. Christopher Bell won the pole and Tyler Reddick looks to have the car to beat. All four of those drivers should be available in your lineup.
NEXT IN LINE: Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch
RISING: The only driver that has moved into my lineup as a garage pick is Hamlin. Entering the weekend, I was on the brink of slotting Hamlin in, knowing what the No. 11 team is capable of at the tracks that make up the Round of 8. Hamlin had a decent practice session, ranking seventh on 10-lap averages and qualifying fourth.
This is almost the worst-case scenario in figuring out whether Truex should be in your lineup or not. The Toyotas are fast this weekend and Truex was the best non-playoff driver in practice, slotting in second in single-lap speed and had the best 10-lap average of all drivers. The 2017 Cup champion has 13 top-10 finishes in the last 14 Vegas races, including a pair of victories. The playoff drivers came to play, so I’m keeping the No. 19 car off my lineup, but Truex has moved up the pecking order.
FALLING: After completing just one lap that wasn’t up to full swing in practice, Ryan Blaney had a puncture in his left-rear tire that caused the No. 12 Ford to spin into the outside wall. The team immediately unloaded the backup car and Blaney will have to start from the rear of the field on Sunday. Team Penske struggled across the board, with Joey Logano being the team’s best in class at 30th. The No. 22 team did muscle its way to a top-10 qualifying position.
In order to continue padding his record-winning streak to 20 straight seasons, Busch is running out of races to complete that mission. With a pair of intermediate tracks on the horizon, he thought this weekend or Homestead next week would be his best chance. However, Busch was middle-of-the-road in both practice and qualifying and will start Sunday’s race from 20th position.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Kyle Larson vs. Christopher Bell: Historically, this would seem as though it isn’t as tough as it is. Bell won his third pole of the season and his third pole at Las Vegas. Larson dipped to fifth in qualifying but paced better than Bell in practice. After scoring the pole, Bell said he was comfortable with his No. 20 Toyota in practice and feels like it’s capable of contending for the win. I’m sticking with Larson, though, but it will come down to execution.
Denny Hamlin vs. William Byron: Another tough one between Hamlin and Byron where it could be considered a true tossup. Hamlin has been vocal about it taking him well into the race at Vegas to find a rhythm. Byron has been a contender in multiple Las Vegas races, including a triumph in the 2023 spring race. I’m going to stick with my gut and keep Byron because the No. 24 team has been on a roll over the last month.
Tyler Reddick vs. Ryan Blaney: Reddick has been the fastest guy in Nevada this weekend, pacing the field in practice and following that up in the opening round of qualifying with the fastest lap of the day. With Blaney’s practice incident, the No. 12 team will be coming, trying to find valuable track position. Reddick has the speed capable of winning and it’s unknown what Blaney will have to work with on Sunday before the green flag. The safe choice is the No. 45 Toyota.
Chase Elliott vs. Joey Logano: Seeing Logano buried in 30th on single-lap speed in practice is a tad concerning. Elliott was a touch better in 20th, but qualified worse than the No. 22 car. Vegas has been a venue where the No. 9 team has lacked pace, with six of his last eight finishes being outside the top 10. Sticking with Logano, though not confident in that choice.
LAS VEGAS — Justin Allgaier’s top-five finish Saturday was his first in a long time. Chandler Smith’s was par for the course in recent weeks.
Ultimately, the duo left Las Vegas Motor Speedway both ahead of the provisional elimination line in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with only two races separating them from a shot at the 2024 championship.
Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, took the checkered flag third to collect his first top five since winning at Michigan International Speedway in August. The veteran led 42 laps and was a threat most of the afternoon — a much-needed turnaround after finishing 17th or worse in five of the past six races. But there was still a sting in his voice as he watched AJ Allmendinger clinch his spot into the Championship 4 with a Vegas victory.
“Proud of the team, proud of the effort,” Allgaier said. “I mean, to rebound after the six weeks we’ve had or whatever and to come here and to have the day like we had. We executed all day. We did all the right things, and ultimately we’ll walk out of here with a solid finish. Good points day. Just wish I was standing over there in Victory Lane.”
No one scored more stage points Saturday than Allgaier, who overcame adversity in the final stage to avoid overheating his engine when the grille of his Chevrolet was covered by debris. A decision by crew chief Jim Pohlman in Stage 1 also brought Allgaier to pit road with just a handful of laps remaining in the opening stanza, setting Allgaier to restart 16th. In three laps, Allgaier stormed to second to collect nine stage points before winning Stage 2.
