Facts & Stats: NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
2 March 2023
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News
LAS VEGAS, NV — The Las Vegas race weekend begins with the NASCAR Hauler Parade on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, March 2 at 6 p.m. The parade will begin in front of the Luxor Hotel and Casino and is the start of NASCAR weekend in Las Vegas, culminating with Sunday’s 26th running of the Pennzoil 400.
As many as 40 18-wheeled NASCAR Cup Series haulers will receive a police escort north on the Las Vegas Strip before they head for Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The haulers will then proceed to Speedway Boulevard and make their way through the Speedway tunnel under turns 1 and 2 to their stalls outside the Neon Garage.
Facts & Stats: NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
NASCAR Cup Series
Pennzoil 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, March 5
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $8,960,170
TV: FOX, 3 p.m. ET, Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
NASCAR Cup Series
Chastain jumps to Cup standings lead for the first-time in his career
If you thought Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain’s success last season was a fluke — think again. The Florida native is full throttle this season and following a dominate performance at Auto Club Speedway he now leads the NASCAR Cup Series point standings by one-point over Team Penske’s Joey Logano in second — this is the first time Chastain has held the series’ point standings lead in his career.
The 30-year-old, Chastain, is one of four drivers this season to finish in the top-10 in the first two races of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, along with Joey Logano, Alex Bowman and his Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suárez.
Chastain will look to hold on to the top spot this weekend at Las Vegas, where he has made nine career Cup Series starts posting two top-five finishes; including a runner-up finish back in October.
Busch grabs first win with RCR, becomes second driver to lock into the Playoffs
Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch didn’t take much time finding Victory Lane with his new team. The Las Vegas native scored his 61st career win last weekend at Auto Club Speedway — in just his second start with RCR. With the win, Busch is now the second driver to lock themselves into the Playoffs this season, joining JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won the season-opening DAYTONA 500.
The Fontana victory also etched Busch’s name on another page of the series’ record books, bringing his consecutive seasons with a win total to 19 NASCAR Cup Series seasons (2005–2023), the most all-time, breaking the tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (18 seasons, 1960–1977).
This weekend, Busch returns to his home track looking to keep the early season momentum going. Busch has made 23 series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway putting up two poles, one win, 11 top fives and 14 top 10s. His average finish at the 1.5-mile track is 10.8 — third-best among active drivers.
NASCAR Next Gen car is off to a hot start
This season the NASCAR Cup Series has produced an average of 17 different lap leaders through the first two races of the year; which is tied with the 2011 and 2010 seasons for the NASCAR Cup Series most in the Modern Era (1972–2023).
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced and average of 40 lead changes through the first two races of the season — second-most in the Modern Era (1972–2023) behind the 2011 season with an average of 52 lead changes through the first two races. In total, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 80 lead changes in the first two events — Daytona (52) and Fontana (28).
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 239 Green Flag Passes for the Lead in the first two points-paying races of the year (Daytona 204 GFPL and Fontana 35 GFPL) — the series-most through the first two races since the Loop Data statistic was initially tabulated in 2007 (last 17 seasons). In a year-over-year comparison, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season with 239 Green Flag Passes for the Lead, has produced an increase of 74.5% over the 2022 season’s first two races with 137 Green Flag Passes for the Lead.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 15,050 Total Green Flag Passes in the first two points-paying races of the year (Daytona 11,538 GFP and Fontana 3,512 GFP) — the fourth-most through the first two races since the Loop Data statistic was initially tabulated in 2007 (last 17 seasons); behind 2015 (16,186), 2014 (15,903) and 2016 (15,305). In a year-over-year comparison, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season with 15,050 Total Green Flag Passes, has produced an increase of 64.3% over the 2022 season’s first two races with 9,158 Total Green Flag Passes.
NASCAR Cup Series is ready to roll the dice at Las Vegas
The NASCAR Cup Series is ready for some high-speed action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday, March 5 in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio); the first race on a 1.5-mile track this season.
The construction to build the facility known today as Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) began in 1995. Speedway Motorsports Inc. acquired the property in 1998. The first NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was an ARCA Menards Series West race won by Ken Schrader on November 2, 1996. The first NASCAR Cup Series race was held on March 1, 1998. NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Jarrett won the pole for the event and Mark Martin won the race.
In total there have been 30 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 1.5-mile track has hosted one NASCAR Cup Series race per season from 1998 to 2017. Starting in 2018, Las Vegas has hosted two NASCAR Cup Series events per year.
A total of 19 different drivers have won a pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Eight of the 19 NASCAR Cup Series Las Vegas Motor Speedway pole winners are active this weekend. Kasey Kahne leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with three (2004, 2007, 2012). Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in poles at Las Vegas with two (2008, 2009).
A total of 17 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Eight of the 17 NASCAR Cup Series Las Vegas Motor Speedway winners are active this weekend. Jimmie Johnson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with four victories (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010). Brad Keselowski (2014, 2016, 2018) and Joey Logano (2019, 2020, 2022) leads all active drivers this weekend in wins at Las Vegas with three victories each.
Vegas is in the palm of Joey Logano’s hand
No driver has been as dominant in the last eight NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway than Team Penske’s Joey Logano. He is the only driver to win multiple races at the 1.5-mile track during that span hoisting three trophies (2019, 2020, 2022), including the most recent Playoff race last October. Now, the 32-year-old, Logano, is looking to become the fourth different driver to win consecutive races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, joining Jeff Burton (1999–2000), Matt Kenseth (2003, 2004) and Jimmie Johnson (2005–2007).
Logano has made 19 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway posting one pole, three wins, seven top fives and 12 top 10s.
