Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LAS VEGAS — Ross Chastain fell one spot short of punching his ticket to the Championship 4 for the first time in his young NASCAR Cup Series career.

Instead, a runner-up effort at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the opening race of the Round of 8 left the Trackhouse Racing driver second in points with two contests ahead of the title race after Joey Logano passed him with three laps to go.

MORE: Official results | At-track photos

Sitting next in line to a Championship 4 advancement, it was an afternoon of mixed emotions for the two-time 2022 winner.

“It’s a really, really, really good kind of hurt, but it hurts,” Chastain said.

Chastain pounced to the lead after a restart with 16 laps to go, diving to the inside of Turn 3 to make a three-wide pass on Chase Briscoe and Justin Haley for the advantage. But restarting eighth with fresher tires was Logano, who made a charge of his own after pitting for fresh tires with 20 laps to go.

Chastain fought valiantly to defend his potential title ticket but ultimately couldn’t fend off Logano any more than he did.

“I’m sure I can look back and find little things [to do differently],” Chastain said. “The obvious one is when he got inside of me in three and four, right? If I just don’t commit to the top on entry, and I just thought I could rip the top and stay in front of him one more time. He had a lot of grip.”

He also had plenty of praise for Logano, who clinched his fifth Championship 4 berth in the last nine seasons.

“I hope I’m racing that guy for wins in the Cup Series for a long time to come,” Chastain said. “And I think it’s gonna be a fun career if that’s the case.”

Logano noted the shared respect between the two competitors, who has had his fair share of run-ins with competitors as he becomes a regular frontrunner in the top level of stock-car racing.

“Ross and I have a great relationship,” Logano said. “I’ve talked to him a lot and we have a mutual understanding of how each other races, and honestly we work together pretty well on the racetrack. And I knew coming down to the end, I had a tire advantage. And I knew what was on the line, right? It’s a championship — a possible championship on the line right now. And I thought, ‘boy, he’s gonna be willing to do a lot to get in.'”

Chastain’s regular season was dotted with bent fenders and hurt feelings but he eventually began racing more conservatively as the playoffs neared. Crew chief Phil Surgen saw his driver’s aggression — if more calculated — was back in a big way Sunday in Sin City.

“We’ve seen it in previous races and this is the time to use it,” Surgen told NASCAR.com. “Going for the lead, late-race restart, that’s when the gloves are off and he drove a great race today. There was you know a couple-lap older tires [on his car], not a lot he could do. Really proud of him today. He had a great race.”

In addition to his second-place finish, Chastain netted seven stage points courtesy of a fourth-place finish in Stage 2. With Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway remaining as the barrier to a potential title run, the Las Vegas result was ultimately one Trackhouse can leave smiling about.

“It’s a really good day,” Surgen said. “That’s the kind of day we needed. And unfortunately when you have an opportunity to win and it comes down to two and a half laps at the end, it’s a stinger but really proud of this group.”

NASCAR hasn’t raced at Homestead since February 2021, where Chastain finished 17th for Chip Ganassi Racing, but he has a fifth-place finish at Martinsville earlier this season to reflect on.

No matter what happens now, Surgen stressed the focus has to remain on the task at hand.

“I think the mentality is to understand where you’re at, understand the information you have, look ahead at the next race and forget about all the outside pressure,” said Surgen, who’s also navigating his first run through the Round of 8. “Just maximize the day. It’s no penalties. It’s being really clean. It’s the good pit stops, fast cars and just optimize what you have that day and don’t let those outside influences affect your decisions.

“We’re here because we’ve been good all season. We’ve been consistent. We’ve been fast and we can’t let any of that go.”

The Round of 8 continues at Homestead-Miami on Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS — Team Penske’s Joey Logano became the first driver to secure a position in the Championship 4 with a shot at the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship thanks to a valiant surge to victory in the final laps of Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Logano, on fresh Goodyear tires, rallied back through the field following a late race pit stop, passing Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain for the lead with three laps remaining and driving off to his third win at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas high banks – a slight 0.817-second ahead of fellow playoff driver Chastain, who led a race-best 68 of the 267 laps on the afternoon.

