The Cup Series caps off a wild weekend of racing with the Penzoil 400 on Sunday afternoon; but first, the 36 drivers will practice and make a qualifying run on Saturday morning.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for a 25 minute practice session before making a single car single round of qualifying. The drivers have just one set of tires for practice.
Ryan Blaney gets loose and backs into the wall with a blown tire.
Bubba Wallace tops the leaderboard after Group 1 practice.
With an average finish of 5.5 in the Next Gen car, Melon Man Ross Chastain has the best record in Las Vegas.
Joey Logano has led 207 laps so far this season, the most of any driver.
Ross Chastain topped the leaderboard after Group 2 practice. The Melon Man also topped the leaderboard of both groups with a time of 28.75 seconds.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Riley Herbst who posted a time of 29.788 seconds around the mile and a half track.
Michael McDowell will make Cup Star number 300 on Sunday.
The first driver to break the 29 second mark is Michael McDowell with a time of 28.883 seconds.
The crew is making repairs to the number 12 car for Ryan Blaney and he will not make a qualifying run. Blaney will start the race from the back of the field.
Ty Dillon will be making career Cup Series start number 250 on Sunday.
The record for a pole at Las Vegas in 27.40 seconds
With a time of 28.883 seconds, Michael McDowell puts his number 71 car on the pole. This is the first pole for Spire Motorsports. Joey Logano will start alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Penzoil 400:
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Austin Cindric
Kyle Busch
Erik Jones
Alex Bowman
Josh Berry
William Byron
Zane Smith
Kyle Larson
Chris Buescher
Ryan Preece
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Ty Dillon
AJ Allmendinger
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallace
Noah Gragson
Austin Dillon
Daniel Suarez
Chase Briscoe
Carson Hocevar
Cole Custer
Brad Keselowski
Shane van Gisbergen
Ty Gibbs
John Hunter Nemechek
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Todd Gilliland
Justin Haley
Riley Herbst
Cody Ware
Ryan Blaney
John Hunter Nemechek and Chrisotpher Bell will have to start the race from the back f the field for unapproved adjustments o after the crews made some repairs due to mechanical issues.
Michael McDowell has an issue with his cool suit, the crew will make repairs but he will not have to give up the pole and start the race from the back of the field.
John Hunter Nemechek has the Backstreet Boys on the hood of his car this week and he took a few of the band members for a ride around the track on Sunday morning.
Actor Morgan Freeman gave the command to start the engines.
Stage one is 80 laps, stage two is 85 laps, and stage three is 102 laps for a total of 267 laps around the mile and a half track. The drivers will have to make a pit stop in each of the three stages.
Michael McDowell brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Joey Logano alongside. The drivers get three wide on the start with Logano and McDowell going side by side. Back in the field the drivers are getting four wide.
Lap two, Michael McDowell leads the race.
Joey Logano passes Michael Mcdowell for the lead.
Lap three, Joey Logano has the lead with Michael McDowell in second; Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap six, Joey Logano has a near half second lead on Michael McDowell; Austin Cindric, William Byron, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Lap seven, looking for his fourth win of the season, Christopher Bell has entered the top 30 after starting the race from the back of the field.
In the history of racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, no driver that led lap one has gone on to win the race.
Lap 16, Joey Logano has led every lap except the first one and has a one second lead on Austin Cindric; Michael McDowell, William Byron, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Ryan Blaney is just outside the top 20 in 21st after not making a qualifying run and starting the race from the back of the field.
Lap 19, Ryan Blaney has entered the top 20.
Lap 20, William Byron passes Michael McDowell for third.
Lap 22, the Backstreet Boys are back but John Hunter Nemechek is still in the back…of the field in 33rd after starting the race from the back of the field.
Lap 24, Austin Cindric has closed the gap on teammate Joey Logano; the lead is down to just over half a second.
Lap 32, Ryan Blaney begins the cycle of green flag stops but has a slow stoop with trouble. Blaney is now two laps down.
Joey Logano makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Austin Cindric.
