Logano Victorious in Vegas
Joey Logano executed Team Penske’s fuel strategy flawlessly to win the South Point 400 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With this victory, Logano became the first driver to secure a spot in the Championship 4.
Despite leading only the final six laps on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas track, Logano managed to hold off Christopher Bell by a mere 0.662 seconds in the closing moments. Bell, who had dominated the race by leading 155 of the 267 laps and winning Stage 2, pitted 35 laps later than Logano and couldn’t close the nearly 30-second gap that separated him from #22 Penske Ford.
Daniel Suárez, who followed the same strategy as Logano, finished third after leading 57 laps. Playoff driver William Byron took fourth, followed by Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman in fifth.
This win marked a dramatic turnaround for Logano, who thought his playoff run had ended after the Round of 12 finale at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR announced hours later that Bowman, who had initially secured the final playoff spot, was disqualified for having an underweight car, allowing Logano to advance to the Round of 8. Logano’s last victory in the Las Vegas playoff race, in 2022, helped him win the series championship.
“Just an incredible day. Like I said, it takes the whole team to do the fuel-mileage stuff. Not just the engineers, spotter. It takes all of us to do it. Total team win. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were a solid top-five car and were able to maximize it at the end.”
In contrast, Bell was understandably disappointed. “I don’t think I have come to terms yet,” he said, reflecting on his performance. “Just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on the rails; the pit crew did an amazing job, and [crew chief] Adam [Stevens] called a great race. Did everything we needed to, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be today.
The race had major playoff implications for the eight drivers in contention, with three eliminated from winning contention by Stage 2. Two others faced difficulties during pit stops, leaving Logano, Bell, Byron, and Denny Hamlin—who finished eighth—leading the playoff charge among the top 10. Bell’s strong performance gave him a 42-point cushion above the elimination line, putting him in the points lead.
Hamlin’s eighth-place finish was notable after a challenging day for his No. 11 Toyota team, which faced pit road struggles before adopting a similar fuel-saving strategy to Logano. Hamlin’s teammate Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth, followed by Ross Chastain, Hamlin, John Hunter Nemechek, and Chris Buescher.
Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports finished 11th after falling off the lead lap in Stage 2 due to a pit road mishap that required an unscheduled stop. Despite this, Larson is now second in the standings, 35 points above the cutoff. His teammate Byron holds the fourth-place spot, 27 points ahead of Hamlin.
Tyler Reddick finished 35th after an aggressive move on Lap 89 that forced tight racing. The incident also involved fellow playoff drivers Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. Reddick, who led nine laps and won Stage 1, remained optimistic about the remainder of the playoffs. “Ideally, yeah, it would have been nice to win today. It would be nice to win next week, and that is what we will focus on, but thankfully we got 10 stage points in Stage 1, and it’s not like we are absolutely out of it on points yet. We are going to have to be perfect here on out, probably.”
Blaney, who finished 32nd, had a rough weekend even before the race began. He suffered a flat tire in Saturday’s practice that damaged his primary car, forcing him to start Sunday’s race at the back in a backup car. Elliott finished 33rd after being caught up in the same multi-car crash with Reddick.
The championship standings remain tight. Hamlin is fifth, trailing Byron by 27 points, while Reddick is 30 points below the elimination line, followed by Blaney (-47) and Elliott (-53).
The Cup Series continues next week with the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Bell is the defending winner.