“Let’s go get a championship, baby,’’ the 2018 series champion Logano screamed into his team radio after taking the checkered flag in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

That pit stop for Logano with 26 laps remaining, dropped him from a top-10 position on track, but the fresh tires were the difference in making up ground on the leaders who did not pit.

And Logano went forward quickly.

“What a great car, the Penske cars were all fast today,” said the 32-year-old Logano, who now has three wins in 2022 and 30 in his 15-year career in NASCAR’s top series.

“Oh man, all you want to do is get to the Championship 4 before the season starts and race for the championship and we’ve got the team to do it. I don’t see why we can’t win it at this point. Things are looking really good for us.

“A lot of adversity we fought though in the last 50 laps or so. I thought we were going to win then kinda fell out, got some tires and racing Ross was fun. He did a good job air-blocking me and I was just trying to be patient but eventually, I was like, ‘I’ve got to go here.’ “

It was a wild action-packed day at the Las Vegas oval with the eight playoff drivers experiencing both sides of emotion. Five of them were among the 11 race leaders at various points in the afternoon. And four finished in the top five.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch, who had some pit road issues, finished third, followed by a pair of playoff drivers: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who rounded out the top five. It was an especially impressive performance for Hamlin, who started 31st.

Hendrick Motorsports playoff teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott had frustrating and disappointing days, finishing 13th and 21st, respectively. Logano’s Penske teammate Ryan Blaney – who won Stage 2 and led 39 laps – finished 28th after hitting the wall late in the race. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell was 34th after being innocently collected in an early-race accident.

“When you perform that poorly you get poor results, that’s how it works,’’ the regular season champion Elliott said of his day.

Elliott went into this three-race round leading the standings and after Vegas dropped to third in the championship, 17 points above the cutoff line. Logano earned the automatic advancement Sunday and Chastain is now in second place, 18 points up.

Hamlin’s top five was good enough to move him into that important fourth place in the championship – six points up on Byron. The 4 “Bs” are now all in the bottom half of the playoff points. Briscoe is nine points behind Hamlin, Blaney 11 back and Bell is 23 points off the pace.

A graphic of the NASCAR Playoffs Grid following Las Vegas

One of the most talked about incidents in the race involved a pair of non-championship-eligible drivers. Shortly after the re-start following Stage 1, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace – who won Stage 1 – were racing alongside one another toward the front of the field. On lap 94, Larson’s No. 5 Chevy got loose and moved up the track, forcing Wallace’s car into the outside wall.

Wallace’s No. 45 Toyota bounced down off the wall and then he drove into Larson’s car, spinning both – with playoff driver Bell getting tagged by Larson’s spinning Chevy in the aftermath. After Wallace and Larson’s cars came to rest in the infield, Wallace took his helmet off and marched toward Larson, who was just getting out of his car.

The two exchanged words and Wallace pushed Larson multiple times before walking away.

MORE: Wallace confronts Larson

“You get shoved into the fence deliberately like he [Larson] did trying to force me to lift, the steering was gone,’’ Wallace said when asked if he intentionally spun Larson. “He just happened to be there.

“Hate it for our team. Super fast car. Larson wanted to make a three-wide dive bomb but never cleared me and I don’t lift. I know I’m kinda new running at the front, but I don’t lift, was never in a spot to lift and he never lifted either. Now we’re junk. Just piss poor move on his execution.

“He knows what he did was wrong. He never cleared me and just hate it for my team.’’

For his part, Larson said he realized he got into Wallace and wasn’t entirely surprised by Wallace’s aggression afterward. However, Larson said, he didn’t hit Wallace intentionally.

“I knew he was going to retaliate,’’ Larson said. “He had reason to be mad but his race wasn’t over until he retaliated. It is what it is. Just aggression turned into frustration and he retaliated.”

“I know he’s probably still upset but I’m sure with everything going on he’ll know he made a mistake in the retaliation part and I’m sure he’ll think twice about it next time,’’ Larson added. “I saw him walking over [toward me] so I figured he’d do something. He had every right to be upset and I’d rather him do that [push me] than tear up our cars in a dangerous manner.’’

LISTEN: Larson shares his side of the story

While the incident ended Wallace and Larson’s days, it also ruined the afternoon for Bell, who won an elimination race just last week to advance to the Round of 8. His Joe Gibbs Racing team was unable to repair his No. 20 Toyota and he pulled off track, finishing 34th in the 36-car field – worst among the eight playoff drivers.

