NASCAR at Las Vegas 2018: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
With Kevin Harvick back on top, the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series sets sights on the Sunday's Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Harvick took a checkered flag a week ago in Atlanta, the first post-Daytona race of the season. Now he's looking at leading the series into the desert for an event at a track where he's one of the most seasoned—boasting 17 starts.
As fans might recall, Las Vegas is where Joey Logano and Kyle Busch had their fistfight one year ago. The heat and a track prone to producing wrecks and close results tends to have tempers flaring.
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With any luck, the extracurriculars will stay turned down this time around, and the thrilling action presented over two races so far will remain in the spotlight. Here's everything to know.
Viewing Details
Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
When: Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Watch: Fox
Tickets: StubHub
Pennzoil 400
1. Ryan Blaney, 28.200 seconds
2. Kevin Harvick, 28.384 seconds
3. Kurt Busch, 28.411 seconds
4. Martin Truex Jr., 28.424 seconds
5. Kyle Larson, 28.504 seconds
6. Chase Elliott, 28.545 seconds
7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 28.549 seconds
8. Brad Keselowski, 28.556 seconds
9. Erik Jones, 28.614 seconds
10. Joey Logano, 28.626 seconds
11. Clint Bowyer, 28.652 seconds
12. Paul Menard, 28.656 seconds
Full order available at NASCAR.com.
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Standings
| 1. Kevin Harvick | 75 |
| 2. Austin Dillon | 70 |
| 3. Joey Logano | 89 |
| 4. Ryan Blaney | 83 |
| 5. Denny Hamlin | 77 |
| 6. Clint Bowyer | 74 |
| 7. Martin Truex Jr. | 69 |
| 8. Kurt Busch | 68 |
| 9. Paul Menard | 66 |
| 10. Aric Almirola | 66 |
| 11. Kyle Busch | 61 |
| 12. Brad Keselowski | 58 |
| 13. Kyle Larson | 54 |
| 14. Darrell Wallace Jr. | 52 |
| 15. Michael McDowell | 52 |
| 16. Ryan Newman | 49 |
Drivers to Watch
Martin Truex Jr.
Talk about an eventful week for Martin Truex Jr., a guy who also happens to be the defending champ of Sunday's event.
In Atlanta, Truex's car failed inspection three times, and car chief Blake Harris got himself ejected. Despite all the drama, Truex surged as high as first place, even leading a lap, before dropping back down and finishing fifth.
Now he's trying to repeat at the track that gave him his first win a year ago on the way to a title.
"The Las Vegas track has its unique features," Truex said, according to Mike Hembree of USA Today. "What stands out to me is the way the bumps are and the frequency of the bumps. A windy Las Motor speedway can also cause havoc with the balance of the car. But we had some good runs there in recent years."
Truex might arguably have more momentum than anybody else heading into the weekend, though it would probably be nice for his crew if the car could go ahead and pass inspection, making fuel management and the like easier while starting from a better spot.
Either way, Truex was a contender to watch even before his odd stop in Atlanta—now he's even more entertaining.
In the past, we've listed guys like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon as question marks to watch because they needed big wins as they say goodbye.
Jimmie Johnson is a different conversation starter, but his situation boils down to the same question—what's going on?
Johnson finished 38th at the Daytona 500, actually winding up worse than his starting spot of 35th, then he turned around and finished 27th in Atlanta, worse than his start of 22nd.
For those counting, Johnson has now gone 25 races without a checkered flag.
Despite the career-worst stretch, Johnson shared a simple message a day after his disaster in Atlanta:
Fans will find differing opinions on whether this slow start matters, especially for a guy like Johnson.
But viewing the drought in its entirety, it's hard not to feel a bit of concern. At least, it would be nice to see Johnson start flirting with a top 10 again after finishing 11th at this event last year.
Kevin Harvick
Where to even start with Harvick?
As mentioned, he's one of the most experienced drivers on this track, and even better, he won this event back in 2015.
In Atlanta, Harvick picked up his 38th career cup series triumph, leading 181 laps after starting third.
Stewart-Haas Racing captured the aftermath in Victory Lane:
An underrated element of this is the automatic bid Harvick attained with the win. Compared to last year, he didn't get a win until June, while the entire series tried to get a feel for the stage-based format.
"The stress level goes way down," Harvick said, according to ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass. "You know, even last year when we were in a good position from a point standpoint, people just kept winning, and you're like, 'Well, is this the year that 16 different guys win and you don't get in on points?' You just never know."
Granted, Harvick's stress level going down doesn't mean a lack of aggressiveness as he tries to keep the rest of the series at bay over the course of the spring.
When it comes right down to it, Harvick riding the wave could see him really secure things for the long haul if he can get another win soon.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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