Drivers to watch in NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

By Mike HembreeMar 1, 2023, 10:00 AM EST

The NASCAR Cup Series early season swing through the West continues Sunday with a 400-mile race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The first of two annual races at the 1.5-mile track finds Chevrolet driver Ross Chastain atop the point standings, trailed by Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick and Daniel Suarez.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the season opener at Daytona, and Kyle Busch scored last Sunday at Auto Club Speedway.

A look at drivers to watch in Las Vegas:

FRONTRUNNERS

Ross Chastain

Points position: 1st
Best seasonal finish: 3rd (Auto Club)
Past at Las Vegas: Finished top three in both races last year

Chastain has started 2023 where he left off at the end of last season, making noise and racing with the lead pack. He has six top-10 finishes in a row, dating back to last season. That’s tied for his longest streak of top-10 finishes.

Joey Logano

Points position: 2nd
Best seasonal finish: 2nd (Daytona 500)
Past as Las Vegas: Has a win and two top 10s in past five races

Logano came within a few feet of winning the Daytona 500 and led 19 laps Sunday at Auto Club. His three Las Vegas wins have all come in the past eight races.

Kyle Larson

Points position: 24th
Best seasonal finish: 18th (Daytona 500)
Past at Las Vegas: Won in March 2021 and was runner-up last March

Larson has started the season slowly, but Vegas should be a salve. He has finished in the top 10 in eight of his last 10 starts at the track.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Tyler Reddick

Points position: 38th
Best seasonal finish: 34th at Auto Club
Past at Las Vegas: Three consecutive finishes of seventh or better

Reddick needs a boost at Las Vegas to bounce back from tough runs at Daytona (39th) and Auto Club (34th). He left both races after accidents.

Ryan Blaney

Points position: 12th
Best seasonal finish: 8th (Daytona 500)
Past at Las Vegas: Best career finish is fifth

Blaney has made 48 starts since his last points win. Over that stretch, he has two seconds and 15 top fives.

Bubba Wallace

Points position: 26th
Best seasonal finish: 20th (Daytona 500)
Past at Las Vegas: Five consecutive finishes of 16th or worse

Wallace has failed to finish both races to date, parking after an accident at Daytona and losing an engine at Auto Club.

Sonoma Cup starting lineup

By Dustin LongJun 10, 2023, 7:49 PM EDT

SONOMA, Calif. — Denny Hamlin earned his 38th career Cup pole Saturday at Sonoma Raceway.

Tyler Reddick, who drives for the 23XI Racing team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan, qualified second. Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell and AJ Allmendinger completed the top five.

MORE: Sonoma Cup starting lineup

Ryan Blaney, who took the points lead last week, qualified 31st. William Byron, who is second in the points, qualified 26th.

Chase Elliott, returning from a one-race suspension, qualified 10th. Grant Enfinger qualified 35th for Noah Gragson, who is sitting out this week after suffering concussion-like symptoms from a crash last weekend at WWT Raceway.

Denny Hamlin wins Cup pole at Sonoma

By Dustin LongJun 10, 2023, 7:39 PM EDT

SONOMA, Calif. — Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday’s Cup race at Sonoma Raceway, as Toyota took five of the top eight spots in Saturday’s qualifying session. It is Hamlin’s 38th career Cup pole.

Hamlin led the way with a lap of 92.178 mph. Tyler Reddick, who drives for the 23XI Racing team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan, qualified second (92.068 mph), giving Toyota ownership of the front row.

MORE: Sonoma Cup starting lineup

Toyota, which struggled at road courses for much of last year, had only one of its drivers qualify in the top 10 at Circuit of the Americas, the only road course race this season.

Michael McDowell qualified third for Ford after a lap of 92.060 mph. Christopher Bell put his Toyota fourth after a lap of 91.877 mph. AJ Allmendinger was the top Chevrolet, qualifying fifth after a lap of 91.873 mph. Toyota also had Ty Gibbs (91.819 mph) sixth and Martin Truex Jr. (91.736) eighth.

The top two drivers in the points did not fare well in qualifying. Ryan Blaney, who took the points lead last week, qualified 31st. William Byron, who is second in the points, qualified 26th.

Sonoma Xfinity starting lineup: Kyle Larson wins pole

By Dustin LongJun 10, 2023, 4:07 PM EDT

SONOMA, Calif. — Kyle Larson will start on the pole for Saturday’s inaugural Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway.

Larson won the pole with an average speed of 91.393 mph around the 1.99-mile road course. Justin Allgaier joins Larson on the front row after a lap of 90.562 mph. Sheldon Creed (90.429 mph) qualified third. Aric Almirola (90.375) will start fourth. AJ Allmendinger (90.274) will start fifth.

MORE: Sonoma Xfinity starting lineup

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Larson is one of seven Cup drivers entered. The others are Almirola (starting fourth), Allmendinger (fifth), Ty Gibbs (seventh), Ross Chastain (15th), Daniel Suarez (17th) and Ty Dillon (32nd).

The green flag is scheduled to wave at 8:20 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1.

Could Daytona International Speedway host NFL games?

By Dustin LongJun 10, 2023, 1:54 PM EDT

The president of Daytona International Speedway says track officials plan to speak with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars about hosting the team’s games if Jacksonville’s stadium is renovated.

The Jaguars will need a temporary home site if plans go forward to renovate the team’s stadium. Daytona International Speedway has been mentioned as a possible candidate. The Jaguars released details Wednesday of what the stadium will look like after the renovation project.

Provided the project is approved by the city of Jacksonville, it is believed the Jaguars would need to find another home site for a couple of seasons while work is being done to its stadium. Daytona International Speedway is among possible sites for the Jaguars to play. More than 100,000 people saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win this year’s Daytona 500.

“Daytona International Speedway is a world-renowned sports and entertainment venue and hosts a full schedule of events each year,” said Frank Kelleher, president of Daytona International Speedway, in a statement. “As good neighbors in the Florida sports community, DIS will be speaking with the Jacksonville Jaguars to see if we can assist them with their potential upcoming facility needs around our scheduled events.”

Daytona International Speedway hosted Soccer Fest in July 2022. An announced crowd of 7,573 fans saw the Orlando Pride and Racing Louisville play in a National Women’s Soccer League game at Daytona.

MORE: NASCAR Power Rankings: Kyle Busch is No. 1

MORE: Kyle Petty Charity Ride to visit Utah, Nevada

FRONTRUNNERS

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

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