Playoff action resumes next weekend with Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). William Byron won the 2021 Homestead race, which was held in February last year.

NOTE: Inspection is complete in the Cup Series garage with no issues, confirming Logano as the race winner. The Nos. 23 and 99 will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection.

Posted on by Staff Report

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway shook up the standings and confirmed the first of the drivers who are slated to compete in the Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in November.

WINNER

Joey Logano. It came down to the final five laps after the No. 22 team erased a late pit-road miscue with a masterful strategy call by crew chief Paul Wolfe. Logano rocketed past Ross Chastain in the closing laps, securing the race win and punching his ticket to the Championship 4 in Phoenix. The win was Logano’s 30th in his Cup Series career and third of the 2022 season. Logano is looking to add to his 2018 series title.

RELATED: Official results | Photos from Las Vegas

WHO’S HOT?

Ross Chastain. If it wasn’t for a superhuman effort by Logano, Sunday’s race at Las Vegas was Chastain’s. Chastain led a race-high 68 laps on the afternoon before his lead shrunk and was surrendered in the closing laps. But time and time again, Chastain and the No. 1 team proved that they have the speed to win. Aside from the lone playoff road course in Charlotte, Chastain has yet to finish outside the top 13 since the Round of 16 opener at Darlington Raceway. If the team can keep up this pace, it will certainly be one of the title contenders in Phoenix.

WHO’S NOT?

Christopher Bell. Bell was the unfortunate recipient of contact from Kyle Larson after Bubba Wallace sent the No. 5 driver sliding into the wall in Stage 2. After his miraculous walk-off win at the Charlotte Roval, Bell once again finds himself sitting far below the elimination line with just two races remaining before the Championship 4. Bell was the only playoff driver to record a DNF in Vegas and slips to last in the playoff standings. Fortunately for the No. 20 team, the group has two chances to make magic happen and have shown race-winning speed throughout the playoffs.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank Driver Cutoff
1. Joey Logano WIN
2. Ross Chastain +18
3. Chase Elliott +17
4. Denny Hamlin +6
——– ELIMINATION LINE ———-
5. William Byron -6
6. Chase Briscoe -9
7. Ryan Blaney -11
8. Christopher Bell -23

NEXT RACE

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday with the Dixie Vodka 400 at 2:30 p.m. ET (NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). After serving as the site of the Cup Series Championship for years before the series shifted to Phoenix, the highly favored Miami track returns to the playoffs.

WHO IT FAVORS

Denny Hamlin. Hamlin has earned an incredible five Busch Light Pole Awards at Homestead, translating into one win (2020) and three top-10 finishes. In total, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a pair of wins and a 10.0 average finish, only trailing Chase Elliott among remaining title contenders. At the track, he has the third most laps led all-time and led a career-best 137 in his 2020 victory. Looking to secure his first Cup Series championship, this track lines up well for Hamlin to strengthen his push to Phoenix.

WHO IT HURTS

Ryan Blaney. Blaney is putting together his strongest championship bid yet, but to advance he will need to overcome his historic struggles at Homestead. In seven starts at the Miami track, Blaney has just one top 10 and three finishes of 26th or worse, including 29th place in 2021. His Final Stage incident at Las Vegas puts even more pressure on the team to buck this trend and put together one of their best performances here. His 18.9 average finish at Homestead-Miami ranks last among remaining playoff drivers with four starts or more.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find USA Network | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App | Watch on USA Network | Get the NBC Sports App | Watch on Peacock | FloRacing | How to watch NASCAR International

Monday, Oct. 17
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock
11 p.m., Race for the Championship, The Cutoff (re-air), USA Network

Tuesday, Oct. 18
6 pm., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, Oct. 19
2 p.m., NASCAR’s Greatest Races: 1999 Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (re-air), FS2
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Homestead (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Homestead (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock
7:15 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, Oct. 20
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
10 p.m., Race for the Championship, Playoff Pitfalls, USA Network

Friday, Oct. 21
1:01 a.m., Race for the Championship, Playoff Pitfalls (re-air), USA Network
5 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West at the Las Vegas Bullring (re-air), USA Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series practice and qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway, USA Network

Saturday, Oct. 22

11 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Homestead (re-air), FS1
12 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NCWTS at Homestead, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Countdown to Green: Xfinity Series, USA Network
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, USA Network
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series post-race show, USA Network

On MRN:
10 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Sunday, Oct. 23
4 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (re-air), FS2
12 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Homestead, FS1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Countdown to Green: Cup Series, NBC
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, NBC
11 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Baptist Health 2o0 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (re-air), FS2

On MRN:
1:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LAS VEGAS — Christopher Bell was riding high after a walk-off win at the Charlotte Roval launched him into the Round of 8.

