The Cup Series begins the round of eight on the mile and a half track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the South Point 400.

Before any of the drivers take to the track, Kurt Busch took to the press center to make it official what has been speculated for some weeks…he is hanging up the helmet as a full time driver; adding that he still has not been cleared by his doctors to run for the remainder of this season.

After an early morning practice session, the 36 drivers make a single car qualifying run to determine the starting lineup for the race.

JJ Yeley is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run and posted a time of 29,847 seconds.

The five drivers from Group A moving on to the second round of qualifying are Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and Austin Dillon.

During qualifying, several of the drivers were reporting loose conditions in the car.

Running the fastest time in round one of qualifying with a time of 29.250 seconds, Austin Cindric leads the Group B drivers to the next round of qualifying; along with Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Harrison Burton.

Only four to the eight remaining playoff drivers will qualify in the top 10 for the race.

Having made his announcement of retiring from racing full time, Kurt Busch notes that while he doesn’t have any real plans in place for the future, when he does return to the track, he is working on a “bucket list” and is looking to just having some fun…and maybe run a few races in places where he hasn’t won a race like Darlington and Watkins Glen.

With a time of 29.252 Tyler Reddick puts his number eight car on the pole with Austin Cindric starting alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the South Point 400:
Tyler Reddick
Austin Cindric
William Byron
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Daniel Suarez
Christopher Bell
Harrison Burton
Bubba Wallace
Austin Dillon
Ross Chastain
Chris Buescher
Kevin Harvick
Kyle Larson
Michael McDowell
Chase Briscoe
Noah Gragson
Kyle Busch
Ty Gibbs
Chase Elliott
AJ Allmendinger
Erik Jones
Aric Almirola
Cole Custer
Brad Keselowski
JJ Yeley
Martin Truex Jr
Justin Haley
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Corey LaJoie
Denny Hamlin
Landon Cassill
Ty Dillon
Cody Ware
Todd Gilliland
BJ McLeod

Stages one 80 laps, stage two is 85 laps, with stage three lasting 102 laps for a total of 267 laps around the mile and a half track.  With a fuel load of around 50 laps, the drivers will have to make at lease one pit stop in each of the stages.

Leading the pack on the pace laps is Mark Martin in the number six car – the first driver to win a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the inside lane and goes side by side with Austin Cindric for a few laps before Reddick finally gets out in front for the lead on lap three.

Lap four the top fiveare Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano.

Lap five, drivers are getting three wide across the track.

Lap six, Tyler Reddick has a third of a second lead on Austin Cindric; William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Ryan Blaney is reporting a vibration in the front of his car.

Lap nine, Tyler Reddick has increased his lead to over half a second on Austin Cindric; William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano round out the top five.  Christopher Bell in seventh is the only other playoff driver in the top 10.

Lap 13, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the race with Austin Cindric in second; William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano continue to round out the top five.

Lap 21, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the race and is running the fastest laps on the track.  The top five remains Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano.

Lap 25, Ryan Blaney passes William Byron for third.

Lap 26, Tyler Reddick has a lead of half a second on Austin Cindric.  There re 35 cars on the lead lap – BJ McLeod is the only driver not on the lead lap.

Lap 28, Joey Logano passes William Byron for fourth.

Lap 30, William Byron is falling through the field; he reports that his car is really free.

Chase Briscoe has lost 12 spots since the race start and may have an engine issue.

Lap 32, Austin Cindric has closed the gap on leader Tyler Reddick and is now just two tenth of a second back; Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.  There are 33 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 34, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric battle for the lead.  Austin Cindric is the new leader.

Lap 35, Chris Buescher and Cole Custer are the first drivers to come down pit road for service and begin the cycle of green flag pit stops.

Lap 40, leader Austin Cindric makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Noah Gragson.

Noah Gragson makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Lap 42, Ricky Stenhouse Jr makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Daniel Suarez.

Lap 43, the top five are Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Tyler Reddick.

Joey Logano is reporting a bit of a vibration.

Lap 46, Daniel Suarez leads the race with Bubba Wallace in second; Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 54, Daniel Suarez has the lead with Bubba Wallace on his bumper; Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 56, Bubba Wallace has moved up the track to take the high line and is challenging Daniel Suarez for the lead.  Wallace comes back on the inside to pass Suarez for the lead.  There are 27 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 61, Bubba Wallace has a quarter of a second lead on Daniel Suarez; Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 62, Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez battle for second with Logano getting the spot.

Christopher Bell passes Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney for fourth.

Lap 71, Bubba Wallace has a half second lead on Joey Logano; Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five with 25 cars on the lead lap.

With seven laps remaining in stage one, Bubba Wallace has a near half second lead on Joey Logano.

Joey Logano has closed the gap on leader Bubba Wallace.

Four laps to go in stage one, Bubba Wallace holds on to the lead with Joey Logano in second; Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Kyle Busch brings out the first caution flag of the race on lap 77 when he gets loose and blows a tire; and does some agricultural racing.