Still, second in points with a 32-point advantage to the elimination line isn’t quite comfortable enough yet for the 38-year-old racer.
“Until I have about 80 points going into the next round, I’m not going to be satisfied,” Allgaier said. “This team has worked really hard, and we gave a lot of points away over those six weeks that we were really bad. And I’m proud of the effort. I’m proud of the drive we had today. I’m proud of all the things we did right. I’m excited for Homestead because I think some of the things we’ve been working on, obviously, we feel like (at) Homestead will be a big benefit.”
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
Smith, driver of the No. 81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, held strong for a fourth-place finish, a remarkable seventh consecutive top-five run for the second-year driver. But a lack of stage points in the first stage leaves the 22-year-old fourth in the playoff standings, just eight points above the provisional divider.
“Definitely a mixed bag of emotions,” Smith said. “Start of the day was very rough. We weren’t great. Was able to come in Stage 1 and get it drivable, and then we just progressively made it a little bit better all day. But we were never where we needed to be. We weren’t even close to where we were in the spring race balance-wise or speed-wise. So got a little work to do, but we came away with another top-five finish. That’s good. So, yeah, I can’t complain too much.”
A caution at Lap 195 for Sammy Smith’s stalled No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet sent the race to overtime with Chandler Smith slotted fourth. Race leader Allmendinger took the inside lane of the front row with Ryan Sieg to his right. Smith placed his Toyota in the outside lane for the restart with all eyes set on surging Sieg to the lead. A Sieg win would have prevented either Allmendinger or Allgaier from locking into the title round at Phoenix.
“It was my best interest to push the 28 (Sieg) out to the lead honestly, so that’s what the goal was,” Smith said. “I knew we weren’t capable of winning the race. The only way we were is if I was able to pull something out of the hat, and my launch was horrible. So once we got out the restart zone and my launch wasn’t that great, all my interest was, ‘I’ve got to get the 28 back at least clear the 7 (Allgaier) so we can go after the 16. So we definitely maximized our day.”
Allmendinger, on the other hand, will have far less stress in the next two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway with all eyes set on Phoenix. That isn’t the case yet for Allgaier or Smith.
“AJ and the 16 team did a great job,” Allgaier said. “I mean, they haven’t really had that kind of speed all year, and to come out here and to execute like they did, that’s a statement. So we’re gonna have to be mindful of that moving forward. And you know, hopefully we can race others around us and keep digging on the points. It’d be nice to win Homestead and lock yourself in and don’t have to worry about it.”
LAS VEGAS – It was the first NASCAR Xfinity Series trophy of the season for AJ Allmendinger but the timing was on point, his Playoff win in Saturday’s Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway punching his ticket into next month’s season-finale championship race.
The 42-year-old Californian held off a hard-charging Ryan Sieg by a mere 0.156 seconds to claim his 18th career win – leading a race-best 102 of the 201 laps in his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Allmendinger had to outrun and out-negotiate Sieg in the closing laps, ultimately getting the best of the field on a final restart at the 1.5-miler with two laps remaining.
An exuberant Allmendinger – who is moving to the NASCAR Cup Series next year – climbed out of his Chevrolet, raising his arms to urge the crowd to cheer and shouting congratulations to his crew and his team owner Matt Kaulig, whose birthday was Saturday.
“I absolutely love these guys and girls at Kaulig Racing, it’s been such up-and-down but what I love about them is we stick together, we keep fighting,’’ Allmendinger said before turning toward his team and shouting, “Happy birthday, Matt Kaulig. The boss’s birthday. I told you I was getting you a trophy. I love you.’’
“What a way to get to Phoenix after the year we’ve had. Let’s go win a championship. LET’S GOOOOOO!”
For Sieg – who is still looking for his first win in 364 Xfinity Series starts – Saturday’s near-miss marked the fifth runner-up showing of his career and second in just the last three races. He challenged Allmendinger mightily in the final 30 laps – passing him with nine laps to go, only to get passed right back the next lap.
“We had the best car on the longer run and I needed a long run and we were getting there,’’ the RSS Racing driver Sieg said afterward. “I just overdrove [turn] one and lost some of our track position, but I was able to gain it back. Just sucks to finish second again with a great car. One of these days it’s going to go our way.’’
Allmendinger’s fellow playoff drivers, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith finished third and fourth. Parker Kligerman, who was eliminated from the playoffs just last week, finished fifth.