How quickly things change.

Bell was an innocent bystander collected in a fracas between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the round-opening race on Sunday. Contact to his left-rear quarter panel sent the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spinning hard into the outside wall, ending his day prematurely and relegating him to a 34th-place finish.

MORE: Official results | At-track photos

Bell, who admitted his attitude heading to the Roval was down in the dumps, is not leaving Vegas much more optimistic about his hopes to advance to the Championship 4 with two races remaining in the round.

“It’s disappointing because our performance is capable of racing for the championship, and it doesn’t appear that we’re going to get to,” Bell said. “Just disappointing.”

That it was the result of what appeared to be intentional contact directly ahead of him only soured Bell’s perspective.

“Just the 23, Bubba [Wallace] got run into the wall and obviously, retaliation on his side,” Bell said. “We got the short end of the stick.”

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have been a roller coaster for Bell and Co. His first round was immaculate, netting a trio of top-five finishes. The second was miserable — a crash at Texas Motor Speedway and a solo spin at Talladega Superspeedway left Bell 45 points beneath the elimination line. A clutch win in Charlotte rallied the team only to be disheartened again in Vegas.

“I don’t know man, this one’s really tough, you know?” crew chief Adam Stevens said. “That first round went exactly like you drew it up, kind of showed the speed we had. And hell if anything, we didn’t even have good luck in that first round. The second round went horrible and then you know had that good luck at the end. We were gonna run sixth, seventh, eighth. That’s all the speed we brought to the race track and got that late caution and took advantage of it and stayed alive.

“And I think we had a car capable of racing for the win [at Vegas]. Got behind on pit road on that stop and then got caught in somebody else’s wreck.”

The team initially tried to continue and repair the car, but the damage was too severe for Bell to make laps.

“It just mangled all the left rear suspension and it bent the toe link,” Stevens said. “And we tried to put a new toe link on it, but it bent the upper and the lower [control arms], which we’re not allowed to change anyway. And even if we were, we wouldn’t have had time. So we couldn’t get a toe link to get on it to even go out there and roll around half-throttle. And if we could have, we wouldn’t have been able to make minimum speed anyway. They hit pretty hard.”

The bright side for Bell on a miserable day is his No. 20 team has consistently had good speed, particularly at intermediate race tracks. Homestead-Miami Speedway sits next ahead of the short track of Martinsville Speedway, in what would be his last chance to clinch his spot in the championship round.

“The good thing is I feel better about winning one of those two races than I did winning the Roval,” Bell said. “We’ve just had really, really strong Camrys – really all year long. We will see if we can go pull another rabbit out of the hat.”

Posted on by Staff Report

During Stage 2 of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson wrecked down the frontstretch on Lap 94 after the two made contact off Turn 4. The No. 45 Toyota hit the wall and came back down the track, spinning Larson and himself and crashing into the outside wall.

“When you get shoved in the fence, deliberately like he [Kyle Larson] did, trying to force me to lift – the steering was gone, and he just so happened to be there,” Wallace said after the wreck. “I hate it for our team. We had a super-fast car – not on short-run speed, we were kind of falling back there and (Kyle) Larson wanted to make it a three-wide dive bomb.

“He never cleared me. I don’t lift. I know I’m kind of new to running up front, but I don’t lift. I wasn’t even in a spot to lift, he never lifted either and now we are junk.”

Larson admitted to making an aggressive move that led to the initial contact that caused the wreck.

“I got in low, got loose and chased it up a bit and he got up to my right front and got tight,” Larson said. “I knew he was going to retaliate. He had a reason to be mad but his race wasn’t over until he retaliated. Just aggression turned into frustration.”