The caution flag comes out on lap 33 for a loose tire on the track. The tire came from Chase Briscoe’s tire.
Kyle Busch is the leader after Austin Cindric comes down pit road.
There are 22 cars on the lead lap and have yet to make their pit stops.
Drivers who have not made a pit stop come down pit road for service. Kyle Busch and Chase Elliot are nearly side by side in the race off of pit road.
Chase Briscoe has been brought down pit road and is being held for two laps after the tire came off on the track.
The drivers who made a pit stop under the green flag take the wave around to get back on the lead lap.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Austin Cindric brings the field down for the green flag 1restart with Alex Bowman alongside on lap 41. Drivers get four wide immediately. Alex Bowman edges out for the lead on the outside lane.
Lap 42, Austin Cindric takes the lead on the inside lane briefly.
The top five are Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano.
Lap 43, Austin Cindric gets the lead in a three wide battle.
Lapa 45, the leaders are single file with the drivers three wide back in the field.
Lap 48, Austin Cindric has a near one second lead on Alex Bowman; Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, and Joey Logano round out the top five. Kyle Busch is up to 26th after restarting the race in the back of the field.
Lap 51, Christopher Bell is just outside the top 10 after starting the race from the back of the field.
Lap 59, Austin Cindric has a near one second lead on Alex Bowman; Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, and Josh Berry round out the top five.
The lead engineer for Austin Cindric’s team is back home in Charlotte on baby watch; but he is in communication with the team.
Lap 64, Joey Logano has fallen to eighth place after leading the race.
Kyle Busch has advanced 10 spots after serving a speeding penalty.
Lap 68, Alex Bowman has closed the gap on leader Austin Cindric and begins to challenge for the lead.
Lap 71, Kyle Larson is now in the top five.
Leader Austin Cindric has begun lapping slower traffic.
The Joe Gibbs Racing cars occupy three of the bottom five spots. Only Christopher Bell is up in the field in eleventh. There are 31 cars on the lead lap.
Austin Cindric wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Austin Cindric
Alex Bowman
Chase Elliott
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson
AJ Allmendinger
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Carson Hocevar
Christopher Bell
There has not been a stage one repeat winner so far this season.
Ty Gibbs is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Chase Elliott winning the race off of pit road with Bubba Wallace right behind.
Chase Elliot was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Austin Cindric alongside on lap 90. Bubba jumps out in front for the lead with Kyle Larson right behind him.
Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson battle for the lead.
The top five are Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, and Alex bowman.
Alex Bowman comes down pit road for an unschedulced pit stop for a vibration.
Back in the top 20, Kyle Busch is in 16th.
Lap 92, Bubba Wallace has a half second lead on Kyle Larson.
The crew reports that there was some cording on Kyle Larson’s tires.
Lap 99, Kyle Larson passes Bubba Wallace for the lead.
Cody Ware is off the track.
Lap 104, Kyle Larson has a lead of over half a second on Bubba Wallace; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Joey Logano round out the top five. After his speeding penalty Kyle Busch is up to 12th and Chase Elliott is up to 22nd.
The caution flag comes out on lap 107 when Shane van Gisbergen spins out with a flat tire.
Ryan Blaney is the “lucky dog”.
The drivers come down pit road for service with Bubba Wallace edging out William Byron to win the race off of pit road.
Christopher Bell was charged with pitting outside of his pit box and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Ty Gibbs was charged with speeding on pit road and will restart from the back of the longest line. He had a loose lug nut and stopped in Chase Briscoe’s pit to get the lug nut tightened.
Austin Cindric made a second stop down pit road to tighten a loose wheel.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with William Byron alongside on lap 113.
The caution flag comes out when Kyle Busch gets into the wall when the tire comes off and goes flying across the track.
Denny Hamlin is the “lucky dog”.
Kyle Busch is being penalized two laps for the tire coming off on the racing surface.
Michael McDowell and Alex Bowman were caught speeding on pit road and will restart the race from the back of the longest line.
