NASCAR Update: Las Vegas Spring Race

After a thrilling evening in Atlanta, the NASCAR Cup Series circuit heads out to the West Coast for the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

This past weekend saw an ending for the ages as Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez edged out Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in a three-wide photo finish.

The margin of victory between Suarez and Blaney was .003 seconds, the third closest finish in NASCAR history behind Ricky Craven’s 2003 Darlington win and Jimmie Johnson’s victory at the 2011 Talladega spring race.

The difference between the top three finishes was only .007 seconds, the closest top three in NASCAR history.

This was Suarez’s second NASCAR Cup Series win. The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion had not seen victory lane since the 2022 Sonoma race.

A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Suarez becomes the third foreign-born driver to win multiple Cup Series races, joining Colombia’s Juan Pablo Montoya and Australia’s Marcos Ambrose in that category. Both Montoya and Ambrose also have two wins, but neither came on oval tracks.

The victory locks Suarez into the NASCAR Playoffs alongside Daytona 500 champion William Byron. After missing the playoffs entirely last season, this is a much-needed morale booster for Suarez.

Overall, the Atlanta race saw 10 cautions and 48 lead changes, a new record for the circuit. With the exciting style of racing that made a perfect blend of superspeedway-style drafting and a rough surface that made for poor handling, drivers and fans alike praised the recent configuration of the classic track.

With two drafting tracks out of the way, NASCAR heads to another 1.5-mile track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Since the arrival of the Gen7 car in 2022, the track has offered some exciting side-by-side action.

Last season, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron took the victory in the spring race in overtime. The race would end up being a Hendrick 1-2-3 finish as Byron beat out teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman.

Larson would get revenge though, as he would win the fall race at Las Vegas by .082 seconds over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. The win would secure Larson’s spot in the Championship 4 as the fall race is in the playoffs.

In terms of active drivers, both Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have won at Las Vegas three times. While at separate teams, both drivers are in Ford machinery which has run well in qualifying, but both have been involved. in accidents in the first two races.

Through the first two races, Ford has earned the pole position, but Chevrolet has gotten the wins. The blue ovals will be looking to change that this Sunday.

The green flag for Las Vegas is set for Sunday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m.

Jack Rachinsky is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jjr6682@psu.edu.