Playoff driver Christopher Bell was also involved in the wreck. The No. 20 driver, who entered Sunday +3 above the elimination line, was clipped by Larson and slammed the wall, ending his day in 34th place.

RELATED: Wallace explains run-in | Larson: Think twice next time

Despite his day ending early, Bell said he still has confidence going into Homestead and Martinsville the next two weeks.

“The good thing is I feel better about winning one of those two races than I did winning the Roval,” Bell said. “We’ve just had really, really strong Camrys — really all year long. We will see if we can go pull another rabbit out of the hat.”

Before the incident, Wallace had led 29 laps and won Stage 1 after Kyle Busch spun with just three laps to go in the opening 80-lap segment.

Tempers boiled over after Wallace climbed out of his wrecked car, with the 23XI driver walking toward the 2021 Cup champ and engaging in a shoving match with Larson.

NASCAR stated that they will review the entire incident between Wallace and Larson this week but did not call Wallace to the hauler after the incident.

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

When you write as many articles as I do (#HumbleBrag), introductions can be all over the place.

In my case, they’re often very game specific, but sometimes I simply write about what’s going on in my life.

This weekend my wife and I are in Las Vegas for a late anniversary trip, and I know what many of you are thinking: “yawn.”

So, if you haven’t already, just skip to the bottom.

However! We will be in Vegas for NASCAR race weekend, which, as I’m sure you know, means we will be betting on Sunday’s South Point 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC).

After perusing the latest practice data and qualifying results, here is my favorite bet for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Las Vegas.

RELATED: Updated race-day odds

NASCAR Picks for Las Vegas

This bet has value for two very different reasons.

First off, Erik Jones was very fast in practice, posting the third-fastest five-lap average. He did struggle to a 22nd-place starting spot in qualifying, but he should have no trouble maneuvering to the front with a fast race car.

And perhaps more importantly is the value we can find on Jones scoring a top-10 finish today at Las Vegas by simply shopping for the best odds.

For example, Jones is -125 at BetMGM and +130 at DraftKings for a top 10.

However, FanDuel is offering a significantly better price, +210, for Jones to finish among the top 10 cars in Sunday’s South Point 400.

Is there reason to think that Jones will not be as fast this afternoon? Absolutely.

But getting such a big number on this compared to the rest of the market makes it a must-bet for me.

The bet: Jones +210 for a Top-10 Finish

Posted on by Dustin Albino

Intermediate race tracks haven’t been ideal for Ford in 2022. However, the manufacturer took up four of the top eight spots in qualifying for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM).

Tyler Reddick will start from the pole, with Austin Cindric leading the charge for the Blue Oval in second. Toyota, which has dominated recently on 1.5-mile tracks, has just two of the top 10 starting positions with a best effort of Christopher Bell in seventh.

RELATED: Starting lineup for Sunday | Set your Fantasy Live lineup

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Ryan Blaney
Starter 2: Ross Chastain
Starter 3: Christopher Bell
Starter 4: Joey Logano
Starter 5: William Byron
Garage pick: Bubba Wallace

NEXT IN LINE: Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric.

RISING: During Saturday’s qualifying session, Wallace noted that the car he has this weekend is the same one that dominated the final stint of the race at Kansas last month. With how strong that same No. 45 Toyota was at Kansas — leading a career-high 53 laps — it’s worth having him available to play on Sunday.

With how Ford has performed on intermediates this year, I shied away from putting any blue ovals in my lineup earlier in the week. That changed after Saturday. Blaney was the quickest car in practice on the one-lap and 10-lap average. Two-time Las Vegas winner, Logano, will start from fifth.

FALLING: Entering the weekend, Toyota was expected to dominate the race. And that still might be the case come the 400-mile event on Sunday. But it was a Saturday to forget, with Denny Hamlin starting from 31st position (his worst effort of the year on pavement), nearly one second off the pace. Martin Truex Jr. wasn’t much better in 27th after ranking 29th in practice.

