Top Dog: Noah Gragson
To steal the line from The Wizard of Oz, there’s no place like home. And for NASCAR drivers who are constantly going from one end of the United States to the other, that sentiment couldn’t ring more true.
Las Vegas is a hot spot as far as serving as the hometown for NASCAR Cup Series drivers goes, boasting as the birthplace of Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson, and Riley Herbst.
However, Sin City has virtually been anything but kind to its hometown heroes, headlined by the fact that only one of Busch’s 63 Cup wins has come at his home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway
While Busch is not an underdog, both Gragson and Herbst stand as drivers trying to make a name for themselves. Fortunately for them, Vegas played kind for “home field advantage.”
Gragson led the way for the underdogs in the South Point 400 on Sunday (Oct. 12), driving to a 13th-place finish after a couple of wild incidents down the stretch.
The 27-year-old wasted no time improving upon a 28th-place qualifying effort, driving up to 19th by the conclusion of stage one. Gragson continued to chip away in the second stage, this time reaching the top 15 by the end of the frame.
The steady run didn’t waver in the final stage, including in the midst of the largest accident in Las Vegas’s history on a restart with 23 laps remaining. The Front Row Motorsports driver was able to weave his way through, opening the door for him to surge to his first top 15 since the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Gragson’s No. 4 team also made some of history of its own in the race, logging the fastest four-tire pit stop by an FRM crew in team history with an 8.19-second stop.
The speed has been more evident from the third-year driver, consistently bringing more speed despite the results not necessarily reflecting it. Overall, Gragson has logged six top 15s on the season as he looks to close the book strongly on the 2025 campaign.
Home has been a welcome sight for the Las Vegas native, as Gragson has finished 18th or better in four of his six starts at the intermediate track. And should that translate to other venues, it could give Gragson much-needed confidence heading into 2026.
Notable Underdog Runs
Though no underdogs cracked the top 10, thanks in part to the lap 245 crash, a slew of dark horses littered the top 20.
A hidden, playful storyline this season has been the friendly rivalry between Gragson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Whoever finishes better each week earns a dollar from the other. And despite finishing 14th, Stenhouse is a dollar lighter this week.
Stenhouse floundered initially, running outside the top 20 for the first half of the event. However, adjustments made during stage two brought the car to life, as Stenhouse was able to enter the top 20 before the end of the stage.
From there, the Olive Branch, Miss. native rode just outside the top 15 before the final two cautions in the final 40 laps. Restarting 11th on the final restart, Stenhouse slid to 14th but managed to hang on to secure back-to-back top-20 finishes for the first time since Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway in the spring.
Erik Jones rounded out the top 15, also earning his first top 15 since Darlington.
Jones hovered around the top 20 for most of the race, fighting balance issues all day between both tight and loose-handling conditions. However, the Byron, Mich. native was able to stay on the lead lap and dodge the late melee to set himself up for a solid finish.
Fire-off speed was absent from the No. 43, and it showed on the final restart when Jones slipped from 10th to 15th. However, the Legacy Motor Club driver continues his progress this season, nearly doubling his top 15 total (12 this season compared to seven in 2024).
Michael McDowell‘s consistency tour kept rolling through Las Vegas, as the Spire Motorsports veteran closed out the race in 16th.
After driving into the top 15 early in the race, a commitment line violation set McDowell back, forcing him to serve a pass-through penalty. McDowell fell a lap down later on, but he was able to receive the free pass in the final stage to have some life injected back into his race.
After navigating the late-race chaos, McDowell charged to the 16th position, just missing out on a top 15. Still, his hot streak has shown no signs of cooling off, as the result is McDowell’s sixth consecutive top 20 and ninth in the past 10 races.
Most of the press that Herbst has received this season has not been in his favor, but the 26-year-old rookie found some relief in his hometown, chalking up a 17th-place showing, second among the 23XI Racing trio.
Looking to rebound from a disqualification a week ago at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, Herbst steadily improved over the course of the race, finishing 30th in stage one from a 33rd-place starting spot before advancing to 23rd by the end of stage two.
Herbst’s climb continued into the final stage, where it was nearly upended by the restart accident with 23 laps remaining. Swerving and nearly spinning out of harm’s way, the No. 35 was unable to escape with only a little contact, and Herbst brought it home for a solid top 20.
If not for the fact that he is with a top-tier team, as well as the prospects of Corey Heim nipping at his ankles, Herbst’s freshman campaign has had its bright spots. The result is his fifth finish of 17th this season, part of a year that has featured eight top 20s.
Don’t let the results fool you: Shane van Gisbergen has consistently improved on ovals, and Las Vegas was shaping up to solidify that notion.
Last week’s Charlotte ROVAL winner kept the momentum going, running inside the top 15 nearly the entire race and cracking the top 10 in stage two. The stage results reflected his speed as well, as van Gisbergen tallied results of 12th and 11th.
However, it all unraveled on a restart with just over 20 laps remaining. Restarting inside the top five, van Gisbergen was on the outside of Ty Gibbs when Christopher Bell tried to sneak into the middle. Bell made contact with both quarter panels of Gibbs and van Gisbergen, causing the two to bounce off each other before crashing. Despite the strong showing, the crash relegated the New Zealander to 33rd.
The accident also swallowed up Carson Hocevar, who led some laps on strategy and finished stage two in 10th before the unfortunate turn of events, leaving him in 32nd. The speed was evident once again for the sophomore driver, yet ended with another example of misfortune that has plagued Hocevar throughout the year.
Underdog Power Rankings
1. van Gisbergen (–): Though the slot machine didn’t land in van Gisbergen’s favor in Vegas, the speed was clearly there, continuing to make SVG an even more dangerous threat in 2026. His next step of oval progression? Surviving the chaos of superspeedways such as Talladega Superspeedway, where van Gisbergen will be seeking his first top 10 in his fourth start at the track.
2. McDowell (–): McDowell’s streak of top 20s keep him on the doorstep of taking over the top spot, and perhaps for good as we wind down the 2025 season. Talladega could be the spot where he inherits that position, as he has three top fives there since 2019 and several agonizingly close instances of winning.
3. Hocevar (–): The top three see no change this week after Hocevar had a day worthy of a top 10 as well until he was wrapped up in the same accident as van Gisbergen. The wait for Hocevar’s first win has a legitimate shot to end at Talladega in spite of the wild card it presents. Hocevar finished sixth there in the spring.
4. Jones (NR): In math terms, Jones’s ranking has been a scattered plot this season, but a top 15 propels him back into the top five this week after another solid intermediate showing. Like McDowell, Jones has experienced painful losses at Talladega, where he has finished sixth or better an incredible six times in the past 11 races at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
5. AJ Allmendinger (-1): A determined recovery from the restart incident saw Allmendinger notch another top 20 on a day where he was a threat for a top 10 before getting caught in the accident. An adamant loather of superspeedways, Allmendinger will look to earn just his second top five at Talladega in 22 appearances.
Honorable Mentions: Stenhouse, Gragson, Todd Gilliland
Small Team Scheme of the Week
As the weather begins to cool down in several parts of the country, leaves change color, and we get deeper into October, it officially becomes flannel season. Herbst’s No. 35 Toyota was dressed for the occasion, featuring Hungry Jacks pancakes on the car to radiate the feels of a homey, pancake-filled fall morning.
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.