Allgaier had a strong No. 7 Chevrolet, winning Stage 2 and leading 42 laps – second-best to Allmendinger. His work didn’t get him the automatic Championship 4 berth but does put him atop the series standings, 32 points to the good with races at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week and then at the half-mile Martinsville, Va., track to formally decide which four drivers move to the Nov. 9 season finale to compete for the season trophy.
“He did a great job and hats off to those guys to get a Chevrolet in Victory Lane,’’ Allgaier said of Allmendinger. “Ryan [Sieg] did a great job, too. Really proud of this team. Yesterday in practice we weren’t as good as we wanted to be but they went to work and made good adjustments all day to put us in a good position.’’
“At the end there, just not able to get into dirty air like I wanted to,’’ he said, adding, “great start to the next round and obviously got some good stage points so we’ll move on to next week.’’
Richard Childress Racing rookie driver Jesse Love – a playoff contender – was sixth, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Riley Herbst and playoff driver Cole Custer. JGR’s Sheldon Creed – also eliminated from playoff contention last week – was 10th.
Playoff contenders RCR’s Austin Hill and JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer were 13th and 14th, respectively, with JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith getting involved in an early race accident and finishing 32nd – last among the playoff eight.
Reigning series champion Custer sits just behind Allgaier in the points standings – 16 points to the good with Chandler Smith in that fourth position, eight points above the provisional elimination line.
Hill (-8) is fifth followed by Love (-13), Mayer (-23) and Sammy Smith (-53).
The series moves to the Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-miler for next Saturday’s Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Mayer is the defending race winner.
Note: Inspection in the Xfinity Series garage was completed without major issue, confirming Allmendinger as the race winner. Three cars were found with one unsecured lug nut each in a post-race check, which should result in a monetary penalty for each crew chief next week. Teams with lug-nut infractions: the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, the No. 27 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet, the No. 38 RSS Racing Ford.
See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
LAS VEGAS — When Alex Bowman departed Charlotte Motor Speedway last Sunday, he thought he had secured a spot into the Round of 8. Then, the next few hours of his life transpired.
During post-race inspection, NASCAR officials found Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet to be too light, not meeting the minimum weight requirement. Two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano was awarded the final spot, clipping Bowman by 20 points.
Bowman had returned home before the disqualification. He received a phone call from his crew chief Blake Harris, who broke the news to his driver. Bowman then tossed his phone into his pool, knowing that it was about to erupt with alerts.
“The next thing I got was [Bob Pockrass’] tweet and I proceeded to throw my phone in the pool and my phone proceeded to call 9-1-1 and tell them I was in a car crash,” Bowman said on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “My Sunday night wasn’t very good. It couldn’t happen to anybody else that way. Just a part of life, moving on and focused on going fast this weekend.”
Because Bowman’s iPhone lost service at the bottom of his pool, local authorities didn’t show up when 9-1-1 was alarmed. However, he walked out to his garage on Monday morning and noticed one of the windows on his passenger car was cracked. Later in the week, his roof was leaking and that also needed to be repaired. The good news is his phone is still working.
“Just not a great 24 hours for me. That’s part of life,” Bowman added.
With how the last few seasons have gone for Bowman — getting injured in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in 2022 and breaking his back in a dirt sprint car in the spring of 2023 — he knows how to process rough situations. That prior experience has taught him how to navigate the good and the bad.
Bowman tries to look at the positives, seeing how his career has panned out.
“Most of the [expletive] things that have happened in my life have ended up working out for the better,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason. I just want to move on and continue being successful. We don’t have a shot at the championship anymore, but still time to do good things the rest of the season.”
The No. 48 team has turned up the wick since the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs began. Bowman tallied the most points of all drivers in the Round of 16 and continued that hot streak to the first race in the Round of 12 at Kansas Speedway. He was involved in the biggest Cup Series wreck in series history at Talladega Superspeedway and then was DQ’d at the Charlotte Roval to eliminate him from the playoffs.
Now Bowman will have to go through the Round of 8 wondering what if he had advanced. There are still checkered flags to be captured.
“It’s one of those that’s probably going to sting for a while and depending on how the rest of the season goes, it will probably determine how quickly I do or don’t get over it,” he stated. “Some things in life, you don’t get over but have to figure out how to move on with your life and keep digging from it.”
Christopher Bell laid down a lap at 185.344 mph to secure the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The top spot on the starting grid is Bell’s second straight in the Vegas playoff race and third overall at the 1.5- mile oval. Tyler Reddick was just 0.013 seconds shy of knocking off Bell and will start second ahead of Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.
Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney crashed early in Saturday’s practice due to a punctured left-rear tire, sending his No. 12 Team Penske Ford into a skid and the retaining SAFER barrier. Blaney was treated and released from the infield care center and will start Sunday’s event from the rear of the field.| Full Saturday recap
Big story line
Go all in to win big in Las Vegas
In 2021, Kyle Larson won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to open the Round of 8, then went on to win the championship. The next year, Joey Logano did the same thing. Larson nearly pulled it off again in 2023 but instead fell runner-up to Ryan Blaney in the championship race at Phoenix.
The moral of this story is simple: Win in Las Vegas, and your chances to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship three weeks later improve.
A victory with two weeks remaining in the Round of 8 allows the triumphant team to square all preparation on the title-deciding 312-lap finale at Phoenix Raceway rather than relying upon success at either Homestead-Miami Speedway or Martinsville Speedway to earn a spot into the Championship 4.
Crew chief Chris Gabehart’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team made the title round of the postseason in three consecutive seasons from 2019-21 with driver Denny Hamlin and the Round of 8 in each of the last two. The advantages of winning Sunday in Vegas are on his mind, but so too is not losing sight of the two races between Las Vegas and Phoenix.
“You still want to go perform well at Homestead and Martinsville because momentum is important,” Gabehart told NASCAR.com Saturday. “Momentum and confidence that comes from good performance is important. But it certainly allows you to know that the results of those two races don’t necessarily matter, so you can focus more on Phoenix and prep — not necessarily on the car-build side. I mean, I feel like that prep is going to be there either way, but it’s more about simulation and studying the weekend in a larger amount of detail.
“And then the psychological aspects are you don’t have to go through the extra two weeks of ‘will we or won’t we’ (advance). And while those aren’t quantifiable, that stress, if you will, is real. So getting to have a breath for a couple of weeks, psychological side and go to Phoenix rested and so to speak, is important.”
Jonathan Hassler led the No. 12 Team Penske group to the 2023 Cup Series championship with Blaney behind the wheel, scoring the Martinsville win to propel the team into the Championship 4. That experience provides more perspective one year later.
“I think it’s just making sure all the details are right for Phoenix,” Hassler said of winning at Vegas. “Honestly, each of the next two weeks, Homestead and Martinsville, if you’re not in, you’re not really focused on Phoenix because you’re not (sure you’re) going to be there at Phoenix. Obviously, being on the West Coast, it’s a day less to work on the cars anyway (at the shop) from what we’re used to, a day or more. So yeah, definitely, it just gives you every opportunity to make sure every detail is right.”
That isn’t lost on Logano either, after No. 22 was granted a second life in the Round of 8 following the disqualification of Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet after last week’s race at the Charlotte Roval.
“It really is one of the most important races of the year,” Logano said, “because whoever wins this race, if they’re in the top eight, they have a tremendous advantage going in, mainly because you’re focused 100% on that. You go for a couple weeks to Miami and Martinsville, and you’re like, whatever. You’re just thinking 100% about Phoenix.”
History tells us…
Hendrick teams will be the ones to beat. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman have combined to win five of the last seven Cup races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That includes three in a row, with Byron victorious in the spring of 2023 and Larson scoring wins in each of the last two Vegas events.
Chase Elliott has not had the same success in 14 prior starts in the Nevada desert. His runner-up finish in the 2021 fall race is one of only three top-five results Elliott has in Las Vegas, with finishes of 21st, 32nd and 12th in his last three starts.
“We’ve put a lot of emphasis and a lot of effort into trying to make this race track better, and me personally trying to do a better job driving here,” Elliott said Saturday. “And I thought we took a really, really nice step. So, you know, I hope that holds true. I hope we can, you know, take that another step this weekend.”
He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…
ROSS CHASTAIN. Chastain may not be a playoff contender, but that might be a blessing for those left in the championship hunt. The driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet has been a force to be reckoned with throughout the 2024 postseason, and his Kansas Speedway win on Sept. 29 would have propelled him to the Round of 8 if he had made the playoff field.
