NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Win Round of 8 Opener from Las Vegas?
The penultimate round of the NASCAR Playoffs begins on Sunday. If one of the eight remaining contenders can get to the checkers first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, they will race for a championship at Phoenix. The Next Gen car has already had track time at Las Vegas, all the way back in March with race three of the year. Six months later, who are some favorites to push their chips all the way into victory lane?
Denny Hamlin
Few have been as stout recently as Denny Hamlin in Las Vegas. While the 11 only has one win here from last fall, Hamlin does boast laps led in four-straight races. If not for busting a drivetrain, Hamlin could have been racing for a top-five if not another win in March as well. Going for his fourth-straight Championship 4 appearance, each track in the Round of 8 is a strong venue for Hamlin. With recent success at the next three tracks, expect the 11 to possibly challenge for all three wins in this round.
“I feel great about all of them,” Hamlin said of the Round of 8 tracks. “All of them are just perfect for what our strengths are. I’m excited. We have been very strong on the intermediates all year and we tested Homestead a few weeks ago. We had a good test at Martinsville and even though we finished bad there in the spring, I feel good about what we have learned since then. We’re going to have to qualify well there, and track position is going to be huge. It’s time to go to work, but yeah, we’re really excited about our prospects in this next round.”
March’s dismal 32nd-place result ended a streak of three-straight Vegas top-fives for Hamlin. Entering the Round of 8 as the seventh seed, the 11 must race for max points and checkered flags from the outset. Hamlin has a great chance this weekend at picking up win number three of 2022.
Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota at Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, October 9. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Kyle Larson
Despite being eliminated a week ago at the Roval, Kyle Larson is still a Las Vegas favorite. The 5 won at LVMS in March of 2021, the first victory of Larson’s dominant championship season. While he may not be racing to defend that title anymore, Vegas is still one of Larson’s best tracks. Confidence is high on the 5 team to still make a run for the owner’s title.
“I’m definitely bummed (to not be in Round of 8 for the driver championship), but we’re still in it for the owner’s championship,” Larson said. “I feel Las Vegas and Homestead are really good tracks for me and this No. 5 HendrickCars.com team. We’re going to work hard these next three races to hopefully contend for the owner’s title in Phoenix.”
12 career Las Vegas starts have seen Larson win once and get nine top-10s. Should the groove migrate up towards the wall on Sunday, then the king of rim-riding could be a Playoff spoiler.
Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, October 9. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Ross Chastain
Las Vegas in March was one of the first standout moments for Ross Chastain in 2022. The 1 led 83 laps, won a Stage, and eventually finished third that day. Coming back as one of the Elite Eight, little could stand between Chastain and being a few spots better on Sunday.
“Yeah, I’m full on focusing on Las Vegas, not looking back at the Roval,” Chastain said. “Our intermediate program is strong. I have full confidence going into these two weeks at intermediate tracks. Our cars are strong.”
“We’ve prepared to do what we’ve done. But until you do it in the Cup Series, I couldn’t legitimately tell you that we were going to lead all of the laps we have led, have the finishes we have, win the races, and so on. That’s wild. Until you do it, I don’t know how anyone could say it’s going to happen. We’ve done a lot of things we set out to do.”
As the lone Trackhouse car left in the Playoffs, Chastain hopes to recapture some of his early season performance in crunch time. Should Chastain stay clean for 400 miles, then the 1 could end Sunday in P1.
Ross Chastain’s No. 1 WorldWide Express Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, October 9. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Ryan Blaney
While Ryan Blaney is 0-12 at Las Vegas, he has been close to a Sin City victory. With five finishes of fifth, Vegas is perhaps Blaney’s best track where he has yet to win. The 12 was strong enough to lead laps here in the spring, before getting collected in a crash with Brad Keselowski. Still searching for his first points-paying win of 2022, Blaney hopes that Las Vegas victory lane is not a desert mirage.
Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Discount Tire Ford at Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, October 9. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Kyle Busch
No longer a Playoff contender, Kyle Busch hopes for one more win with Joe Gibbs Racing. The Las Vegas native was oh so close to winning here in March, before being set back in overtime. Busch wishes to end his 15-year stint in the 18 with one more checkered flag, and is eyeing Vegas as a place where he can get it done.
“I used to put more stress on myself to win there, no doubt,” Busch said. “I never knew if winning there would happen for me and it’s neat I’ve been able to win in all three series at Vegas. There is stress going into those events. For myself, I was able to get that done in 2009 there at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, to get into victory lane. That felt good. To be able to go back there years after and go out there and race, and not have to worry about the stress of winning that race, you still want to win. We want to win every single one of them. That’s a fact. Overall, when you come into your hometown, and we watched the track get built from nothing, it means that much more to you and it would be great if we could get back to victory lane this weekend with our M&M’S Camry. We were so close there in the spring and things just didn’t work out in our favor, unfortunately.”
Had March’s race stayed green, Busch very likely would have won over Alex Bowman. With no pressure for the championship, the 18 is hungry and potentially dangerous to the competition heading to a track they had within their grasp.
Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota at Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, October 9. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Joey Logano
Two-time Las Vegas winner Joey Logano is hoping for a desert three-peat. The 22 has not finished better than ninth since their last Vegas victory in 2020, a stat Logano strives to erase. Entering this weekend as the second seed, Logano is searching for a guaranteed ticket to the Championship 4. In each of Logano’s last three Championship round appearances, he won his way through the Round of 8. The 22 could be perhaps the quickest Ford this weekend in a bid for a third win this season.
Joey Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford at Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, October 9. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Sunday’s Las Vegas win could define a season for one of the eight left in the Playoffs. However, we could also easily see a fifth non-Playoff victor in just seven weeks. Race coverage is Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. With so many potential winners, the South Point 400 may be the most unpredictable Las Vegas race in years.
Written by Peter Stratta
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