by Crystal Clay, Chief Motorsport Correspondent
LAS VEGAS– This weekend kicked off the round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs and if there’s any way to add to the thrill of watching the South Point 400, this is arguably the most parity in the round of 8 we’ve seen in the NASCAR Playoff format.
A win in the Vegas playoff race automatically grants a team a spot in the Championship 4 in Phoenix and when it comes to this stable of drivers, there really are no dark horses.
Or are there?...
Playoff regular Joey Logano of the No. 22 Dark Horse Mustang for Team Penske was not a contender in the Round of 8 as the checkered flag waved in last week’s Charlotte Roval cutoff race. He was below the cutline and eliminated from the playoffs until Alex Bowman's No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy Camaro failed the Roval post race inspection, granting Logano the last spot in the Round of 8.
Fast forward a week later, Logano is the first of the Cup Series playoff drivers to earn a spot in the Championship 4 after a late race caution strategy gave him an advantage in Stage 3.
“We had a good start to the race I thought. Looked like we were pretty good, getting in the top 5 and in the third stage we just kinda lost speed. You know, it's like a replay of Kansas to me.” said Paul Wolfe, Crew Chief of the No. 22 Penske Ford.
“It's something that we needed to figure out; why that happened, because it wasn’t where we wanted to be in the final stage but as a team we continue to do the things we know and continue to fight. The opportunity came there, in the middle of that caution in the end. That exact scenario was discussed in our pre-race meeting this morning and now, it made the call pretty easy for us to know that we were going to stay out.”
This is Logano's third victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2024 and his fourth victory and 14th top-10 finish in 23 races at LVMS.
“So proud of our race team all the way through. This group of guys, they're truly incredible. They’re good people, one of the things I’m most proud of. But they’re really smart and in the playoffs are really able to keep a level head and maximize the races no matter what’s dealt them.” he said.
“Today we had a solid car. Not as good as the 20.”
All eyes were on the No. 20 Toyota of Christopher Bell for Joe Gibbs Racing who won the pole on Saturday for the South Point 400. The “under-the-radar” playoff contender led 155 laps, won stage two and everything appeared to be perfect until the 5th and final caution of the day came out for his JGR Toyota teammate in the No. 54 of Ty Gibbs, who spun out on the backstretch.
“Just a bummer, I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails. Pit crew did an amazing job, Adam called a great race. Did everything we needed to to put this dream Camry in victory lane and unfortunately it wasn't meant to be today.” said Bell.
Daniel Suarez, who came very close to a South Point 400 victory placed third in the No.99 Chevy for Trackhouse Racing and Bowman rounded out the top 5, behind Hendrick teammate and playoff driver of the No. 24 Chevy Camaro William Byron.
A non-playoff driver has never won the South Point 400 in the NASCAR Playoff format.
The remaining 5 playoff drivers were involved in most of the chaos of the Las Vegas race weekend.
Current NASCAR Champion Ryan Blaney crashed into the wall of Turn 1 with a flat at Saturday’s practice session. He started at the rear of the field on Sunday in a backup car, finishing 32nd.
“I felt great. I think I got halfway there. I think I got to 15th and I was ready to re-stack and like, alright, we’re gonna start stage 2, halfway there. I’m 15th and feel pretty good about it. At least contend” said Blaney. He leaves Vegas 7th in points.
Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team fought all day, going down two laps early in the race after an object got stuck on the front of his car, followed by a messy pit stop. However, Larson stuck it out, finishing 11th after coming back through the field from the lucky dog after the caution from Gibbs. “A bit of a fight all day.The first race of each round has not been easy. Proud to get what we could out of the day.” said Larson.
Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 for JGR left Vegas earning a top-10 but fought a tough battle much like Blaney and Larson. Hamlin finished 8th by losing track position early due to a slow pit stop that lasted over 13 seconds in comparison to Christopher Bell’s 8.8 second stop. Later in the race, talk of a wheel vibration could be heard on Hamlin’s radio.
The worst caution of the day and weekend involved Chase Elliott who finished 35th and Tyler Reddick who barreled down the frontstretch after winning Stage 1, earning a DNF.
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