Written by Sean McKean
After the Round of 12 elimination in Charlotte, the Cup and Xfinity Series’ will now travel to Las Vegas, Nevada for the first race of the Round of 8. Over the last six years, Las Vegas has been a staple of the Cup and Xfinity playoffs, but it’s still a relatively new addition to the postseason. Let's travel back in time for the first Cup Series playoff race in Vegas: the 2018 South Point 400.
The build-up
The regular season had been dominated by the “Big Three” of Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch: at this point, Harvick amassed seven victories, Truex four, and Busch six. Now, though, the playoffs had begun with the trio as the top three seeds.
The headlines especially belonged to Truex. His team and defending Cup champions – Furniture Row Racing – announced in the spring that they would be closing their doors come season’s end. Given their prosperity the year before, this announcement came as a shock to many within the industry. Subsequently, Truex would be trying to give his Denver team a proper send-off by winning his and their second championship.
Before the playoffs, the drivers took on two consecutive Crown Jewel races to conclude the regular season: the Southern 500 and Brickyard 400. Both races were won by Brad Keselowski, who – up until those rounds – had been winless all season. With momentum on his side, the 2012 champion looked to make it three in a row.
As for this race specifically, it was the first time Las Vegas had a feature in the playoffs. Although Vegas historically always had a spring date in March, they now received a second race in September – replacing New Hampshire’s second race.
The race
Pole winner and Joe Gibbs driver Erik Jones led the field to the green flag, but he was quickly swallowed up by Joey Logano, who led until the first green flag stops occurred on Lap 34. In this cycle, spring winner Kevin Harvick found his way to the front, but Martin Truex Jr then took the lead for himself. Truex kept the lead to win the stage.
Stage 1 Results:
No. 78 - Martin Truex Jr (Furniture Row Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 4 - Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 88 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]
No. 41 - Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 18 - Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]
No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
No. 20 - Erik Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 10 - Aric Almirola (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 31 - Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing)
Truex led the way on the restart, but cautions for cause began to come out.
It started with Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on Lap 90, who hit the Turn 3 wall and left debris on the racing surface. This was followed up by Ty Dillon suffering a tyre failure 32 laps later, which brought out another caution.
Then, a major crash befell one of the Big Three on Lap 148: Kevin Harvick. Going into Turn 1, the 2014 champion suffered a tyre failure as well, sending him hard into the wall. Erik Jones behind him could not avoid the SHR driver and ran into the back of him. This put both drivers – notably also playoff drivers – out of the race.
Truex led on each restart, even despite brief challenges from Brad Keselowski. But the restart following the Harvick-Jones crash saw Keselowski take the lead decisively. He held on until the end of the stage.
Stage 2 Results:
No. 2 - Brad Keselowski (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
No. 41 - Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 78 - Martin Truex Jr (Furniture Row Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 48 - Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]
No. 1 - Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing)
No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]
No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
No. 88 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]
No. 42 - Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing) [Playoffs]
Keselowski led the field to green to begin the final stage – battling Kyle Larson for a few laps before the caution came back out for a flat tyre by rookie William Byron.
On the next restart, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead back on Lap 202, but drama struck more playoff drivers ten laps later. Jamie McMurray – who had been battling a mishandling car – had a tyre go flat and spun into the outside wall. Then, playoff driver Chase Elliott hit McMurray’s car, which sent him into the wall as well. Both drivers retired from the race.
Logano led the restart on Lap 215, but another caution came out by Turn 4, with Kyle Busch going for a spin into the infield grass. He was able to continue.
Larson then led the next restart on a brief green flag run before Denny Hamlin went for a spin into the grass. Unlike Kyle Busch, however, his splitter dug into the grass, resulting in terminal damage.
On Lap 251, the field restarted, but only two laps later, the caution came back out. Coming off Turn 2, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. received a tap, sending him hard into the inside wall – mirroring the crash from Chase Briscoe in the previous day’s Xfinity race.
The next restart was clean, but tyre problems forced Alex Bowman and Jimmie Johnson to come into the pits. After reporting that debris caused their issues, NASCAR threw the caution.
On what was the first overtime restart, Brad Keselowski led the way, but they only made it to the backstretch before a big crash occurred. Out of Turn 3, Michael McDowell was spun, sending him into the path of Kurt Busch, David Ragan, and Matt DiBenedetto. All four cars were heavily damaged, and the red flag was thrown.
The next overtime restart proved to be the final. Keselowski won the inaugural playoff race in Las Vegas. He was followed by Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr.
Official Results:
No. 2 - Brad Keselowski (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
No. 42 - Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 78 - Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Motorsports) [Playoffs]
No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
No. 10 - Aric Almirola (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 18 - Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 19 - Daniel Suarez (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 31 - Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing)
No. 21 - Paul Menard (Wood Brothers Racing)
No. 3 - Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) [Playoffs]
No. 95 - Regan Smith (Leavine Family Racing)
No. 6 - Trevor Bayne (Roush Fenway Racing)
No. 47 - AJ Allmendinger (JTG-Daugherty Racing)
No. 37 - Chris Buescher (JTG-Daugherty Racing)
No. 72 - Corey Lajoie (TriStar Motorsports)
No. 23 - JJ Yeley (BK Racing)
No. 00 - Landon Cassill (Starcom Racing)
No. 88 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs] +1 lap
No. 15 - Ross Chastain (Premium Motorsports) +1 lap
No. 41 - Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs] +1 lap
No. 48 - Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs] +2 laps
No. 14 - Clint Bowyer (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs] +2 laps
No. 32 - Matt DiBenedetto (Go Fas Racing) +3 laps
No. 96 - Jeffrey Earnhardt (Gaunt Brothers Racing) +3 laps
No. 99 - Kyle Weatherman (Starcom Racing) +3 laps
No. 38 - David Ragan (Front Row Motorsports) +4 laps
No. 51 - BJ McLeod (Rick Ware Racing) +4 laps
No. 34 - Michael McDowell (Front Row Motorsports) +7 laps
No. 17 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing) [DNF]
No. 7 - Reed Sorenson (Premium Motorsports) [DNF]
No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs] [DNF]
No. 66 - Timmy Hill (MBM Motorsports) [DNF]
No. 13 - Ty Dillon (Germain Racing) [DNF]
No. 1 - Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing) [DNF]
No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs] [DNF]
No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports) [DNF]
No. 43 - Bubba Wallace (Richard Petty Motorsports) [DNF]
No. 4 - Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs] [DNF]
No. 20 - Erik Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs] [DNF]
Following a race that featured multiple playoff drivers go out with crashes, the new grid looked like:
Official Playoff Grid (after Race 1 of RO16):
No. 2 - Brad Keselowski: [WIN]
No. 78 - Martin Truex Jr.: +65
No 18 - Kyle Busch: +63
No. 4 - Kevin Harvick: +38
No. 22 - Joey Logano: +34
No. 41 - Kurt Busch: +24
No. 12 - Ryan Blaney: +20
No. 42 - Kyle Larson: +19
No. 10 - Aric Almirola: +12
No. 3 - Austin Dillon: +9
No. 14 - Clint Bowyer: +7
No. 88 - Alex Bowman: +6
Playoff Cut Line
No. 48 - Jimmie Johnson: -6
No. 9 - Chase Elliott: -9
No. 20 - Erik Jones: -19
No. 11 - Denny Hamlin: -20
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