The Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Race Outlook

The NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series will visit the 1.5-mile oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the first of two visits this season. Following a two-week break, the Ecosave 200 Truck Series race starts on Friday at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, followed by the Xfinity Series, The LiUNA!, on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network and the Cup Series Pennzoil 400 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

Academy Award winner, actor, producer, director and narrator Morgan Freeman has been named grand marshal and reigning WWE Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green has been named the honorary pace car driver for this year’s Pennzoil 400.

Last season, Joey Logano became the first Playoff competitor to clinch a Championship 4 berth after utilizing a late strategic pit call to win the South Point 400 on Sunday, October 20. Logano has four career victories in 23 career starts and a finishing average of 9.5 at Las Vegas

But look out for Christopher Bell as he tries to capture a historic fourth straight win. Last week, he became the first driver in the Next Gen era to win three consecutive Cup Series races. He could become the ninth driver in history to win four straight races were he has three top-fives in the last four races at Las Vegas.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Note

Las Vegas is the qualifying race for the 2025 Dash4Cash in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The four best-finishing eligible drivers will compete for a $100,000 prize at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 22nd. The four Dash4Cash races are Homestead-Miami, Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Rockingham Speedway.

Track & Race Information

Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
Date: Sunday, March 16
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Purse: $11,055,250
TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 400 miles (267 Laps)

  • Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
  • Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165)
  • Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)

Start times

  • Friday, March 14th: The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ecosave 200, 9 p.m. ET (FS1)
  • Saturday, March 15th: The NASCAR Xfinity Series The LiUNA!, 4:30 p.m. ET (CW)
  • Sunday, March 16th: The NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

Who and what should you look out for at Phoenix?

Active Las Vegas Race Winners:

DriverWinsYear(s)
Joey Logano42024, 2022, 2020, 2019
Brad Keselowski32018, 2016, 2014
Kyle Larson32024, 2023, 2021
William Byron12023
Alex Bowman12022
Denny Hamlin12021
Kyle Busch12009

Denny Hamlin is coming off his best result in 2025 last week at Phoenix. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 14 top-10 finishes in 26 career starts, including a win in the fall of 2021.

Kyle Larson has led 629 laps and won two of the last three Las Vegas Cup races. In the Next Gen car, Larson has led 1,225 laps on 1.5-mile tracks, nearly double the next closest driver, Bell, at 614.

William Byron is the only driver to lead in every race this season and has the longest active streak of top-10s at Las Vegas, with four.

Hendrick Motorsports has four wins, and Team Penske has two wins. They are the only teams to win at Las Vegas with the NextGen car.

Kyle Busch will head to his home track with a little extra momentum. He enters the weekend with three-straight top-10 results.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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