William Byron brings the field down for the green flag start of the race on lap 120 with Kyle Larson alongside. Kyle Larson gets out in front after a push from Tyler Reddick. William Byron is the only driver in the field to lead at least one lap in every race so far.
The top five are Kyle Larson, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suarez.
Kyle Busch has taken his car to the garage for repairs with a brake line issue.
Lap 125, Kyle Larson has a narrow lead on teammate William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
Drivers are get three and four wide across the track.
Shane van Gisbergen has a flat tire but makes it to pit road and the track stays green.
Lap 131, William Byron and Tyler Reddick battle for second.
Shane van Gisbergen has to serve a passthrough penalty after there were too many crew members over the wall during his pit stop.
While serving his passthrough penalty, Shane van Gisbergen was caught speeding and will have to serve a second passthrough penalty.
Lap 138, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on teammate William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
After his two penalties, Shane van Gisbergen is now seven laps down.
Lap 142, Tyler Reddick battles with William Byron for second place and takes the spot.
There are 31 cars on the lead lap.
Reigning champion Joey Logano has led the most laps and earned numerous stage points; but has failed to finish in the top 10 in any race so far.
The drivers were given just eight sets of tires for this race; they have used four sets so far and the race is just over halfway through.
The caution flag comes out on lap 146 when Todd Gilliland gets into the wall and makes contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Ty Gibbs is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Ross Chastain winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires. Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin also took only two tires.
Todd Gilliland is charged with coming down pit road too soon and will restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart with Erik Jones alongside on lap 153. There are 14 laps remaining in stage two. Ross Chastain battles with Erik Jones for the lead. William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Erik Jones are three wide in a battle for second.
Erik Jones takes second and Bubba Wallace joins Larson and Byron for a three wide battle.
Kyle Busch is back in the race 24 laps down.
While ross Chastain and Erik Jones have remained near the top on two fresh tires, Denny Hamlin has fallen to 10th place.
Erik Jones has dropped to ninth after a near miss on the track.
With six laps remaining in stage two, William Byron passes Ross Chastain for the lead.
Kyle Larson passes William Byron for the lead with three laps remaining in stage two.
Kyle Larson wins stage two to become the first repeat stage winner.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallace
Carson Hocevar
Ryan Blaney
Daniel Suarez
Josh Berry
Tyler Reddick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
The drivers come down pit road for service with Daniel Suarez winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires. Kyle Larson is the first driver off pit road with four ties.
Ty Gibbs blocked Carson Hocevar in his pit box and Hocevar had to back up to get out of his box.
Todd Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, and Ty Dillon were all charged with penalties during their pit stops.
Michael McDowell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three after staying out on the track on lap 174. Austin Dillon also stayed out on the track.
Josh Berry made a second pit stop to tighten a tire.
Michael McDowell takes the lead initially but is passed by Kyle Larson for the lead.
The top five are Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace.
William Byron and Ross Chastain pass Michael McDowell.
With 90 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Daneil Suarez and William Byron; Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Back on the lead lap, Ryan Blaney has moved through the field and is now in the top 10.
William Byron passes Daniel Suarez for second.
Eighty-five to go, Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly a second and a half on teammate William Byron; Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Ryan Blaney passes Bubba Wallace for fifth.
The caution flag come out on lap 187 for Cody Ware who got loose and hit the wall on the driver’s side. He is out of the car and appears okay.
Todd Gilliland is the “lucky dog” for 32 cars on the lead lap.
The drivers come down pit road for service with Ross Chastain winning the race off of pit riad after changing two tires.
Ty Gibbs is sitting backwards in his pit box as Carson Hocevar was trying to come out of his pit box.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside with 74 laps remaining in the race. Kyle Larson gets out in front.
The caution flag comes out for a big crash involving Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney. Austin Cindric crossed in front of Daniel Suarez and stacked up the field. The drivers were four and five wide during the wreck. Bubba Wallace also got some damage from the crash.
Some of the drivers come down pit road with several of them taking fuel only. Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road.
Riley Herbst was caught speeding on pit road.
