Las Vegas – Kyle Larson was fortunate recently in Las Vegas, where he opened the third round of the NASCAR playoffs, taking the top spot in the Cup Series standings and being the favorite to win Sunday’s race.
Larson enters the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as both the defender of the race and the winner of the track’s spring race this season. Sunday’s victory would make it three in a row in Vegas, a season-breaker, but most importantly, it would give Larson an automatic berth to the championship finals.
With 16 drivers taking part in the playoffs, the eighth three-race round begins in Las Vegas, setting up the winner-take-all finale of the fourth championship. The next third round will be at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, followed by the finale in Phoenix.
“Las Vegas is one of our better tracks,” Larson said of his chances Sunday. “On paper, all three tracks in the eighth round look pretty good… but we still have to go out there and give it our all. I like to run well and win.
Larson already has two wins in the first two rounds of the playoffs, in the first round at Bristol Motor Speedway and then last week in the hybrid/road elimination race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This victory was his best sixth Cup Series win of the season.
Larson left victory lane at Charlotte celebrating the Hendrick Motorsports victory as his teammates William Byron, Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott advanced to advance four Chevrolet team members to the third round. However, NASCAR ruled that Bowman’s car failed post-operative inspection and was disqualified, eliminating Bowman from the final eight.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano advanced in place of Bowman to join teammate and reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney in the eighth round. They represent the only two Ford drivers.
Toyota has the remaining three spots with Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, as well as regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing.
Larson said the entire Hendrick organization felt the sting of Bowman’s disqualification, and now Logano can’t be overlooked. Logano is the only two-time Cup playoff champion and a three-time Las Vegas winner.
“Of course I would love to have Alex in the eighth round. “Joey is dangerously good,” Larson said. “He can never be counted out anywhere. So when he benefits from a disqualification, we think, ‘Damn, he’s a difficult player.’
Lawsuit update
Earlier this week, NASCAR moved to deny the expedited discovery request filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, claiming both Cup organizations are trying to “force” a better deal in the charter system.
23XI and Front Row were the only two of the 15 organizations that refused to sign extensions to new charter agreements last month. Instead, the bands have filed a federal antitrust lawsuit and are seeking to be recognized as licensed bands as the case works its way through the court system.
NASCAR stated in its response: “Plaintiffs have filed a baseless lawsuit against NASCAR, alleging baseless antitrust claims to obtain commercial agreements they had previously rejected and to attempt to force more favorable contract terms.”
NASCAR says the charter agreements provided by teams at signing are no longer available.
“The deadline for plaintiffs to sign their 2025 charter agreements passed several weeks ago, and NASCAR has taken steps, consistent with its contractual obligations to other charter teams, to schedule a season with only 32 charters,” NASCAR wrote. “Plaintiffs do not need these Racing Charter Agreements and, in fact, have stated publicly that they will race in NASCAR regardless.
A hearing is scheduled for November 4 in Charlotte, North Carolina, at which 23XI and Front Row will be recognized as charter teams in 2025.
There’s no place like home
Kyle Busch has one month left to extend his record NASCAR winning streak to 20 straight seasons with at least one victory.
“Yeah, I mean, time is running out,” Busch said Saturday. “We are approaching the end of the year.”
He would like nothing more than to get it over with on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track where Busch has just one career victory but was third in last year’s playoff race.
“I feel like this spot is probably one of our best chances this year to go there and get a win,” Busch said.
Busch has 63 Cup Series wins and joins Logano as the only active drivers with a pair of Cup titles.
Last year, Busch won his second race with Richard Childress Racing, recording three wins and advancing to the playoffs.
However, his last victory came at Gateway near St. Louis in June 2023, and his losing streak includes a career-worst 53 races that will end on Sunday. He didn’t qualify for the playoffs, and now he’s just trying to keep his winning streak going.
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