What Happened?
Even year strength — or luck — continued for Joey Logano after he stretched his fuel tank to earn his second win of the season Sunday afternoon (Oct. 20) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Logano did enough to secure his Championship 4 spot, finishing ahead of a hard-charging Christopher Bell.
Daniel Suarez also utilized the fuel-saving strategy to finish third, while William Byron and Alex Bowman finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Not only does Logano’s incredible even-year streak continue, but the driver of the No. 22 earned his fourth Las Vegas win. Logano has won at Las Vegas in four of the past six seasons.
What Really Happened?
In a format that emphasizes the importance of winning and advancing to the next round, Sunday’s race proved that the majority of teams still prioritize points.
A spinning Ty Gibbs brought out a timely caution to put teams on the brink of a full fuel run — barring another yellow, of course.Â
The race stayed green, and a strategy-splitting pit cycle defined the outcome of the race. First it was Chris Buescher. Then, it was Kyle Larson. Bowman, Bell and Byron soon followed, leaving Suarez in control of the race and about nine cars playing the fuel mileage game.
When the checkered waved, Bell had barely caught Suarez, and Logano had obviously found the front.
It’s easy to Monday morning crew chief, but why did Bell and Byron pit?
Again, hindsight is obvious, but before stops, Bell led Suarez by more than eight seconds, and he had nearly a 12-second gap on Logano. Byron held a six-second lead on Suarez and was almost 10 seconds up on Logano before his stop.
Before the race, both of these drivers put extra emphasis on how important winning was. The Round of 8 drivers are extremely close on talent, and drivers know the only surefire way to continue their championship fight would be with a victory.
Ultimately, this decision to pit was a safety net for the teams to maximize points instead of going for that championship key that Logano earned.
It all played out this way because of the many issues for the playoff drivers. When Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick came together in a bizarre accident, it put those two, as well as Ryan Blaney, in a massive hole relative to where the remaining drivers ran.
Then, Larson had more pit road issues, and Denny Hamlin ran poorly for most of the day, missing out on stage points as well.
With a number of drivers in a deficit from the race start, crew chiefs Adam Stevens and Rudy Fugle made the decision to maximize their day to the best of their ability rather than risk running out of fuel and falling into their own hole at the end of the race.
The two teams — not to mention a number of other non-playoff teams hoping to claim another victory — called the final stage like they had everything to lose. The incentive to win apparently did not outweigh the opportunity for a good points day.Â
On the other side, Logano and Paul Wolfe had almost nothing to lose. Heck, they didn’t even make the cut until a few hours after the checkered at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. When the best cars in the field decided to cash in, the No. 22 had a golden opportunity to go all in.
And they won big.
Who Stood Out?
It’s hard not to overlook the statement Bell and the No. 20 team made today. They’ve been quietly consistent — again — during the playoffs, and Bell put on another masterclass for most of the afternoon.Â
While he was dejected after not taking victory, Bell sits in a nice points position, and he’s won in clutch moments at the next two tracks in the round. The spring Phoenix Raceway winner has been fast at flat tracks all year, and he just needs to survive two more weeks to potentially claim his first championship.
While Suarez slipped back to third at the finish, it remains an impressive run from start to end for the No. 99. Suarez ran inside the top 15 most of the day, and an incredible effort by team and driver stretched the fuel to the end while claiming his best non-superspeedway finish since the Indianapolis road course in 2023.
Similarly, John Hunter Nemechek used fuel strategy to drive to a ninth-place finish, just his fourth top 10 of the year and first since New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June.
Who Fell Flat?
Early on, Reddick was the closest competitor to Bell. He actually bested Bell on the pit cycle in the first stage and earned 10 points for winning that opening stage. Reddick knifed through the field with some aggressive moves as he battled to the front, but a shocking tumble foiled his fast run.
It continues to be a rough playoffs for Reddick, who now sits 30 points behind Byron in fourth. After winning Michigan International Speedway and being declared the hottest driver in the series, Reddick has two top 10s in the last nine race. His only playoff top 10 came at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Reddick seemingly struggles at Martinsville Speedway, but Homestead-Miami Speedway looms, and Reddick could contend for redemption next week.
Normally, a top-10 finish for Hamlin would seem average at worst. However, Hamlin has also been hit-or-miss in the playoffs. Four top 10s in seven races doesn’t seem too bad, but this team was almost a shoe-in for many to win races and make the Championship 4.
All day, the speed on that No. 11 seemed way off. Hamlin missed out on stage points, and he trailed Logano before the No. 22 secured his spot. Now, Hamlin’s eighth-place finish has him 27 points below the cut.
Better Than Last Time?
The finish of this race mirrored the 2023 version, with a hard-charging Bell coming up just short of the win. While last year’s race had a closer finish, this race had extra strategy and drama that made it all the more interesting.
Having a yellow spoiler seemingly became a curse under the Nevada sun, but these issues were not unlucky products of chaotic NASCAR racing. They were mistakes made by drivers and teams feeling extra pressure.
The extra focus on midfield battles also showcased just how good the racing throughout the field actually looked. In the last stage, it was refreshing to see a split strategy battle NOT be ruined by a last-second caution.
Paint Scheme of the Race
The Wendy’s partnership with Kaulig Racing has produced some fiery paint schemes this year — literally. Shane van Gisbergen’s look this weekend didn’t get too much airtime, but it did look hot out on the track.
What’s Next?
The NASCAR playoffs continue as drivers head to series-favorite Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 27. The Straight Talk Wireless 400 starts at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.Â
Caleb began sports writing in 2023 with The Liberty Champion, where he officially covered his first NASCAR race at Richmond in the spring. While there, Caleb met some of the guys from Frontstretch, and he joined the video editing team after graduating from Liberty University with degrees in Strategic Communications and Sports Journalism. Caleb currently work full-time as a Multi-Media Journalist with LEX 18 News in Lexington, Kentucky and contributes to Frontstretch with writing and video editing. He's also behind-the-scenes or on camera for the Happy Hour Podcast, live every Tuesday night at 7:30!
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Uhm…. of course they went for points. If they don’t have a winning car, then they do what they can to finish as best as they can. That means either pit to make sure they have enough fuel to finish, or gamble and stay out because they weren’t going to finish very high if they didn’t. Its all part of the strategy.
Isn’t it great that NA$CAR’s attempt to prohibit racing for POINTS which started in 2004 has worked out as expected? It seems a driver STILL doesn’t have to win to get the title Brian’s POINT system is so much easier to understand now compared to the Latford system..
Only once in the last ten years has a driver made it to the final four without a win.
You have to be good all year to get the playoff points to survive.
Why do you keep mentioning POINTS? NA$CAR has tried to get rid of “a good points day.” How has that worked out?
You still don’t have to win the last event to get the title. A driver has to finish ahead of the other three. If a driver with no wins gets a chance at the title in the last event he can finish second and win the title, like last year.
Because there’s only one winner, yet multiple others with “good points days.”
I didn’t say you had to win, I said only one non-winner has gotten to the final four. Its VERY unlikely.
You want the driver with the most wins to win the chumpionship, which is VERY unlikely!