Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been an interesting place for the NASCAR Cup Series since the Next Gen car entered the chat. Races there are very different compared to other series. Just look at Saturday’s (March 15) The LiUNA! for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where the groove gravitated to the bottom. That didn’t happen Sunday.
Before we get started, we must refer to the fact that this weekend, FOX Sports is having its annual Drivers Only broadcast. Previously, this was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Xfinity Series. This year it’ll be at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, featuring Kevin Harvick on play-by-play. It’ll be on in prime-time Friday night on FOX.
Admittedly, after I watched the race Sunday, I watched parts of both races from Las Vegas on the NASCAR Channel. They didn’t look much different than what we saw on Sunday on the surface, even though it was presented as this amazing sight. Once you dig in a little, things get more interesting.
Incredibly, according to NASCAR’s Loop Data, Sunday’s race had fewer passes per lap than either Las Vegas race from last year. Last year’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube had more than 20 passes per lap under green. Sunday’s race had 15.7 passes per lap under green, but eight more lead changes. You wouldn’t have thought that while watching the race.
I just think it was handled differently compared to last year. In the critique from last year’s spring race, I didn’t make much of a reference to it. It was exciting to watch, but I guess they thought it was more low-key? Perhaps the fact that Sunday’s race had three more cautions (and thus, three more restarts) played a role.
Entering the event, the big story was Christopher Bell winning the previous three races and looking to equal the Modern Era record of four consecutive wins. The only driver in the last 40 years to win four of the first five races of the year was Bill Elliott in 1992. That year, Elliott went winless after Darlington Raceway in March until he won the Hooters 500 in November, missing out on the title by 10 points.
Prior to the race, Jamie McMurray conducted a one-on-one interview with Bell’s crew chief Adam Stevens. Probably the biggest takeaway from the interview is the idea that Stevens really wasn’t surprised by Bell’s form. Do I think he’ll win “double-digit races” this year? No. But they’ll be a factor.
Harvick’s interview with Kyle Busch might have been more interesting. Here, the duo talked about Busch’s overall effort this season and just how much things have changed since the Next Gen car showed up. This is probably why so many people wanted out before the Next Gen showed up. It was a complete reset where most everything from previous years no longer worked. Veterans were set to struggle because they couldn’t use their experience to their advantage.
A storyline that didn’t get a lot of play is that there were quite a few issues with tires on Sunday. Kyle Larson was apparently showing cords on at least one occasion during a 40-lap run. We didn’t see that tire but heard about it on the broadcast. Noah Gragson crashed out of the race when he blew his right front tire. Shane van Gisbergen’s day was a complete nightmare with multiple failures and a spin.
While tire wear wasn’t covered as well as it should have, the loose wheel issues were covered well. Sunday saw three teams at minimum have loose wheels. Both Chase Briscoe and Busch lost wheels, while Bell prevented a disaster by stopping in Briscoe’s pit box to have his wheel tightened.
As to why this happened Sunday, it’s the same reason why the other 18 or so wheels have come off in the past three years and change. The car was dropped off the jack before the little half-circle popped up, meaning that the wheel wasn’t on all the way. That can cause anything from the wheel just popping off the car to the wheel being cut in half.
What they didn’t get into on the broadcast was why so many had issues Sunday. On NASCAR Inside the Race on YouTube, Kim Coon and Steve Letarte tried to provide some answers as to what we were seeing.
Coon, who was the only one of the three hosts who was in Las Vegas on Sunday, talked to some of the crew members after the race. She indicated that it was a combination of new guys going too fast, Sunday being the first intermediate race of the year and the number of stops. Most of the teams Sunday made seven or eight pit stops. Briscoe, due to his wheel issue, made 11.
During the race, the commentary and production weren’t following each other very well. There were times when Mike Joy would describe something that was going on that we couldn’t see. At other times, things were going on that weren’t referenced.
For instance, there was this garbage bag on the track that got shredded on lap 95. While looking at the previous races Sunday night, I was reminded of William Byron’s engine issue last year from when a garbage bag that apparently had a beer in it and blew onto the track, blocked his grille and heated his engine to 350 degrees. This could have been a similar situation, but it ultimately wasn’t. The rouge trash bag wasn’t noted on the broadcast for what seemed like an hour, but it stood out to me.
With the record number of lead changes on Sunday, there was always a decent amount of action near the front of the field. Viewers always had a decent amount of on-track racing for position to see, but you didn’t see all that much of the field. That led to situations where viewers might have had no idea how Ryan Preece got himself into the top five at the finish. In the clip above, Letarte admitted that he’s having a little trouble following along. That’s not a good thing.
The nine cautions ultimately caused the race to run a little long. As a result, there was very little post-race coverage. FOX Sports interviewed Josh Berry and Daniel Suarez, the top finishers, before leaving Las Vegas. It’s a far cry from The CW interviewing 10 of the top 11 finishers (the sole exception being Sheldon Creed), but The CW had the extra time.
Overall, Sunday’s race was quite interesting. The pit issues led to a lot of angry people after the race. Given the time issues, I’m not surprised that there weren’t many post-race interviews, but if they had the time, they might have gotten a bunch of declinations. I know that a lot of people at the track got that, including Frontstretch’s own Michael Massie and Bryan Nolen. Everyone was surly and just wanted to get out of there. You’d think after an exciting race that it wouldn’t be the case.
That’s all for this week. Next weekend, NASCAR has another tripleheader on tap, this time at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Meanwhile, the NTT IndyCar Series has their race at The Thermal Club, Formula 1 will be in China and ARCA Menards Series East starts its season at Five Flags Speedway. TV listings can be found here.
Next week’s edition of Couch Potato Tuesday at Frontstretch will cover the Straight Talk Wireless 400 for the Cup Series. The Annex will cover Friday night’s rain-delayed Truck race.
If you have a gripe with me or just want to say something about my critique, feel free to post in the comments below. Even though I can’t always respond, I do read your comments. Also, if you want to “like” me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, please click on the appropriate icons. If you would like to contact either of NASCAR’s media partners, click on either of the links below.
As always, if you choose to contact a network by email, do so in a courteous manner. Network representatives are far more likely to respond to emails that ask questions politely rather than emails full of rants and vitriol.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.