Now, Chastain returns to the site of his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win, where he has been incredible in recent trips to the Nevada desert, collecting four top-five finishes in his last five Vegas Cup starts with a combined 153 laps led. After a fourth-place effort at the 1.5-mile oval in March, the statistics argue a strong case for the trend to continue Sunday afternoon. | Las Vegas odds
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
Speed reads
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Bubble Watch: Which drivers need big points day on Sunday? | Photo gallery • A new voice: Diffey brings enthusiasm, energy, distinct voice to broadcast | Read article
• ‘The cream has risen’: Last year’s Championship 4 back in the Round of 8 a year later | Read article • ‘We have new life’: Justin Allgaier resets mindset after brutal Xfinity Round of 12 | Read article
• Projecting the future: Where Racing Insights predicts drivers will finish in Vegas | Read article • Inside the Race: How Reddick rebounded through Roval obstacles | Watch video
• Crew rosters: See the full roster for every Cup Series team competing this weekend | Read article • Power Rankings: Can Larson follow path of dominance to another title? | Photo gallery • Turning Point: The secret to making the Championship 4 from here | Read article
• NASCAR Betting: Which Round of 8 contender is favored at Las Vegas? | Photo gallery
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s playoff race | Read article • 36 for 36: Check out this week’s survivor pool picks | Read article
• Fantasy Fastlane: Rolling the dice with playoff drivers in Vegas | Photo gallery • Memorable moments: From Mark Martin’s win in the inaugural race to Caruth’s truck win | Photo gallery • NASCAR Classics: Rewind with three Vegas all-timers from the vault | Read article
• Paint Scheme Preview: Glitz and glamour under the Vegas lights | Pick your favorite
Fast facts ⏩
Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• Las Vegas winners started inside the top 10 in eight of the last nine races. • There have been six or more cautions in seven of the last nine Las Vegas races. • The pole winner has only gone on to win once in track history (Kyle Busch – 2009). Busch started the race in the rear after changing an engine.
LAS VEGAS — Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell earned the pole position for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) — his third pole of the year and third at the 1.5-mile Vegas high banks.
Saturday’s lap of 185.344 mph in the No. 20 JGR Toyota bested fellow NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs driver Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota by a slight .013 seconds. It marks the 13th career pole position for the 29-year-old Bell, however, a win on Sunday would be his first victory from the top starting spot on the grid.
The second-place starter has won the last three Las Vegas races. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch is the last driver to win at Vegas from pole position — in 2009.
“I feel really good, I feel really comfortable,” said Bell, who is currently ranked second to Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson in the championship standings as the three-race Round of 8 takes the green flag Sunday.
“In practice, I don’t think the pace showed what we had but inside the car I felt super, super comfortable so I know we’ll have a shot tomorrow. I’ve been in this position many a time and haven’t won the race. …We’ve come close several times and this is a great race track for me so I’m really optimistic. I think we’ve got the car to do it.”
Six of the eight playoff cars advanced to the final round of qualifying, including Bell’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, who will roll off fourth. Larson — who has won the last two races in Las Vegas — will start fifth, with Hendrick’s William Byron ninth and Team Penske’s Joey Logano in 10th.
Hendrick’s Alex Bowman, who was eliminated from playoff contention just last week, will start third.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was one of only two playoff drivers who did not make the final round of time trials and he will start his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 18th.
Of note, seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will start 29th in the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota — the eighth start of the season for the team’s owner-driver. New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen will start 34th in Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Chevrolet.
Reddick rolls to top of practice leaderboard
Tyler Reddick posted the fastest lap in NASCAR Cup Series practice Saturday afternoon, leading a top-three sweep by Toyota drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Reddick logged a best lap of 183.187 mph in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. He topped a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Martin Truex Jr. (182.723) and Ty Gibbs (182.519), who completed the top three.
Ross Chastain was fourth-fastest in the session, with rookie Carson Hocevar rounding out the fastest five.
Ryan Blaney crashed early in the Group B session, looping his No. 12 Team Penske Ford into the outside wall after a tire went flat entering the first turn. Blaney was treated and released from the infield care center, and the defending series champ will start at the rear of the field Sunday.
Blaney was forced to miss qualifying and will put a backup No. 12 Penske Ford on the grid, starting last in the 37-car field.
“It’ll be a big challenge for multiple reasons, but I feel confident,’’ said Blaney, whose 11.4 average finish at Las Vegas is third-best among the playoff drivers. “Hopefully, we can make our way through there. We’ve got all race. We might not be able to get stage points in the first one, but hopefully by the second one maybe we’ll get some stage points and then hopefully the speed is good enough to where we can run up towards the front. Yeah, it sets us back a little bit, but this group is ready to go and they know the new task. It’s gonna be a tall one tomorrow, but I’ve got faith we can make the most of it.”
