South Point 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV
Sunday September 16, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on NBCSN
1.5 Mile Oval
Weather: Sunny, 100°F

Previous Five Winners and Pole Sitters

Race	Race Winner	Pole Sitter
Spring 2018	Kevin Harvick	Ryan Blaney
Spring 2017	Martin Truex Jr.	Brad Keselowski
Spring 2016	Brad Keselowski	Kurt Busch
Spring 2015	Kevin Harvick	Jeff Gordon
Spring 2014	Brad Keselowski	Joey Logano

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to Las Vegas this Sunday with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A total of 40 cars are scheduled to enter the event. The playoffs are here and the winner is guaranteed to move into the second round. Who will claim the checkered flag in the first race for The Chase For The Cup?

The Favorite(s)

The 2018 season marks the first time the NASCAR Cup Series is running two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I'm not sure the drivers are going to appreciate it with a forecast of 100 degree temperatures, but the results of the spring race combined with the track's popular "cookie-cutter" layout gives us a lot of hard data to determine who is going to run well this week. Not surprisingly, the numbers favor the two drivers sitting atop the initial playoff point standings: Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.

Let's start with the spring race. Kevin Harvick dominated the race by leading 214 of 267 laps on his way to capturing the checkered flag. Who was on his tail as he crossed the finish line? Of course it was Kyle Busch coming home with a runner-up finish.

On to the cookie-cutters. So far seven races have been run on cookie-cutter tracks this season. Both Harvick and Busch won three of those races. It is crystal clear why these drivers are the co-favorites this week.

Harvick has had more recent success at Las Vegas by winning two of the last four races ran here. Busch hasn't won here since 2009, but has three top-five finishes in his last five starts. Busch also has a little extra motivation since he is a Las Vegas native.

"Yeah, Vegas always means a little bit more pressure – more pressure on myself – just because it’s the hometown and you want to win there," Busch said. "Thankfully, I have won there (2009) and I’ve knocked that one off the list, but certainly you want to win there every year. I love Vegas, the atmosphere and everything going on around that place. We’ve run up front there the last couple of years, so I would like to get our M&M’S Camry back in victory lane there. It’s always been a big race for us and the M&M’S team, so I’m hoping we can bring home the win in my hometown."

Other Drivers to Watch

Two weeks ago the NASCAR community was talking about Brad Keselowski's disappointing 2018 season. That talk sure ended in a hurry as Keselowski stormed into the championship picture with back-to-back wins at Darlington and Indianapolis to close out the regular season. Keselowski has two wins at Las Vegas in his career and has finished no worse than seventh in his last six starts here, including a sixth place finish in the spring. He's had some success on the cookie-cutters this season with a runner-up finish in Atlanta and a third place finish at Kentucky. Keselowski is peaking at the right time and a win this Sunday would not be surprising.

As mentioned earlier, Harvick and Busch have combined to win six of the seven cookie-cutter races this season. Who won the other one? Defending Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., who took home the checkered flag at the last cookie-cutter race in Kentucky. Truex won the race here last year and finished in fourth place in the spring. He has three top-five finishes in his last four starts here. Truex has been the third member of NASCAR's Big Three so far this year, but a win at Las Vegas could move him back to the front of the pack.

Kyle Larson has been the most consistent contender of the Chevy drivers this season, but he is still searching for his first victory in 2018. It would be a big boom to his championship hopes if it comes at Las Vegas this week. Larson finished runner-up last year and placed third in the spring race. The young driver has five second place finishes so far this season, sooner or later he has to step up to finish in first.

Ryan Blaney hasn't made a lot of noise this year, but was consistent enough to earn a spot in the Chase. He showed a lot of speed in the spring race by capturing the pole and crossing the finish line in fifth place. He has finished in the top-seven in his last three starts here.

News Around the Track

The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 car of Daniel Suarez was issued a L1 level penalty for failing pre-race inspection four times Saturday at Indianapolis. Suarez was penalized with the loss of ten drivers points while Joe Gibbs Racing lost ten owners points. In addition, Suarez was sent to the back of the field for the start of the Brickyard race and his crew chief Todd Brewer was suspended for the race. Suarez finished 18th in the race and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The Associated Press has reported Jamie McMurray will not return to drive full time for the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 car in 2019. Team owner Chip Ganassi has stated he offered McMurray a contract to drive the car in the 2019 Daytona 500. McMurray only has one top-five finish this season and failed to make the playoffs. Rumors are circulating that Ganassi plans to offer the ride to free agent to-be Kurt Busch, who is leaving Stewart-Haas Racing after this season concludes.

Team owner Jack Roush announced on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Thursday that Trevor Bayne will not be offered a contract to drive the No. 6 car next year. Bayne struggled early in the season and Roush recruited Matt Kenseth back in April to pilot the car for selected races beginning at Kansas on May 12th. Since that time Bayne has only started six races, with a best finish of 11th at Bristol. Bayne is scheduled to drive the car this week at Las Vegas.

Roush claims to be in negotiations with several different drivers to take over the ride in 2019. When asked what kind of driver he is looking for, Roush responded "I want a driver that can be fast." That would certainly help.