On a hot Saturday afternoon, the 36 Cup Series drivers take to the 1.5 mile oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a practice session before making a qualifying run for the Penzoil 400.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for 25 minute practice sessions.
While Alex Bowman continues to recuperate from his vertigo issues, Justin Allgaier is taking over the driver duties for the number 48 car this week. With Bowman making the decision to sit out last week, it was a short notice to replace him at Phoenix. As a result, Hendrick Motorsports simulator driver Anthony Alfredo raced the car at Phoenix. With more time to plan and make adjustments, Hendrick Motorsports designated relief driver Justin Allgaier is in the car.
While Bowman continues to recover and reportedly has made significant progress, there is no specific timetable for his return.
All but three of the Group A drivers had sub 30 second lap times with Ricky Stenhouse Jr leading the way.
Ryan Blaney is reporting some vibration issues in his car.
AJ Allmendinger reports a possible power steering issue.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin top the leaderboard in Group B practice.
Due to inspection issues, Ty Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, and William Byron will lose their pit stall selections and car chiefs for the race. Due to his inspection issues, Ty Dillon was not able to make any laps during practice.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Chase Briscoe who posted a time of 29.343 seconds around the 1.5 mile track.
With a time of 28.853 seconds, Christopher Bell put his number 20 car on the pole with teammate Denny Hamlin alongside on the front row. Four of the top five cars are Toyotas.
The starting lineup for the Penzoil 400:
Christopher Bell
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Preece
William Byron
Chris Buescher
Austin Dillon
Zane Smith
Daniel Suarez
Erik Jones
Chase Elliott
Shane van Gisbergen
Ross Chastain
Chase Briscoe
Carson Hocevar
Riley Herbst
Joey Logano
Justin Allgaier
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kyle Busch
Connor Zilisch
John Hunter Nemechek
Todd Gilliland
Brad Keselowski
AJ Allmendinger
Michael McDowell
Austin Cindric
Josh Berry
Cody Ware
Noah Gragson
Cole Custer
Ty Dillon
NASCAR has amended the rules that allow crews to clean or add elements to make their pit stall less slippery. The crews are no longer allowed to use chemicals or specialized tools that could alter the surface, the timing loops or the painted markings when preparing their pit stalls before a race. Crews must prepare the pit stall by hand with basic tools.
Stage one of the race is 80 laps with stage two lasting 85 laps and stage three is 102 for a total of 267 laps around the 1.5 mile track. The drivers can run 60 to 64 laps on a single load of fuel and cannot complete any of the stages without making a pit stop.
Jonathan Davis from Korn gave a rousing command to start the engines.
The wind may prove to be a big issue for the drivers during the race.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag stawrt of the race with Denny Hamlin alongside. Bell takes the lead on the inside lane. Drivers are getting three wide back in the field.
Shane van Gisbergen got way loose but saved the car.
Denny Hamlin moves up to battle with Christopher Bell for the lead.
Lap three Denny Hamlin takes the lead with Christopher Bell in second; Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Lap seven, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on teammate Christopher Bell.
Lap nine, Tyler Reddick passes teammate Bubba Wallace for fifth.
Lap 12, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on Christopher Bell; Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 16, Tyler Reddick passes Kyle Larson for fourth.
Lap 19, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race and is nearly half a second in front of Christopher Bell; Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap 24, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race with Christopher Bell in second; Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap 28, Kyle Larson passes Tyler Reddick for fourth.
Lap 34, green flag pit stops have begun.
Lap 35 Denny Hamlin makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Christopher Bell.
Christopher Bell makes his pit stop on lap 36 and gives the lead over to Joey Logano.
Chase Briscoe was caught speeding on pit road and had to serve a passthrough penalty.
After pit stops have cycled through, Denny Hamlin retakes the lead.
Lap 45, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace.
Lap 48, Denny Hamlin has a one second lead on teammate Ty Gibbs; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Lap 53, Denny Hamlin’s has a lead of nearly a second on Ty Gibbs; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace over three seconds back round out the top five.
Lap 58, there are 25 cars on the lead lap with AJ Allmendinger the last car on the lead lap.
Lap 60, Denny Hamlin’s lead is now over a second on Ty Gibbs; Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Christopher Bell passes Ty Gibbs for second. Joe Gibbs Racing cars occupy the top three spots.
Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs battle for third.
With 13 laps remaining in stage one, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell battle for the lead with Bell getting out in front.
The top five are Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, and Bubba Wallace.
Denny Hamlin retakes the lead from Christopher Bell amid traffic.
With 23 cars on the lead lap, Christpher Bell takes the lead.
Lap 73, Kyle Larson passes Denny Hamlin for second.
Five laps to go in stage one, Christopher Bell has a near one second lead on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Christopher Bell wins stage one by over a second on Kyle Larson.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
Bubba Wallace
William Byron
Ryan Preece
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopoher Bell winning the race off of pit road. Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs were caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Chase Briscoe was charged with pitting outside of his pit box and will have to restart the race from the back of the field after stopping in Ty Gibbs pit to tighten a loose wheel.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 89. Bell and Larson go side by side with the two swapping the lead back and forth.
Lap 93, Chase Elliott moves up to make it a three way battle for the lead. And here comes William Byron for a four way battle. Kyle Larson gets the lead with teammate Chase Elliott in second; Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron rounding out the top five.
