Posted on October 19, 2024October 19, 2024 by Holly Cain

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.’’

MORE: Weekend schedule

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.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Staff Report

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).

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Dustin Albino

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.

RELATED: Las Vegas weekend schedule

“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.”

Posted on October 19, 2024October 20, 2024 by Zach Sturniolo

South Point 400

(⏰ Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET | NBC | NBC Sports App | PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Track length: 1.5 miles
Race purse: $8,157,812
Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles
Stages: 80 | 165 | 267
—
Starting lineup: Christopher Bell storms to pole position | Read more
Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
Defending winner: Kyle Larson, October 2023

Key things to watch

Saturday sessions

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.

Posted on October 19, 2024October 19, 2024 by Holly Cain

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.

MORE: Practice results | Las Vegas weekend schedule

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.”

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Dustin Albino

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.

MORE: Las Vegas weekend schedule | At-track photos

“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.

RELATED: Blaney crashes in practice

Posted on October 19, 2024October 19, 2024 by Staff Report

Ryan Blaney found early trouble in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice, slamming into the Turn 1 retaining wall at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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.”

Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

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.

Posted on October 18, 2024October 18, 2024 by Dustin Albino

Justin Allgaier has been around for a time or two. He’s the only driver to qualify for all nine NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, dating back to the format’s inception in 2016.

With four races remaining in the 2024 season, one thing remains the same: There is still a goose egg in the championship column for the Illinois native, who has sole possession of 10th on the all-time series wins list, passing his team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. earlier this season.

“I’m going to keep doing this until I’m not able to do this anymore or I’m not asked to come back or where I can’t compete at a high level,” Allgaier said openly on Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “If that opportunity never presents itself, it’s not going to be the difference in me considering my career a success or not. I love what I do, I’m proud to be here and have the opportunities that I have and keep going forward.”

By all measures, Allgaier has had an extraordinary career. That has blossomed into a standout 2024 season, scoring 15 stage wins, more than double the amount of the next driver on the list (Chandler Smith, seven). He also leads the series in laps led at 663.

But Allgaier’s raw pace hasn’t translated to race wins. The No. 7 Chevrolet has visited Victory Lane just twice this season, with the most recent trip coming two months ago at Michigan International Speedway. He saw five playoff points evaporate from his grasp by giving up a 43-point lead in the regular-season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway.

That Bristol performance was the third race of a five-race stretch between Atlanta Motor Speedway and the second race in the Round of 12 at Talladega Superspeedway where Allgaier had three finishes of 25th or worse. It dropped him from being the championship favorite to having to scratch and claw his way through the Round of 12, entering last weekend’s Charlotte Roval event 10 points below the elimination line.

“To come to Vegas, I have to laugh because with the DNFs we’ve had and still be the points leader, to still have 15 stage wins, it’s pretty wild,” Allgaier admitted. “When I step back and look back at the year as a whole, I’m like, ‘How did we not win 10 races and absolutely be killing it right now?’ My team deserves that. As fast as cars we’ve brought to the race track every week, I look back at the mistakes that I’ve made and think, ‘Holy cow, we have given away some points this year.

“These last two months have given me a lot of time to reflect and focus on what is important. This reset is like icing on the cake. We went into Charlotte with a different mentality, and I think that we executed. We come here to Vegas, and as long as we execute, it’s going to be tough to beat the 7 team.”

The No. 7 team’s strategy for the Roval was to chase stage points. With fellow playoff drivers Riley Herbst and Sheldon Creed having their own issues, the key was to keep all four tires on the pavement around a challenging 17-turn course.

“Charlotte was a great example of execution,” Allgaier said. “We got to where we needed to get to. We got to the end of the race and did what we needed to do points-wise and Jim [Pohlman, crew chief] told me to just sit where you’re at. Don’t try to race anybody. Just don’t wreck. Don’t go off the race track, don’t make mistakes.”

When the checkered flag waved, Allgaier was seventh on the playoff grid, with a four-point buffer over Shane van Gisbergen, who was the first driver eliminated.

The No. 7 team lives by the moniker of pressure being a privilege. That feeling will only intensify by advancing to the Round of 8 and resetting as the points leader with an 18-point advantage over the elimination line entering the Round of 8.

By escaping a tumultuous Round of 12, it’s realistic to believe this is Allgaier’s best shot at winning the championship. Between the three tracks in the Round of 8 – Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville – Allgaier has one win in 43 starts. Homestead is among the tracks he’s faced the most challenges throughout his career, having yet to score a top-five finish in 15 starts. He has defined consistency at Vegas and Martinsville, tallying 24 top-10 finishes in 28 total starts.

