The NASCAR Cup Series starts the Round of 8 with a Sunday afternoon race at Las Vegas (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC).
Eight drivers head to the 1.5-mile track with championship hopes. One could lock up a spot in the Phoenix championship race with a win. William Byron, who is 20 points above the cutline, won the spring race at Las Vegas.
Here is a look at the drivers watch.
FRONTRUNNERS
William Byron
Points position: 1st
Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I, Phoenix I, Darlington I, Atlanta II, Watkins Glen, Texas)
Past at Las Vegas: He has 11 starts with four top-10 finishes, two top fives and one win (March 2023). Byron has led 255 laps since 2019, including 176 this spring. He enters the Round of 8 after finishing no worse than second in the Round of 12.
Kyle Larson
Points position: 4th
Best finish this season: 1st (Richmond I, Martinsville I, Darlington II)
Past at Las Vegas: He has top-10 finishes in 10 of his 14 Cup starts at Las Vegas with one win (March 2021). He finished second in last season’s spring race behind Alex Bowman and second in this season’s spring race behind Byron. Larson has led 314 laps at Las Vegas since 2018.
Denny Hamlin
Points position: 3rd
Best finish this season: 1st (Kansas I, Pocono, Bristol II)
Past at Las Vegas: He has 11 top-10 finishes in 23 Cup starts at Las Vegas. He won the playoff race in 2021 and finished 11th in this season’s spring race. He led at least 121 laps at Las Vegas in races in 2020 and 2021. Hamlin scored four straight top-five finishes in this season’s playoffs before a crash at the Charlotte Roval.
Joey Logano
Points position: 13th
Best finish this season: 1st (Atlanta I)
Past at Las Vegas: He has 20 starts with 12 top-10 finishes, seven top fives, and three wins (2019, 2020, 2022). He has an average finish of 9.9 and 536 laps led at the 1.5-mile track. He finished last in this season’s spring race after contact with Brad Keselowski and the outside wall sent him bouncing through the infield grass.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Martin Truex Jr.
Points position: 2nd
Best finish this season: 1st (Dover, Sonoma, New Hampshire)
Past at Las Vegas: He has 14 top-10 finishes in 23 Cup starts at Las Vegas, including six straight. Truex has two career wins at Las Vegas (2017, 2019). He has not finished better than 17th in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Ryan Blaney
Points position: 8th
Best finish this season: 1st (Charlotte, Talladega II)
Past at Las Vegas: He has eight top-10 finishes and five top fives in 14 starts. He has finished 13th or worse in three straight races at Las Vegas while leading 49 laps. Blaney is 10 points below the cutline entering the Round of 8.
Christopher Bell
Points position: 6th
Best finish this season: 1st (Bristol Dirt)
Past at Las Vegas: He has seven starts at Las Vegas with three top-10 finishes. He has never finished better than 24th in a fall race at the 1.5-mile track. Bell finished fifth in this season’s spring race. He enters the Round of 8 sixth in the standings and eight points below the cutline.
Tyler Reddick
Points position: 7th
Best finish this season: 1st (Circuit of the Americas, Kansas II)
Past at Las Vegas: He has seven starts with top-10 finishes at Las Vegas. Reddick finished 15th in this season’s spring race, his first with 23XI Racing, but Toyota teams have been strong on intermediate tracks this season. He is seventh in the standings and eight points below the cutline.
