Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. William Byron: Byron took fourth in the Pennzoil 400, recording his third top 5 of the season, and remained the leader in the point standings.
“I think we’re all glad Christopher Bell didn’t win,” Byron said. “If he would have, I would have ‘four-feited’ my hopes for winning a championship.”
2. Christopher Bell: Bell, seeking his fourth consecutive win, came up a little short at Las Vegas with a 12th-place finish.
“The last driver to win four races in a row was Jimmie Johnson in 2007,” Bell said. “Now, I’m not about to compare myself to Jimmie, because he won more championships in a row than I have races.”
3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney was knocked out of the Pennzoil 400 when Christopher Bell squeezed him on Lap 195, causing Blaney’s No. 12 Ford to spin into the path of Erik Jones. Blaney’s day was done, and he finished 34th.
“I initially blamed Bell for the incident,” Blaney said. “Then I did something unheard of in NASCAR: I admitted I was wrong and accepted blame.”
4. Ross Chastain: Chastain started 19th and finished fifth in the Pennzoil 400, scoring his first top 5 of the season.
“John Hunter Nemechek’s car featured the Backstreet Boys,” Chastain said. “I guess we’re in that time in history when the Backstreet Boys are more likely to appear on a race car than appear in the music charts.”
5. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 10th at Las Vegas, posting his third top-10 result of the season.
“I saw there was a car featuring sponsorship by ‘Beef A Ro,'” Elliott said. “I’m not sure what that is, but some people are telling me it’s a Kendrick Lamar song.”
6. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished seventh in the Pennzoil 400, posting his fourth top 10 of the year.
“Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman served as the race’s grand marshal,” Bowman said. “Hearing that voice give the command to ‘Start you engines’ got me so fired up. Heck, if Morgan Freeman’s voice told me to drive out a cliff, I’d probably do it. And lot’s of drivers would be happy I did.”
7. Kyle Larson: Larson won Stage 2 and led a race-high 61 laps at Las Vegas, but fell off late and finished ninth at Las Vegas.
“I had won the last two races at Vegas,” Larson said. “But you know what they say: ‘What happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily mean that those things will happen again in Vegas.'”
8. Tyler Reddick: Reddick struggled at Las Vegas, finishing 24th, which was his worst result of the season.
“As you could probably guess,” Reddick said, “co-team owner Michael Jordan was in Las Vegas. And as you could probably guess, he was nowhere near the race track.”
9. Josh Berry: Berry passed Daniel Suarez with six laps to go at Las Vegas and held on for the win to give Wood Brothers Racing their 101st victory.
“Wood Brothers are the oldest team in racing,” Berry said. “And the team is really old. They’re so old that most people don’t realize ‘Wood’ is not a family name; it’s what their first chassis was made of.”
10. Kyle Busch: Busch lost a right rear wheel while running 12th on lap 113, and Busch’s RCR Chevy grazed the wall. Busch made it back to pit road, but his chances at snapping his winless streak were over. Busch retired soon after with mechanical issues and finished 33rd.
“I was in the Bet MGM Chevrolet,” Busch said. “So, I ask “Can Kyle F’n Busch get a little luck?’ Apparently, the answer is, and I hesitate to say this as a recipient of Bet MGM sponsorship: ‘Don’t bet on it.'”
