The third round of the Cup playoffs begins this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Eight drivers remain in the playoffs. If one of them wins Sunday’s race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC), they’ll transfer to next month’s championship race at Phoenix.
William Byron holds the final transfer spot entering the round. The drivers below the cutline are reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney (-4 points), Denny Hamlin (-8), Chase Elliott (-9) and Joey Logano (-11).
Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams ahead of the Las Vegas playoff race.
23XI Racing — Good news: Tyler Reddick finished second at Las Vegas in March. … Reddick has five finishes of eighth or better in the last six races at Las Vegas. … Bubba Wallace has three top-10 finishes in the last four races. Bad news: Reddick’s average finish in the regular season was 11.2. His average finish in the playoffs is 18.1.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Todd Gilliland is making his 100th Cup start with the team. It will be Gilliland’s 105th career Cup start overall. Bad news: Michael McDowell has never scored a top-15 finish in 21 Cup starts at Las Vegas. … Todd Gilliland has not scored a top-20 finish in five career starts at Las Vegas.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Kyle Larson leads the points entering the Round of 8. He is 33 points above the cutline. … Larson has won the past two races at Las Vegas. … Larson has finished first or second in five of the last seven races at Las Vegas. … William Byron had an average finish of 2.7 in the second round. … Byron has scored a series-best 190 points in five races on 1.5-mile tracks this season. … Chase Elliott has four consecutive top 10s at 1.5-mile tracks, the longest active streak. … Hendrick Motorsports has won four of the last five races at Las Vegas. Bad news: Alex Bowman’s car was disqualified after the Charlotte Roval race for not meeting minimum weight requirement, costing him a spot in the next round and preventing all four Hendrick cars from advancing.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Christopher Bell has finished seventh or better in seven of the last eight races. … Bell has a series-high 20 top 10s this season. … Bell has started in the top 10 in each of the last five Las Vegas races, including starting on the pole twice. … Martin Truex Jr. has scored eight consecutive top-10 finishes at Las Vegas. … Denny Hamlin is making his ninth appearance in the Round of 8, tied with Joey Logano for most among drivers. … Hamlin has scored three consecutive top 10s at 1.5-mile tracks. … Ty Gibbs has had back-to-back top 10s at 1.5-mile tracks. … Gibbs finished fifth at Las Vegas in March. Bad news: Truex has one top-10 finish in the last 11 races. … Gibbs has one top 10 in the last seven races. … Hamlin has scored one point in the last five stages.
JTG Daugherty Racing — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has had back-to-back top-20 finishes for the first time since Iowa and New Hampshire in June. Bad news: Stenhouse has two top 10s in 18 career starts at Las Vegas.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: AJ Allmendinger finished sixth and Shane van Gisbergen placed seventh at the Charlotte Roval, marking the first time this season that the organization had placed two cars in the top 10. … Shane van Gisbergen is in the No. 16 this weekend, making his 11th start of the year. … Daniel Hemric has four top 10s this year. All have been ninth-place finishes. Bad news: Kaulig Racing cars have been penalized 14 times this season for speeding on pit road.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: John Hunter Nemechek won the Xfinity race at Las Vegas in March. … Jimmie Johnson is back in the No. 84 this weekend, making his eighth start of the season. Bad news: The Charlotte Roval race represented the third time in the last four races the organization has not had a car finish better than 30th. … Johnson’s best finish in seven races this year is 28th in the Daytona 500 and at Dover. … Erik Jones has not started in the top 15 since Bristol in March.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch has five top five-finishes in his last seven starts at Las Vegas. Busch has scored stage points in three consecutive races, tied for his best streak of the season. … Austin Dillon finished 12th at Kansas in the most recent race at a 1.5-mile track. Bad news: Busch has had five consecutive finishes of 13th or worse after a streak of four top 10s in a row.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Cody Ware is in the No. 15 this weekend, making his ninth start of the season. … Ware has two finishes of 12th or better in his last three starts, including a career-best fourth at Daytona. … Corey LaJoie has two top-20 finishes in his first three starts with the organization. Bad news: The organization has never finished better than 25th in a Cup race at Las Vegas.
RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski has two runner-up finishes in the last four races on 1.5-mile tracks. … Keselowski’s pit crew had the best four-tire pit stop last weekend at the Charlotte Roval at 9.409 seconds, according to Racing Insights. Bad news: Chris Buescher has one top-10 finish in 15 starts at Las Vegas. … Other than his stage win at Talladega, Buescher has not scored any stage points in the last six races.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Carson Hocevar has finished 12th or better in six of the last 11 races. … Hocevar finished 15th at Las Vegas in March. … Zane Smith has three top 10s in the last nine races. … The organization has had at least one car finish in the top 15 in 10 of the last 11 races. … Spire’s teams have combined for 13 top 10s this year. Last year, the organization had three top 10s at this point in the season. … Justin Haley has one top 10 in his three starts since rejoining the team. Bad news: Spire has not had a car finish better than 15th in a Cup race at Las Vegas.
Stewart-Haas Racing — Good news: Noah Gragson has two top 10s in his last five starts on 1.5-mile tracks. … Ryan Preece has two top 10s in the last five races. Bad news: Since his Southern 500 win, Chase Briscoe has finished 24th or worse in four of the last six races. … Josh Berry has finished 20th or worse in 13 of the last 14 races.
Team Penske — Good news: Ryan Blaney has scored the most stage points (54) among the remaining playoff drivers. … Blaney placed third at Las Vegas in March. … Joey Logano is making his ninth appearance in the Round of 8, which is tied with Denny Hamlin for most appearances. … Austin Cindric’s fourth-place at the Roval was his first top five since his win at Gateway in June. Bad news: Logano has scored the fewest points (114) among the remaining playoff drivers at 1.5-mile tracks. … Cindric has led 256 laps this season but none on a 1.5-mile track.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain has an average finish of 5.2 at Las Vegas in the Next Gen era. That is best among all drivers. … Chastain won at Kansas in the most recent race at a 1.5-mile track. Bad news: Daniel Suarez has placed 26th or worse in three of the last four races.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Harrison Burton finished 20th at the Charlotte Roval for his best result since his Daytona win. Bad news: Burton has finished 30th or worse in 15 of the 32 races this season.