Worth noting, Logano is one of five reigning NASCAR Cup Series champions that have gone on to win at Las Vegas the following season of their title run: Matt Kenseth (2004), Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2010), Tony Stewart (2012), Kevin Harvick (2015), and Joey Logano (2019).
Five different winners in last five races at Vegas
Las Vegas loves winners, and this weekend 36 different drivers will compete for the NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube on Sunday, March 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Las Vegas has produced five different winners in the last five Cup races — Kurt Busch (Sept. 2020), Kyle Larson (Mar. 2021), Denny Hamlin (Sept. 2021), Alex Bowman (Mar. 2022) and Joey Logano (Oct. 2022). Will we see a sixth different winner this weekend?
A total of 17 different drivers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and eight of the 17 are active this weekend. The four previous Vegas victors that could keep the different winners streak alive on Sunday are veterans Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch. Keselowski has three wins at Las Vegas (2014, 2016, 2018), Harvick (2015, 2018) and Truex Jr. (2017, 2019) each have two, and Kyle Busch, the Vegas native, is the only driver in series history to win from the pole at the track (2009).
Two drivers looking to end the different winners streak are Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Alex Bowman, the defending winner of the spring race at Las Vegas, and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, the defending winner of last season’s Las Vegas Playoff race. Bowman has made 11 series career starts at Las Vegas posting one win, two top fives and three top 10s. Logano has made 19 series starts at Las Vegas posting three wins, seven top fives and 12 top 10s.
NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year Spotlight: Gibbs hops out front — Just two races into the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season and the battle for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors is already tight. Both rookies have managed to win a rookie of the race award, but it is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs that has taken the rookie standings lead by 10 points over Legacy Motor Club’s Noah Gragson following his top-20 finish (16th) at Auto Club Speedway.
This season, the 20-year-old Gibbs, has put up a 25th-place finish at Daytona and a 16th at Fontana. The Charlotte, North Carolina native has earned a total of 38 points this season and is ranked 17th in the overall series driver standings.
In Gibbs review mirror is his only rookie challenger this season, Noah Gragson, who is currently 22nd in the overall series driver standings with 28 points. The 24-year-old Las Vegas native has finished 24th at Daytona and 22nd at Fontana.
Both rookies made their series track debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last October, with Gragson putting up the best finish of the two drivers (11th). Gibbs posted a 22nd-place finish.
Uncle Kracker headlines pre-race concert at Las Vegas — Uncle Kracker, the multiplatinum singer-songwriter, will headline the pre-race entertainment on Sunday, March 5 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a pre-race concert on the frontstretch. The Michigan native and feel-good rocker will perform hits from each one of his albums and showcase songs that have made him one of today’s top post-rural artists in country music. He is expected to take the stage at the speedway at approximately 11 a.m.
“There’s no better way to kick off this NASCAR party,” said Las Vegas Motor Speedway President Chris Powell. “Uncle Kracker’s music appeals to race fans of all ages and demos, and we know everyone will be in for a good time.”
Long-time Las Vegas headliner Terry Fator to sing National Anthem at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — Terry Fator, winner of season two of America’s Got Talent, will perform the national anthem before the start of the Pennzoil 400 race on Sunday March 5.
The Dallas-bred entertainer led a record-breaking 11-year run at The Mirage, where he performed in front of millions. Fator recently opened his new Las Vegas show, “Terry Fator: Who’s the Dummy Now?” at Liberty Loft inside New York-New York Hotel & Casino.
USAF Thunderbirds to kick off Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas — They’re back! The USAF Thunderbirds that is.
At the conclusion of the National Anthem, the Thunderbirds will punctuate the pre-race activities with a six-jet, Delta formation flyover, launching out of their home station, Nellis Air Force Base.
America’s “Ambassadors in Blue” are celebrating their 70th anniversary this year. The Thunderbirds’ F-16 Fighting Falcons are assigned to the Air Combat Command and the team includes 12 officers and 120 enlisted personnel who perform more than 70 aerobatic demonstrations at approximately 35 locations throughout the year.
Nevada Governor Lombardo named Honorary Pace-Car Driver at Las Vegas — Gov. Joe Lombardo will lead the state of Nevada for the next four years, and on March 5 he’ll lead the field to the green flag as the honorary pace-car driver for the Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Lombardo, previously Clark County’s sheriff before being elected governor, will pilot the Toyota Camry pace car in front of the 36-car field at the start of the 26th annual event.
“We’re honored to have Gov. Lombardo participate in this ceremonial role in our state’s pre-eminent sports event,” said Las Vegas Motor Speedway president Chris Powell. “Gov. Lombardo has long shown great interest in major sports events in Nevada, and we’re proud to welcome him to the Pennzoil 400.”
Lombardo joins current Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, former NFL standout Marshawn Lynch and NHRA star Antron Brown as distinguished figures to pace the field for NASCAR events in Las Vegas.
“Racing has long been a passion of mine, so I’m especially honored to drive the pace-car in the Pennzoil 400 this year,” Lombardo said. “I look forward to participating in this great Las Vegas sports tradition.”
Las Vegas native Bryce Harper named Grand Marshal for Las Vegas Motor Speedway — Las Vegas native and two-time National League Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper has been named grand marshal for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The 12-year veteran outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, a Las Vegas High School graduate, will deliver the command to start engines for the 26th annual NASCAR Cup Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I’ve been a fan of NASCAR for quite some time now, so being asked to give the command, especially at my hometown track, just checks off another box on my to-do list as a fan,” Harper said. “I’m looking forward to being a part of this awesome event.”