Stage one ends under caution with Bubba Wallace winning the stage for his second stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Bubba Wallace
Joey Logano
Daniel Suarez
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
Kyle Larson
Martin Truex Jr
Tyler Reddick
William Byron

When Kyle Busch was going through the grass, tire rubber was pouring out of his front grille.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Bubba Wallace coming out first and Daniel Suarez coming out second.

Only four of the eight playoff drivers earned stage points in stage one.

Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 86 from the inside lane.  Drivers quicky spread out three and four wide across the track in a battle for position.  Daniel Suarez takes the lead with Ross Chastain in second; Bubbba Wallace, Joey Logano, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five with 25 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 88, Trackhouse Racing teammates Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain battle for the lead.  Joey Logano passes Bubba Wallace for third.

Lap 91, Daniel Suarez has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Ross Chastain; Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 95, Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace make contact and crash into each other several times.  Christopher Bell also gets caught up in the fray.  Bubba Wallace is out of the car and walking across the track to Kyle Larson with his helmet off.  Larson is out of his car with his helmet off.  Bubba drops his helmet in the grass and goes after Kyle Larson.  Bubba gets some punches and pushes in.  The NASCAR official follows Bubba trying to get him in a vehicle to make the mandatory trip to the infield care center. 

Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires.

Out of the infield care center, Bubba believes that Kyle put him into the wall deliberately.  When asked about retaliation just said that Kyle Larson known what message he had to send.  Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson are out of the race. 

Christopher Bell is on pit road for repairs and has 10 minutes to make repairs.

Kyle Larson noted that Bubba had a reason to be mad but noted that it was aggression turned into retaliation. 

Christopher Bell is out of the race after crews were unable to make repairs in the 10 minute time limit.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 103 with Daniel Suarez in the inside.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr spins out on the restart and brings out the caution flag.  Martin Truex Jr and Chase Briscoe make contact on the restart causing Stenhouse to try and avoid them.  A few drivers come down pit road including Truex and Briscoe.

Daniel Suarez took the lead on the restart.

Daniel Suarez brings the field down for the green flag restart on the inside lane on lap 108 with Denny Hamlin on the outside.  Drivers gets three wide on the restart with Daniel Suarez in the lead and teammate Ross Chastain in second; Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap 109, Ross Chastain passes Daniel Suarez for the lead.

Lap 110, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano battle for fifth.  Logano gets around Reddick.

Lap 112, William Byron passes Tyler Reddick for sixth.

Lap 113, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick battle for seventh.

Ross Chastain leads the race with Daniel Suarez in second; Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Harrison Burton gets loose but saves the car and the track stays green.

Lap 117, Daniel Suarez has closed the gap on lead Ross Chastain to a quarter of a second; Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 125, Ross Chastain continues to lead the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, and William Byron round out the top five with 30 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 127, Joey Logano passes Daniel Suarez for third.

Lap 128, Ryan Blaney has caught up to leader Ross Chastain and is beginning to battle for the position.

Lap 129, Ryan Blaney takes the lead.

Lap 130, Ross Chastain comes up on the inside to battle for the lead.

Lap 134, Joey Logano passes Ross Chastain for second with Ryan Blaney in the lead.  Chastain reports that he is getting freer as he goes.

Crews are reporting that they can get around 60 laps on a single load of fuel as opposed to the 50 first reported.

Lap 138, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and William Byron.

Having some handling issues, Chase Elliott is mired back in 20th; Chase Briscoe passes Elliott.

Ty Gibbs and Austin Dillon make contact but the track stays green.

Lap 144, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Joey Logano; Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and William Byron round out the top five.

Chase Briscoe is reporting that he is way too loose.

Lap 148, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over a second and a half over Joey Logano; Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 150, Ryan Blaney is now two second ahead of teammate Joey Logano.

Daniel Suarez passes teammate Ross Chastain for third.

After spinning out and making a run through the grass, Kyle Busch moves into the top 10 on lap 157.

With seven laps remaining in stage two, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over two seconds on Joey Logano; Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Ryan Blaney reports that his tires are chattering.

54 laps on a single set of tires is the most in the race today.

Two laps remain in stage two, several drivers are reporting vibrations in the cars.

Ryan Blaney wins stage two for his eighth stage win of the season – the most of any Cup Series driver.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Daniel Suarez
Ross Chastain
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr
Austin Cindric
Kyle Busch

Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe are the only playoff drivers who did not earn any stage points in today’s race.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Joey Logano winning the race off of pit road after nearly making contact with Ross Chastain. 

Daniel Suarez lost several spots after his crew had to jack the car up for a second time for a loose wheel.

Ty Gibbs was caught speeding on pit road.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 172.  Drivers get four and five wide going into turn one.  Joey Logano leads the race with a three way battle for second place.

The top five are Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, and Kevin Harvick.

Lap 175, Joey Logano has a near half second lead on Ryan Blaney; Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, and Kevi Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 179, Kevin Harvick passes Denny Hamlin for fourth.

Lap 180, All of the cars on the track are on the lead lap with three cars out of the race.

Lap 183, Joey Logano has a quarter of a second lead on Ryan Blaney; Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 184, teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney battle for the lead; so far, Logano has held him off.

Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick swap eighth back and forth.

