The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Sin City this weekend, with the main event set for 3:30 on Sunday. Joey Logano will lead the field to the green flag after winning pole position on Saturday. Here’s what to keep an eye on during the running of the Pennzoil 400 upcoming:
Logano is as good of a favorite as anyone in Vegas, having won three of the last eight races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including the most recent last season.
William Byron starts on the front row alongside Logano, and should also be considered a threat. Byron has led laps in four of the last five races at Las Vegas.
Ross Chastain led the most laps in both races at the LVMS a year ago. Chastain starts eighth, but it would not be a surprise to see him quickly move through the field.
It will also be hard to count out the re-energized Kyle Busch, who won at Fontana last Sunday. Busch, a Vegas native, led late in the going during the first race here in 2022, before a caution flag jumbled up the finishing order.
Qualifying gave us some surprising names towards the front of the field as well, most notably rookie Ty Gibbs. Gibbs won in the Xfinity Series at Vegas last spring, but it remains to be seen if he can stay up front with the big boys on Sunday.
On the other end of matters, starting towards the back will be Tyler Reddick, who failed to qualify proper due to a mechanical issue in practice. Just another stroke of bad luck in what’s been a bad luck start to the season.
It will be interesting to see how Josh Berry performs, too. Berry, who has only two career Cup Series starts, is stepping in for 2020 series champion Chase Elliott, who injured his leg in a snowboarding accident and will likely miss several weeks before he is ready to take to the track once more.