A wild two weeks of superspeedway action leads into the first intermediate race of 2024 for all three series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The 1.5-mile track will have a tough act to follow after Atlanta Motor Speedway put on an absolute show last week in the NASCAR Cup Series, featuring an epic three-wide finish. However, Las Vegas is no stranger to exciting finishes. The most recent Cup race there saw Kyle Larson edge Christopher Bell by .082 seconds. It was no .0030-second margin like Atlanta, but it was the second closest Cup finish in Vegas history.
NASCAR has momentum rolling into The Silver State, and that will bring out some stars in Vegas for the weekend.
Honorary Pace Car Driver: Former MLB star Jose Bautista is set to lead the pack prior to the Pennzoil 400. Bautista played 15 seasons in the MLB for eight teams, hitting 344 home runs, receiving the Hank Aaron Award twice and winning three Silver Slugger awards. Bautista was named the principal owner of the Las Vegas Lights FC in the USL League in January.
Grand Marshal: Giving the command to start the engines for the Cup race is Las Vegas Raiders punter AJ Cole. Cole is a three-time Pro Bowler and has been selected to the All-Pro First-Team twice in his career.
Pre-Race Concert: Country duo Maddie and Tae will perform the pre-race concert ahead of the Pennzoil 400. Their song “Girl in a Country Song” reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay charts in 2014 and won them the 2015 CMA Music Video of the Year Award. They also won the 2022 CMT Duo/Group Video of the Year Award for “Woman You Got,” while “Die From a Broken Heart” topped Country Airplay in 2020.
Entering his fifth year with Frontstretch, Luken Glover is the author of The Underdog House, shedding light on the motivation and performance of NASCAR's dark horse teams as they strive to fight to the top. Additionally, Glover reports for the site at various events, and he contributes in the video editing department.
A 2023 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is a middle school math and PE teacher, as well as a basketball coach. He is passionate about serving in his church, playing/coaching a wide variety of sports, and researching motorsports history.