Austin Dillon takes his car to the garage.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag restart with Daniel Suarez alongside with 67 laps to go. Reddick gets out in front for the lead with Daniel Suarez in second; Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, and Noah Gragson round out the top five with 31 cars on the lead lap.
Shane van Gisbergen is limping down the track working his way to pit road and the track stays green.
Drivers are four wide on the track.
Shane van Gisbergen takes his car to the garage.
Cody Ware is out of the race.
Daniel Suarez’s team reports that they are short on fuel.
Carson Hocevar makes a green flag pit stop.
Ryan Blaney is out of the race.
Shane van Gisbergen is out of the race.
With 53 laps to go Tyler Reddick has a near half second lead on Daniel Suarez; Michael McDowell, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Preece round out the top five.
Michael McDowell and Denny Hamlin battle for third.
With 47 laps to go, Tyler Reddick has a half second lead on Daniel Suarez.
Austin Dillon returns to the race 26 laps down.
Forty to go, Tyler Reddick leads the race with Daniel Suarez in second; Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Josh Berry round out the top five. There are 29 drivers on the lead lap.
With 38 laps to go, Daniel Suarez passes Tyler Reddick for the lead.
Ryan Blaney has been checked and released from the infield care center. Blaney said that he thinks that the crash was his fault.
With 35 laps to go, Denny Hamlin makes a green flag pit stop.
Tyler Reddick makes a green flag pit stop with 34 laps to go.
Josh Berry passes Daniel Suarez for the lead.
Joey Logano passes Daniel Suarez for second.
Tyler Reddick had a slow pit stop with a lug nut issue.
Joey Logano passes Josh Berry for the lead.
With 30 laps to go, the top five are Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, and Ryan Preece.
Joey Logano’s crew told him to save gas without losing lap time!
The ninth caution flag comes out with 26 laps to go when Noah Gragson gets into the wall. There is also some debris on the track. Kyle Busch hits the wall but saves the car.
Drivers come down pit road for service Daniel Suarez winning the race off of pit road.
Daniel Suarez brings the field down for the green flag restart with Josh Berry alongside. Suarez’ teammate Ross Chastain is behind him with 20 to go. Suarez and Berry battle back and forth for the lead with Suarez getting out in front.
The top five are Daniel Suarez, Josh Berry, Ross Chastain, William Byron, and Ryan Preece.
Noah Gragson has taken his car to the garage.
Sixteen to go, Josh Berry comes up to battle with Daniel Suarez for the lead with William Byron and Ross Chastain on their bumpers.
Josh Berry gets the lead with 14 to go.
As William Byron and Ross Chastain battle for third, Ryan Preece moves up and passes them both.
Twelve to go, Josh Berry has a half second lead on Daniel Suarez.
Ten to go! Josh Berry has a near one second lead on Daniel Saurez; Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain, and William Byron round out the top five.
The Wood Brothers is the oldest team in NASCAR. Last year Harrison Burton got the team their 100th race win. After giving The Wood Brothers their first top five finish in a number of years, Josh Berry is looking for his first Cup Series win…and the first win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Five to go, Josh Berry has a lead of over a second on Daniel Suarez.
Noah Gragson is out of the race.
Josh Berry takes the white flag!
With a lead of over a second Josh Berry gets his first Cup Series win!!!
The crew runs across the grass to meet Josh Berry at the start/finish lline.
The unofficial results of the Penzoil 400:
Josh Berry
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Preece
William Byron
Ross Chastain
Austin Cindric
Alex Bowman
AJ Allmendinger
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Brad Keselowski
Christopher Bell
Chris Buescher
Justin Haley
Joey Logano
Michael McDowell
Chase Briscoe
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Riley Herbst
John Hunter Nemechek
Ty Dillon
Ty Gibbs
Zane Smith
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Cole Custer
Erik Jones
Bubba Wallace
Todd Gilliland
Carson Hocevar
Noah Gragson
Austin Dillon
Kyle Busch
Shane van Gisbergen
Ryan Blaney
Cody Ware