Lap 98, Tyler Reddick and William Byron battle for fourth.
Lap 103, Kyle Larson has a lead of over half a second on Christoopher Bell; Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs have made back to the top 20 after having to restart the race from the back of the field after being caught speeding on pit road.
There are 23 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 115, Kyle Larson holds on to a lead of nearly half a second on Christopher Bell; William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five. There are 22 cars on the lead lap with all 36 drivers still on the track.
Lap 121, drivers begin green flag pit stops including leaders; Ryan Blaney is the new leader.
Lacking overall grip is the biggest complaint from the drivers.
Josh Berry and Todd Gilliland were caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 129, Brad Keselowski leads the race but has yet to make his pit stop; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Brad Keselowski makes his pit stop and gives the lead back to Kyle Larson.
With 132 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Larson has a two and a half second lead on Christopher Bell; William Byron, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Justin Allgaier got loose and barely missed the wall.
With 23 laps remaining in stage two, Christopher Bell is slowly closing the gap on leader Kyle Larson and is now just one second behind.
Lap 146, Kyle Larson’s lead is now down to under a second on Christopher Bell; William Byron, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin his entered the top 10 with Ty Gibbs just outside in eleventh.
Ross Chastain is the least car on the lead lap in 20th place.
With eleven laps remaining in stage two, Christopher Bell has caught leader Kyle Larson as Larson battles slower traffic.
William Byron passes Christopher Bell for second.
Lap 160, in a three wide battle with Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch on the verge of going two laps down, William Byron takes the lead and begins pulling away.
There are now 18 cars on the lead lap.
Carson Hocevar had to make an unscheduled stop on pit road for a flat tire. He was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
With a lead over of over a second, William Byron wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Chris Buescher
Ryan Preece
Chase Elliott
Austin Cindric
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson edging Christopher Bell and William Byron to win the race off of pit road.
Unable to make his passthrough penalty before the end of the stage, Carson Hocevar will restart the race from the back of the field. Riley Herbst will also restart the race from the back of the field for a penalty.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with William Byron alongside on lap 174. Larson gets out in front from the inside lane but William Byron comes up on the outside lane to take the lead. Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell battle for second.
The top five are William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Chrisotpher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick.
Justin Allgaier makes an unscheduled trip down pit road.
With 86 laps remaining in the race, William Byron has just a tenth of a second lead on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 185, Denny Hamlin passes William Byron for the lead.
Lap 189, Denny Hamlin has a near one second lead on William Byron; Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 195, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a near second and a half lead on William Byron; Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Just 66 laps remaining in the race, Denny Hamlin has a one second lead on William Byron with a pit stop still looming.
Lap 209, the top five are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott.
Ryan Blaney is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop.
William Byron passes Denny Hamlin for the lead.
The first caution flag of the race for an on track incident comes out for Connor Zilisch who spins out.
Austin Cindric was on pit road when the caution flag came out.
After going a lap down from a speeding penalty, Chase Briscoe is the “lucky dog” and is back on the lead lap.
Drivers come down pit road for service and are in the pit window to make it to the end of the race. Christopher Bell beats out William Byron and Denny Hamlin to win the race off of pit road.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside with 50 laps remaining in the race. Drivers get three wide. Bell and Hamlin battle for the lead with Hamlin taking the lead.
The top five are Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, and William Byron.
Chris Buescher and William Byron battle for fourth.
Noah Gragson makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with 41 laps remaining in the race.
Denny Hamlin has a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
After getting back on the lead lap, Chase Briscoe is now in the top 10.
Drivers who took the wave around on the restart are now having to make their pit stops under green flag conditions.
Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace are reporting tight conditions in their cars.
Cody Ware was charged with speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
With 35 laps to go, Chase Elliott has caught Christopher Bell and passes to take second; Denny Hamlin has a one second lead.
Fifth place driver Chris Buescher is the only Ford in the top 10.
Thirty to go, Denny Hamlin has a near second and a half lead on Chase Elliott; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
William Byron passes Christopher Bell for third.
With 27 laps to go, Denny Hamlin continues to increase his lead on Chase Elliott and is now over a second and a half in front.
Just 23 laps remain in the race, leader Denny Hamlin encounters slower traffic and has just a one second lead on Chase Elliott; William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
With 18 to go, Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher battle for fifth.
Thirteen to go, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over a second and a half on Chase Elliott; William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Eight to go, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race by over a second on Chase Elliott; William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Five to go, Denny Hamlin’s lead is now less than one second on Chase Elliott.
Three to go, Hamlin’s lead is now just half a second on Chase Elliott.
Denny Hamlin takes the white flag.
Denny Hamlin wins the race for career race win number 61.
The unofficial results of the Penzoil 400:
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Chris Buescher
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Brad Keselowski
Ryan Preece
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Zane Smith
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
Ross Chastain
Daniel Suarez
Austin Cindric
Erik Jones
John Hunter Nemechek
Carson Hocevar
Riley Herbst
AJ Allmendinger
Justin Allgaier (Alex Bowman)
Michael McDowell
Cole Custer
Kyle Busch
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Noah Gragson
Josh Berry
Connor Zilisch
Ty Dillon
Todd Gillialnd
Cody Ware
Shane van Gisbergen