“We have new life,” Allgaier said. “We put ourselves in this spot. You don’t ever know the peaks without having the valleys. I think sometimes, if everything is flat and smooth and you don’t enjoy those big moments, you have to get down in those deep valleys and dig through it. I think that’s where we’re at. If we were to come out of this with a championship, it wouldn’t be easy.”

Allgaier has qualified for the Championship 4 in six years, earning a best finish of second in the championship battle (2020, 2023).

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Staff Report

Weekly Race Roster

Posted on October 18, 2024October 25, 2024 by Steve Luvender

NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name.

Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess.

We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?

Current Standings:

Steve Luvender: 826
Dustin Albino: -102
r/NASCAR Community: -130
Cameron Richardson: -140

Race 33 of 36: Las Vegas

It was a story of feast or famine last week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval for our pickers. A disappointing six-point day for Ty Gibbs after a mechanical issue left the NASCAR subreddit earning just six points, while Dustin Albino’s pick of Justin Haley netted 11 points. On the other side of the coin, AJ Allmendinger netted 44 points for Steve Luvender, extending his points lead, while Cameron Richardson’s big 48-point day from Chase Elliott helped heat up the battle for third place.

Just four races remain in 2024, starting with Sunday’s Round of 8 opener from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With available options scarce, how will our pickers strategize the rest of their seasons?

Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 45, Tyler Reddick

Dustin’s pick last week: No. 7, Justin Haley (11 points)

Total season points: 724 (second place)

Dustin: The last two weeks have been brutal. For the first time all season, I’m triple-digit points off the lead with four races remaining. Not ideal. But with nothing to lose, I might as well throw my own “Hail Melon” and play a different strategy. If I wanted to stay the course, I’d pick Kyle Larson this weekend, who has back-to-back victories in Sin City. But he’s going to be the popular pick, so I’ll take Tyler Reddick. The No. 45 Toyota was best in class behind the No. 5 car in the spring race at Vegas and was chasing down Larson in the waning laps. Reddick has five top-10 finishes in the last six trips to Las Vegas and desperately needs to find his playoff stride soon.

NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 5, Kyle Larson

Steve’s pick last week: No. 16, AJ Allmendinger (44 points)

Total season points: 826 (first place)

Steve: It’s time. After waiting until Race 33, I’m finally going with the No. 5. Kyle Larson won the last two Las Vegas races and led 27 or more laps in six of his seven races at the track when driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Coming off his sixth win of the season last week at the Charlotte Roval, he has momentum on his side, too. Another consideration: At least one driver from the Round of 8 will advance to the Championship 4 on points, regardless of who wins the next three races. I suspect the No. 5 team and others will keep this in mind to help rack up stage markers.

NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 20, Christopher Bell

Cameron’s pick last week: No. 9, Chase Elliott (48 points)

Total season points: 686 (fourth place)

Cameron: We’re alive! (For second place, that is.) Going to go with the late-season juggernaut that is Christopher Bell. He’s won one race in the semifinal round in both 2022 and 2023 to make the Championship 4 the last two seasons and scored top 10s in all three Round of 8 events last year. Bell’s had love-hate moments with Vegas so far in his career but came up just short of Kyle Larson in a thrilling finish in the Vegas playoff race in 2023.

r/NASCAR Community: No. 19, Martin Truex Jr.

r/NASCAR’s pick last week: No. 54, Ty Gibbs (6 points)

Total season points: 696 (third place)

It’s back-to-back Joe Gibbs Racing picks for the NASCAR subreddit. This time, the community voted to use Martin Truex Jr., who’s making his final start at Las Vegas as a full-time driver.

Here’s what Redditors had to say this week in the voting thread:

u/FridgusDomin8or: “Truex I think has to be our pick this week even though this team has less than no momentum currently. Vegas has been Truex’s best track in the Next Gen era, he hasn’t finished worse than 9th here over the last 5 races here I believe. I think we have to save Reddick for Homestead, use Preece at Martinsville, and then Blaney at Phoenix (and hope he doesn’t make the Championship 4 since the final 4 drivers do not earn stage points)”

u/Joey_Logano (no relation): “I’d say Truex is the pick here, Reddick at Homestead, my beloved Preece at Martinsville and Blaney at Phoenix. Truex has won at Las Vegas before and is simply are best remaining pick left this late in the season.”

u/Extreme-Bite-9123: “Truex here for sure. Firstly because we have everyone else being used somewhere, but also because this is his statistical best track”

u/Dont_hate_the_8: “Yes. I need say no more.”

Check back next week to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.

And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!