As noted earlier in the week, Las Vegas hasn’t been Chase Elliott’s best track. In practice, the No. 9 car ranked 19th and qualified 20th. When asked about his car, he said it wasn’t terrible but needed to drive better. One of the trends for Elliott in the playoffs has been getting out of the hole after a hiccup in the opening race of the round. Starting in the middle of the pack doesn’t help his chances of bucking the trend on Sunday.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:  

Christopher Bell vs. Ryan Blaney: Earlier in the week, Bell would have been the easy choice. But with Blaney and Team Penske showing speed — all three of its cars start in the top five — I’ll give the ever-so-slight advantage to the No. 12 car. Practice is one thing and the race is another. Don’t be surprised if Bell, who was the best of the Toyota bunch, is in contention for the win.

Chase Elliott vs. Joey Logano: On paper, Logano holds every statistical advantage over Elliott at Las Vegas, and don’t expect that to change this weekend. Whenever Ford has shown speed in qualifying this year, it often performs well. Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports was a tick off, with just one of its drivers — William Byron — starting in the first six rows.

Denny Hamlin vs. Ross Chastain: Sticking with Chastain on Sunday, especially with how far off Hamlin’s car was on single-lap speed in qualifying. The No. 1 car ranked second in 10-lap average, while Hamlin never made a run of 10 straight laps. Chastain was confident before getting on track Saturday, believing his Trackhouse Racing team has enough speed to race its way into the Championship 4. Go with Chastain this weekend.

William Byron vs. Chase Briscoe: Unless Byron has trouble, expect the No. 24 Chevrolet to outperform Briscoe on Sunday. While the No. 14 car was seventh in practice, he dropped to 16th in qualifying, which is below his average starting position in 2022. The easy choice is Byron.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LAS VEGAS — AJ Allmendinger carried enormous momentum into Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the heels of back-to-back victories and a pole in Sin City.

But rather than leaving Las Vegas celebrating, luck soured on the No. 16 Kaulig Racing team. A quick pit stop at Lap 162 saw Allmendinger restart third following the final caution of the race — shooting to the lead just one lap after the restart.

Allmendinger immediately felt something wrong with his Chevrolet, though, and radioed saying he felt his right-front wheel was loose. Despite emphatic reassurance from his crew that all lug nuts were tightened, Allmendinger hit pit road at Lap 176 — only to be told that both right-side wheels were loose.

The result dropped Allmendinger to a 22nd-place finish, two laps behind race winner Josh Berry. With Berry locking his way into the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway, Allmendinger now finds himself outside the preliminary list of championship contenders by 16 points.

RELATED: Las Vegas results | At-track photos

The frustration loomed too large for Allmendinger to say much after the race.

“Nothing. Nothing to say,” Allmendinger said. “We tried hard. Wasn’t good enough. Wheel was left loose. That’s it.”

He added he knew by the second lap of the run that something was amiss, but communication between himself and the team forced the decision to pit on Allmendinger.

“They tell me it’s tight, like always, and then leave it on me so I got to make the decision,” Allmendinger said. “Unfortunately, I guess I was right there. So I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but yeah.”

Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing, lamented the mistake that cost his driver not only a chance to compete for the win but valuable points as the window to a championship tightens.

“Really wasn’t a miscommunication,” Rice said. “You try to push it as long as you can, you know? You have the changers say they’re tight, but then ultimately you got to listen to the driver and they were loose. Both right sides were loose, and you know, it just ends a frustrating day.”

Allmendinger started on pole for Saturday’s 300-miler but was quick to note Friday that the team still had work to do to find speed throughout the course of a race run. In the end, he had the necessary track position but was plagued by loose lugs.

The series shifts to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 22 (4:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), another 1.5-mile track — the kind of facilities where Kaulig has struggled most.

“We’ve not been good at all this year at the mile-and-a-halves, and the second round of the playoffs doesn’t play any good to Kaulig Racing,” Rice said. “But you know what, we’re a fighting team and that’s what we do. We fight and we’re gonna fight to the end. We got Homestead next week, we got Martinsville after that, so we’re not gonna quit fighting. This whole group is … the best group in the garage and we just gotta go to work, man.”

The strategy doesn’t change much for the No. 16 team, which always focuses on attacking for race wins. But the points situation now amplifies how critical a victory could be.

“You got to get points,” Rice said. “You go maximize your points today and it’ll take care of itself. So congratulations to JR Motorsports, they’ve been great all year, so [we’ve] just gotta go. We gotta go gain all the points we can gain at Homestead and Martinsville and wherever the cards play out, that’s where they play out.”