LAS VEGAS 2
Saturday, October 19 — NASCAR Xfinity Series, 7:30 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, October 20 — NASCAR Cup Series, 2:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
The playoff season continues to get more intense and this weekend figures to be no different as the Round of 8 begins for the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers still alive for their respective championships. All three of Ford’s contenders still alive have won championships with Joey Logano holding a pair (2018 and 2020) and Ryan Blaney in the midst of defending his Cup title from a year ago. Cole Custer is also bidding for a repeat in the Xfinity Series.
FORD DRIVERS IN THE CUP PLAYOFFS
ROUND OF 8
Ryan Blaney – 5th (-4 below the cut line)
Joey Logano – 8th (-11)
Note: Top 4 advance after Martinsville
FORD PLAYOFF DRIVERS AT LVMS
Ryan Blaney: 16 starts, 0 wins, 6 top-5, 10 top-10
Joey Logano: 22 starts, 3 wins, 7 top-5, 13 top-10
BLANEY STILL LOOKING FOR VEGAS WIN
Ryan Blaney will be making his 17th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend and while he’s been consistently up front with six top-5 and 10 top-10 finishes, he’s still looking for his first victory. Blaney, who won the pole in 2018 and finished third earlier this season, is making his fifth appearance in the Round of 8.
VEGAS PROVES TO BE LOGANO’S BEST
Joey Logano has three career victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and those wins have helped make the track one of his best statistically on the circuit. Logano sports a 9.9 average finish in 22 career starts, which is the best among tracks he’s started 10 or more times. Besides his three Vegas victories, Logano has 7 top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes since joining the series in 2009.
RYAN BLANEY: “I love going out to the track in Vegas. I enjoy that it has two dates on the schedule and enjoy that it’s in playoffs because it does put on a really good race. I feel like that track is very underrated as far as race-ability and the type of shows that it puts on, but I think everyone loves that track. It has so much character in it and you always have to worry about the bumps. They get worse every year and the wind is always a factor because you’re out there in the desert and never know which way it will swirl. It’s a good track to kick off this round, not only for the drivers and teams, but I think for the fans to come and watch a great event. Vegas has always been a good track for us, not only as the 12 team but for Team Penske as well. It’s one of those tracks where I feel we always run really strong at, but I haven’t won there yet. I feel like we’re always there and in contention and that’s what you have to do. You have to put yourself in contention to win these races and this is a place where we’ve been really good in the past and you hope that what you learned since the spring at that race can apply.”
JOEY LOGANO: “The Vegas entertainment part, you’re talking to someone who might be a little boring when you’re talking about Vegas since you’re just going there for a work trip. I’m there to win a race, so if you want to know what the most fun thing to do there is there’s a place inside the racetrack called Victory Lane. That’s the best place to be in Vegas, so I’m gonna try to drive my car there and enjoy my time when I get there.”
ROUSH RULES
There have been two RFK drivers who have posted consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jeff Burton won in 1999 and 2000 while Matt Kenseth did it in his championship season of 2003 and 2004. In fact, RFK has been a force in both the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series at the 1.5-mile facility. The organization has posted seven NCS wins and six NXS victories for a total of 13 overall, which includes back-to-back weekend sweeps in 1999 and 2000. In addition, RFK has three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series triumphs.
SWEEP DELIGHT FOR KESELOWSKI
Brad Keselowski completed a weekend sweep in 2014 after taking the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series events on consecutive days. Even though Keselowski led the most laps in the NCS race, he needed a little bit of luck and got it on the final lap when Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was in conservation mode, ran out of gas on the back straightaway. That enabled Keselowski to win going away and post the first of his six victories that season.
COLE CUSTER REPEAT BID STILL ALIVE
Cole Custer’s bid for a second straight NASCAR Xfinity Series championship is still alive after he advanced to the Round of 8 last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Custer, who posted wins this season at Pocono and Bristol, comes into this three-race stretch seeded second, 11 points above the cut line. In eight career series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Custer has four top-5 and six top-10 finishes with his best effort being earlier this year when he was second.
FORD’S LAS VEGAS CUP SERIES WINNERS
1998 – Mark Martin
1999 – Jeff Burton
2000 – Jeff Burton
2003 – Matt Kenseth
2004 – Matt Kenseth
2008 – Carl Edwards
2011 – Carl Edwards
2014 – Brad Keselowski
2016 – Brad Keselowski
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1) and Brad Keselowski (2)
2019 – Joey Logano (1)
2020 – Joey Logano (1)
2022 – Joey Logano (2)
FORD’S LAS VEGAS XFINITY SERIES WINNERS
1999 – Mark Martin
2000 – Jeff Burton
2002 – Jeff Burton
2005 – Mark Martin
2009 – Greg Biffle
2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2013 – Sam Hornish Jr.
2014 – Brad Keselowski
2017 – Joey Logano
2020 – Chase Briscoe (Sweep)
2023 – Riley Herbst (2)