LAS VEGAS – Since the NASCAR Cup Series elimination-style postseason was introduced in 2014, 16 different drivers have advanced to the Championship 4. Never have the same four drivers battled for the championship in the final race in consecutive years.
That could change in 2024.
For just the third time in 10 tries, all four Championship 4 drivers from the previous season advanced into the Round of 8. The other years that the Championship 4 drivers from the previous season advanced were 2019, when defending champion Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch snuck through to the Round of 8. More recently, it happened in 2021 with Logano, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin all reaching the final eight drivers.
This time around, defending Cup champion Ryan Blaney, who enters the Round of 8 with a pair of victories in 2024 has a shot to make it through. As does the series wins leader Kyle Larson, William Byron and Christopher Bell.
“I think the cream has risen to the top,” Bell said on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Everyone in this room and everyone that pays attention is going to be in for a treat because I’m sure these three races are going to be a war for the race wins and a war for that final transfer spot to make it to Phoenix.”
The Round of 8 consists of tracks — Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville — that are more familiar to Cup drivers. After two rounds that drivers considered wild cards, the majority of the best teams, statistically, advanced, including the top seven in the regular season standings. The outlier is Joey Logano, though he’s the only multi-time champion remaining.
Don’t expect last year’s Championship 4 drivers to be surprised that the quartet is reunited in this year’s Round of 8. Collectively, they have combined to win 14 of the opening 32 races in 2024 and know how strong each team is.
“I feel like at any point of the year, one of the four of us has been the dominant car,” Byron said. “I feel like the teams and drivers are really stout and those teams know how to get the most out of their weekends. We’ve had our ups and downs, and I feel like each team in that four have had our ups and downs.”
Three of last year’s Championship 4 pointed to limited turnover amongst their teams and rules remaining the same from year to year. While there has been parity in different winners and how close the field runs, the same teams step up to the plate come crunch time.
“It shows that a handful of teams are in the groove the last couple of years and shows the strength of them,” Blaney said.
Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler backed up his driver’s thoughts, believing that the best teams excel when the pressure ramps up.
“It definitely just highlights which guys are the best,” Hassler said. “I think in this format, throughout a lot of the year, it can be certainly misleading at times. Once guys get a win, I think at that point, they really start to try some different things and experiment. And some weeks they hit it, and some weeks they don’t. But you get to this point in the year and everybody’s bringing kind of what they know is the best and I think you see kind of the best groups rise to the top.”
Larson, the only driver to have multiple playoff wins this year, knows that it’s going to be an intriguing round. He enters Las Vegas with a 33-point buffer over the elimination line.
“It’s going to be an ultra-competitive round, just like every time the Round of 8 comes about,” Larson said. “It comes down to the final few laps at Martinsville, so this year will probably be no different.”
Blaney’s Round of 8 got off to a rough start in practice, when the No. 12 Ford spun after running a single lap.
Blaney had completed one lap in the 20-minute practice session, but a flat tire caused his No. 12 Team Penske Ford to spin and make an impact with the outside wall.
“I had no warning,” Blaney told his No. 12 crew through his in-car communications, comments that he reiterated after he was treated and released at the infield care center.
“I didn’t really feel anything odd or out of the normal, out of the ordinary,” Blaney said. “I figured, you know, a couple laps, the (air) pressures come up and you’ll be fine. Yeah, I didn’t feel anything down the front (straightaway) the lap that it blew into (turn) one, so it kind of caught me by surprise. But yeah, I didn’t feel anything like super out of place to make me think that it was going to be flat into one. So that’s one of those things that stinks and catches you off guard. No indication, just the worst part of the corner.”
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Blaney, the defending Cup Series champion, will start Sunday’s South Point 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) from the rear of the field and faces a four-point deficit to the elimination line in the Cup Series Playoffs.
“It’ll be a big challenge for multiple reasons,” Blaney said, “but I feel confident hopefully we can make our way through there and we’ve got all race. Might not be able to get stage points in the first one, but hopefully by the second one, maybe we’ll get some stage points, and then hopefully the speed’s good enough to where we could run up toward the front. So yeah, it sets us back a little bit, but this group is ready to go, and they know the new task, and that’s going to be a tall one tomorrow, but I’ve got faith we can make the most of it.”
Sunday’s 400-miler opens the three-race Round of 8 that will determine the final four drivers who will battle for the championship in the Nov. 10 finale at Phoenix Raceway.
