NASCAR on TV this week

Weekend Primer: South Point 400

After a shock disqualification and a wild cut line battles at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL last weekend, both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading west to Sin City for the opening leg of the Round of 8.

Every NASCAR series has its championship hopefuls reduced to an elite eight, and the two 1.5-mile tracks of Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami Speedway, plus the paperclip short track of Martinsville Speedway, are all that separate the drivers from a spot in the coveted Championship 4.

The first step to getting there starts this weekend.

Round of 8 Standings (3 Races Until Elimination)

RankDriverPointsCut line
1Kyle Larson4052+33
2Christopher Bell4032+13
3Tyler Reddick4029+10
4William Byron4023+4
5Ryan Blaney4019-4
6Denny Hamlin4015-8
7Chase Elliott4014-9
8Joey Logano4012-11

The Playoff Consolation Standings

RankDriverPointsDifference
9Alex Bowman2195
10Austin Cindric2174-21
11Ty Gibbs2150-45
12Martin Truex Jr.2146-49
13Daniel Suarez2127-68
14Brad Keselowski2120-75
15Chase Briscoe2110-85
16Harrison Burton2065-130

Best of the Rest

RankDriverPointsDifference
17Chris Buescher830
18Bubba Wallace824-6
19Ross Chastain821-9
20Kyle Busch711-119

Quick Track Facts: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Year of completion: 1996

First Cup race: 1998

Last reconfigured/repaved: 2007

Length: 1.5 miles

Banking: 20 degrees (turns), 9 degrees (frontstretch & backstretch)

Pit road speed limit:

Las Vegas By the Numbers

Defending Winner: Kyle Larson

Defending Spring Winner: Kyle Larson

Most Wins (Full-time Drivers): Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson & Joey Logano (3)

Most Top Fives: Kyle Busch (12)

Most Top 10sMartin Truex Jr. (16)

Most Poles: Joey Logano (3)

Most Laps Led: Kyle Larson (628)

Most Laps Led, Non-WinnerChase Elliott (178)

Best Average Finish (min. 5 starts): Kyle Larson (16 starts, 9.3 average)

Former Las Vegas Winners in the field: Brad Keselowski (3), Kyle Larson (3), Joey Logano (3), Martin Truex Jr. (2), Alex Bowman (1), Kyle Busch (1), William Byron (1), Denny Hamlin (1)

Playoff Driver Statistics at Las Vegas since 2022

See also
NASCAR Mailbox: Would You Rather Be Kyle Larson Good or Joey Logano Lucky?

Xfinity Series

Defending Race Winner: Riley Herbst

Defending Spring Winner: John Hunter Nemechek (not entered)

Playoff Standings (1 Race Before Elimination):

Entry Lists

Cup: 37 entries, 40 spots

Notables: Cody Ware (RWR No. 15), Shane van Gisbergen (Kaulig No. 16), Jimmie Johnson (Legacy No. 84)*

* Unchartered car

Xfinity: 38 entries, 38 spots

Notables: Daniel Dye (Kaulig No. 10), Taylor Gray (JGR No. 19), Corey Heim (SHR No. 26)

Where to Watch

Friday, Oct. 18

6:35 p.m. ET — Xfinity Practice (USA Network)

7:05 p.m. ET — Xfinity Qualifying (USA Network)

Saturday, Oct. 19

4:35 p.m. ET — Cup Practice (USA Network)

5:20 p.m. ET — Cup Qualifying (USA Network)

7 p.m. ET — Xfinity Series Ambetter Health 302 (201 laps, 301.5 miles) (the CW)

Sunday, Oct. 20

2:30 p.m. ET — Cup Series South Point 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) (NBC)

See also
Eyes on Xfinity: Parker Kligerman Got Robbed

Recent News

  • Travis Mack will no longer serve as crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Cup car, starting this weekend at Las Vegas. Darian Grubb will be atop the box for the final four races of the season.
  • Blaine Perkins’ No. 29 RSS Racing Xfinity car will be sponsored by VIVID EV at Las Vegas and Homestead. VIVID EV is also a partner of Frontstretch, and Frontstretch logos will appear on the car as part of the deal.
  • A front tire changer and jackman for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 car are suspended two weeks after a left-front wheel fell off Austin Dillon’s car at the ROVAL.
  • Bubba Pollard will return to Xfinity competition with Sam Hunt Racing at Martinsville Speedway on Nov. 2. Pollard’s lone Xfinity start came with JR Motorsports at Richmond Raceway in March, where he recorded a sixth-place finish.

Looking Ahead to Next Year

  • Taylor Gray will compete full-time in Xfinity for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025, driving the team’s No. 54 car. Ty Gibbs will be listed as the car’s owner.
  • As expected, Dawson Sutton will compete full-time next year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Rackley WAR after taking over the team’s No. 25 truck from Ty Dillon a few weeks ago.

About the author

Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly columns include “Stat Sheet” and “4 Burning Questions.” He also writes commentary, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.

Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.

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