Information By: TAYLOR SMITH / TEAM PENSKE – LAS VEGAS, NV
South Point 400: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada – October 19, 2024
NASCAR TRACKS – LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY – NASCAR 101
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue this weekend as drivers and teams head to Las Vegas, looking to cash in their ticket to the Championship 4 with a victory in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This 1.5-mile track serves as the stage for the opening race in the Round of 8, following the elimination of four drivers after last week’s showdown at the Charlotte Roval. Following the bright lights of Las Vegas, the series will continue its trek with pivotal stops at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, determining the four final contenders who will battle for the championship crown in Phoenix.
In Saturday’s practice session, Ryan Blaney had a left-rear tire go down, resulting in heavy damage to the Menards/Great Stuff Ford Mustang. As a result, Blaney was not able to post a time in qualifying and the No. 12 team will utilize a backup car for Sunday’s race.
- Joey Logano, driver, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang – 10th
- Austin Cindric, driver, No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang – 11th
- Ryan Blaney, driver, No. 12 Menards/Great Stuff Ford Mustang – 37th
LOGANO SAID IT: “I think we’re good on the long run. Our short run speed is not real good, but I think we can make some adjustments to try and equal that out a little bit. For qualifying, we just didn’t have enough grip.”
TEAM PENSKE AT VEGAS: Team Penske has emerged victorious on nine occasions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the years across its starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Cup Series. The organization’s most recent win at the Nevada track came in 2022 when Joey Logano led a total of 32 laps en route to the win, and ultimately his second Cup Series title. Logano has two additional Cup Series wins at Las Vegas (2019, 2020), and a total of 13 top-10 finishes and 538 laps led in 22 starts. Through Ryan Blaney’s 16 Cup Series starts at Las Vegas, the driver of the No. 12 has tallied 10 top-10 and six top-five finishes with a best result of third (2024). For the driver of the No. 2, in his young Cup Series career, Austin Cindric claimed a best finish of sixth at the 1.5-mile track in 2023 and has started inside the top 10 in four of his five starts.
TUNE IN ON SUNDAY: Coverage of Sunday’s South Point 400 from Las Vegas is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. Viewers can tune in to watch the race live on NBC, with radio coverage available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.