The NASCAR Cup Series began their West Coast trip this past weekend. The first race on this trip was the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Last year’s winner Joey Logano was looking to defend his victory. Logano wanted redemption after finishing 26th last week in the Daytona 500.
Qualifying was rained out which meant qualifying position was determined by last season’s point standings. Pole winner Kyle Busch, along with Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell, had to drop to the back of the field for the green flag after failing pre-race inspection. After the original leaders were shuffled to the back, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. took the green flag.
Harvick was able to clear Truex Jr. to lead the first lap. However, the yellow flag came out on lap one after the 96 car of Daniel Suarez had a mechanical issue on the front stretch. Logano would take the lead on the following restart, but he would have to hold off Truex Jr. and Harvick. Because of the rain during the weekend, a competition caution came on lap 26. Harvick led the field back to green after being the first car on and off pit road. The 9 car of Chase Elliott was moving through the field with ease. He finally made the pass for the lead on Harvick with 14 laps to go in stage one. Elliott secured his stage win of the season, but he was looking for more.
Elliott was the first car in and the first car off of pit road for the start of stage two. He got trapped in a 3-wide from Harvick and Truex Jr, shuffling him back in the field. He had no problem getting back up to the front as he regained the race lead 20 laps later. Green flag pit stops began with 40 laps to go in the stage on lap 120. The 47 car of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the field as the rest of the field pitted, but he would head down pit lane on lap 144 and shuffle Elliott back into the lead. A spin by the 95 car of Christopher Bell brought out the caution flag with two laps to go, ending the stage under yellow with Elliott getting another stage win.
Martin Truex Jr. had some loose lug nuts during his pit stop at the stage break, forcing him to come back down pit lane before the start of stage three. Blaney and Elliott led the field to green, but Blaney had the advantage due to a strong push from teammate Joey Logano. Logano quickly slid around Blaney to try and take the lead, but he had a mirror full of Elliott.
The 38 car of Nemechek spun and brought out the caution right away. The next green flag run was short-lived as Truex Jr. hit the wall and brought out the caution just eight laps later. Off-track best friends Blaney and Elliott would battle for the lead with 63 laps to go with Elliott having the advantage as he regained the lead. The 9 car was the car to beat all day, but a flat tire with 47 laps to go changed that very quickly.
Elliott had a flat left rear tire and some damage to the right rear of his car that put him a lap down and out of contention for the win. This brought out a caution in the midst of a green flag pit stop cycle. This left Stenhouse Jr., Preece, and Nemechek as the only cars on the lead lap. The rest field stays out during the caution to take the wave around. Logano quickly made the pass for the lead at the green flag.
With less than 15 to go, the 12 car of Ryan Blaney had tracked down teammate Joey Logano. Blaney had his sight set on the lead. He passed Logano for the lead on lap 254. A caution with six to go after a spin by Ross Chastain would change everything.
Blaney’s team made a gutsy call to pit during the caution, putting him at 12th on the restart. Logano and Byron would lead the field to green. Logano took the lead thanks to a big push from Stenhouse Jr. A tire rub for Byron at the restart caused him to slide back. Teammate Jimmie Johnson dove to the bottom of the track to try and gain some positions. Byron made contact with the wall and several cars spun on the final lap.
Since Logano took the white flag prior to this happening, the Pennzoil 400 ended under yellow. The winner of this year’s Pennzoil 400 Joey Logano was crowned in another exciting finish.