Lap 194, JJ Yeley spins out and makes a run through the grass and brings out the caution flag.  He has a flat tire and it tries to come off while he runs through the grass.

There is a question as to whether drivers can make it to the end of the race with over 70 laps remaining in the race.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ross Chastain winning the race off of pit road.  For the second time, Daniel Suarez has a slow stop after the crew has to jack the car up for a second time.

Cole Custer was caught speeding on pit road.

Kevin Harvick has to make a second trip down pit road with a loose wheel.

Tyler Reddick has to make a second trip down pit road for loose tires and he tops off the fuel.  Martin Truex Jr, Chris Buescher, and Ty Dillon all come down pit road to top off the fuel cell.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane on lap 200 with Ryan Blaney on the outside.  After going side by side, Ross Chastain gets out in front for the lead.  Drivers are three wide across the track.

The top five are Ross Chastain, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, and Denny Hamlin.

William Byron moves up the track and nearly takes out Ryan Blaney but they saved the cars and the track stays green.

Lap 203, Ross Chastain has a lead of over a second and a half on Aric Almirola; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch,and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

There are 28 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 206, Ross Chastain has pulled out to a lead of nearly two seconds on Aric Almirola; Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Austin Cindric is slowed on the track and works his way to pit road with a flat tire after hitting the wall.

Lap 209, Ryan Blaney makes contact with Kyle Busch during a pass; Blaney takes third with Busch in fourth.

Lap 216, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano battle for position.

Lap 219, Ross Chastain’s lead is down to just over a second on Aric Almirola; Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Pit reports reveal that all of the drivers are one or two laps short of making it to the end of the race on this load of fuel.

Ryan Blaney has passed Aric Almirola for second.

Denny Hamlin is reporting that he car is too free.

Points leader Chase Elliott has had issues with his car all day long.

Lap 228, Ryan Blaney gets into the outside wall and then comes down the track and hits the inside wall with a flat tire.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Justin Haley winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires.  Ross Chastain comes out second, the first driver with four tires.

Coming off of pit road, Kyle Busch’s car is smoking.  The tire comes off of the car and stops against the wall on the back stretch.  He comes down pit road for fresh tires.

Ryan Blaney is on pit road and the crew is making some repairs to the suspension on the car.

Justin Haley brings the field down for the green flag restart with 35 laps remaining in the race and jumps out in front for the lead.

The top five are Justin Haley with Chase Briscoe in a battle for the lead, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and William Byron.

Ryan Blaney is back on the track but still must make minimum speed.

Lap 238, Justin Haley has a near half second lead on Chase Briscoe; Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 240, Daniel Suarez brings out the seventh caution flag of the race when he gets loose and makes an off road excursion through the grass all the way down the front stretch.

Several drivers come down pit road for fresh tires; while other stay out on the track. 

Harrison Burton has to make a second trip down pit road for repairs.

After staying out on the track, Justin Haley brings the field down for the green flag restart with Chase Briscoe on the outside with 23 laps to go.  Drivers are three wide across the track.

The eighth caution flag of the race comes out after Landon Cassill gets turned around and gets into the wall with a flat tire.

William Byron comes down pit road and gives up eleventh place.

Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 16 laps remaining in the race.  Drivers are three and four wide in a battle for position.  Justin Haley takes the lead but Ross Chastain makes it a three way battle and takes over the lead with Chase Briscoe and Justin Haley in a battle for second; Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

With 14 laps to go, Chase Briscoe takes second with Joey Logano in third.

Twelve to go, Ross Chastain has a lead of nearly a second on Chase Briscoe; Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones round out the top five.

Ten to go, Ross Chastain holds on to a near one second leaed on Chase Briscoe.  Joey Logano passes Chase Briscoe for second.

Landon Cassill is out of the race.

Just eight laps to go, Ross Chastain holds on to the lead but Joey Logano is very slowly closing the gap on the leader.

Six to go, Joey Logano has caught leader Ross Chastain and is challenging for the lead.

Five to go, the battle for the lead continues between Ross Chastain and Joey Logano; Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Four to go, Joey Logano and Ross Chastain are side by side,  Joey Logano edges out to take the lead and pulls away. 

Two to go, Kyle Busch is the only driver in the top five who is not in the playoffs.

Joey Logano takes the white flag; holding a half second lead on Ross Chastain.

Joey Logano wins the race and a spot in the final four for the championship.

Logano said that it was fun racing with Ross Chastain for the lead.

Logano has locked in his spot in the final four with the win and takes over the lead of the playoffs; Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin are also above the cut line.  Currently William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Christopher Bell are below the cut line and are in danger of being eliminated from the playoffs.

The unofficial results of the South Point 400:
Joey Logano
Ross Chastain
Kyle Busch
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Martin Truex Jr
Erik Jones
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Dillon
Noah Gragson
Kevin Harvick
William Byron
Justin Haley
Chris Buescher
Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski
Aric Almirola
Michael McDowell
Cole Custer
Chase Elliott
Ty Gibbs
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Corey LaJoie
Todd Gilliland
Harrison Burton
Cody Ware
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
BJ McLeod
JJ Yeley
Landon Cassill
Ty Dillon
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Bubba Wallace