NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Get Dealt the Winning Hand in Las Vegas?
High stakes, high speeds, and high temperatures lie ahead for the NASCAR Cup Series in Las Vegas. The abbreviated West Coast Swing ends this weekend with a Sin City standoff. The first true intermediate race of the year has some favorites, including one chasing a historic milestone. Will NASCAR’s hottest team stay in the black at Vegas, or will a new high roller emerge? Here are a few contenders who hope to turn heads in the Pennzoil 400.
Kyle Larson
In the four years of Kyle Larson being at Hendrick Motorsports, few tracks have been as kind to him as Las Vegas. The site of his first win in the No. 5, Larson’s also taken two of the last three checkered flags here. Laps led in all but one of the last eight trips to America’s Racing Showplace have Larson as a co-favorite for Sunday. This track has been a springboard for team 5 in multiple banner years, Larson’s hoping that history repeats itself this weekend.
“Las Vegas has been a great track for us since I joined the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team,” Larson said. “We got our first win here together and we have added a couple more since then. I think we have a couple runner-up finishes, also. The track is great but also getting to come to a cool city is fun, as well. This is probably in my top-three places to come to.”
Las Vegas is one of a few places Larson can call his personal playground. Across 17 Vegas starts, Larson boasts 12 top-10s, 629 laps led, and a 9.4 average finish. His Hendrick numbers here are only more stellar. Hendrick Motorsports already has one team Playoff-bound after four weeks. Larson could easily join this club, heading to one of his best stops on the circuit.
Christopher Bell
NASCAR’s most electric, versatile, and determined driver to start 2025 has a chance at furthering history. Christopher Bell rides into Las Vegas with three-straight wins, and is co-favored alongside Larson for a four-peat. Despite no past victories at the desert track, Bell has been painstakingly close here before. No near-win stung more than last fall’s tough Playoff loss, where Bell was a close runner-up. No track type has beaten team 20 since late February, an intermediate is this group’s next box to check off.
“Vegas is probably my best track on the schedule that I haven’t won at,” Bell said. “Between the Truck Series and the Xfinity Series, I’ve led a ton of laps there. Even in the Cup Series I’ve led a lot of laps there, yet still haven’t won. So we’re looking for that first Vegas win, and my first with Interstate Batteries as my primary partner. They’ve been with Joe Gibbs Racing since the beginning, and there’s a lot of pride that comes with carrying their colors. Some great names have won in Interstate Batteries green, and I’d like to add my name to the list. Vegas is a really good racetrack for me, and I know it could come at any time.”
“As I’ve gotten more established in the series and as our team has gotten better and better, we expect to be in the playoffs and we expect to win, and now we’re expecting to win multiple races,” said Bell, now in his sixth Cup season with 12 career victories. “So at Vegas, we’re expecting to compete for the win and, hopefully, we can continue to rack ’em up”
As far back as Atlanta, Bell has had Las Vegas on his radar as a bucket-list track to conquer. Bell’s Nevada tenure is batting .500 for top-10s, and has two second-places in the last three races. Bell is likewise aiming to become the ninth man in NASCAR’s Modern Era to earn a perfect quartet of wins. Perhaps this is Bell’s best chance yet at breaking through in Las Vegas.
Ryan Blaney
While he’s seen teammates tear up the Vegas Strip, Blaney is still 0-17 in Neon City. Driver 12 has seen six top-fives here, however, including third in this race a year ago. Entering week five sitting fourth in points, Blaney is positioned very nicely for a banner year ahead. Prime opportunities at a regular season title and perhaps another Bill France Cup may appear in the 12’s future.
After a rare mechanical DNF at Phoenix, Blaney eyes getting back on track in Sin City. Much like Bell, Blaney’s slowly been trending closer and closer to Vegas victory lane. Do not be surprised to see the 12 end Sunday on top.
William Byron
So far in the Next Gen era, William Byron’s taken very well to Las Vegas. Top-10s in five of the last six races and four-straight are the 24’s stat line entering Sunday. Byron had a wire-to-wire win in this race two years ago, only beginning a career-best six-victory campaign for the Hendrick driver. The Daytona 500 champion has little to complain about with his team’s weekly performance, and knows they will be a factor on Sunday.
“I know I keep saying it, but the No. 24 team is executing at a really high level right now,” Byron said. “That makes me confident every time I get in the car. We’re heading to a track where we have a good notebook and have success at so that makes me extra excited to get there and see what we can do.”
If not for hitting a rogue trash bag in the early laps, Byron would have been a front runner in last year’s Pennzoil 400 too. Byron’s numbers so far this year are only a step off of Bell’s, but the 24 has the nod for the points lead. Las Vegas may very well shape up to be another Byron vs. Bell battle in its closing laps.
Denny Hamlin
Close enough to taste the Phoenix win last week, Denny Hamlin now has his eyes set on another track that suits him. The 11’s only seen one Vegas result worse than 11th since 2020. This consistent stretch includes a 2021 Playoff win here. Hamlin’s also spent time out front in the last nine-straight Las Vegas races.
Joe Gibbs Racing cars are always fast in the desert, but surprisingly only have four wins here. Hamlin was JGR’s most recent winner at Las Vegas, and hopes to steal headlines away from his teammate this weekend.
Joey Logano
If there’s one driver the rest of the field should be fearing and loathing in Las Vegas, it’s Joey Logano. Last fall’s fuel saving triumph marked Vegas win number four for the 22, tied for most all-time (Jimmie Johnson). Logano’s Vegas stats are seemingly as random as a slot machine, however. Ninth is the 22’s best recent result here outside of winning, coming three times since 2019. Last year’s Pennzoil 400 was one of those times, where Logano started on pole but quickly fell through the field. Logano went in-depth on how perfect a team has to be to win big at LVMS.
“We say that’s a racetrack where it just takes everything to be good,” Logano said. “You have to have a fast car, you have to be able to take the bumps good, you have to have good horsepower, you have to have good fuel mileage, you have to have the right strategy, and it is the Pennzoil 400, right? We drive in the Pennzoil car there. So you want to make sure you have a good run there, a good show. I don’t see why we wouldn’t be good there. I’m looking forward to getting out to Vegas and seeing what we’ve got.”
Championship defense has been a mixed bag of results for Logano through four weeks. The 22 sits ninth in points, but has a best finish of 12th (Atlanta). Stats calling Las Vegas one of his best tracks for average finish (9.5) should have others fearful of the yellow missile. The Pennzoil 400 is an especially big stage for the Penske Pennzoil team. In short, Logano has added reason to put up a big performance on Sunday. Can he become Las Vegas’ all-time winningest man?
The bread and butter of the NASCAR season truly kicks off this weekend with Las Vegas. This track has delivered high drama and breathtaking action with the Next Gen Car, another superb Sunday should be on deck. The Pennzoil 400 (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) can be one driver’s jumping off point for a potential championship-caliber year.
Written by Peter Stratta
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