TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
October 11-12, 2025
For the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, the first ticket into the Championship Four is officially up for grabs as both divisions return to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to kickoff the Round of Eight.
Chevrolet’s dominate Xfinity Series season continues with a commanding presence of five drivers remaining in the title hunt with JR Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Carson Kvapil and Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love. In NASCAR’s top division, a trio of Hendrick Motorsports drivers are one step closer to the opportunity to hoist the Bill France Cup including former champions, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, with William Byron setting his sights on his third-straight Championship Four appearance.
Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
Chevrolet is a 13-time winner in NASCAR’s top division at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – a history that dates back to a win by NASCAR Hall of Famer, Jeff Gordon, in just the series’ fourth appearance at the track (March 2001). But it was the Next Gen era where the Bowtie brand boosted strong results at the Nevada circuit with the manufacturer leading the way with wins in four of the seven races, including the car’s competition debut at the track in March 2022 with Alex Bowman. Following suit of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron (March 2023) and Kyle Larson (Oct. 2023; March 2024) drove Chevrolet to three-straight trips to victory lane at the track. Despite missing victory lane in the other three Next Gen events at the track, Chevrolet has placed no worse than four drivers in the top-10 in each race, including an impressive seven drivers representing three different Chevrolet organizations in this season’s spring date.
TEAM CHEVY TRIO CONTINUES ON IN TITLE CHASE
A strong second round for Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, William Byron and Chase Elliott led the trio to spots in the final three-race stretch that leads to the chance to compete for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Locking-in a Round of Eight berth prior to the drop of the checkered-flag at the Charlotte ROVAL, Larson and Elliott are two of the four remaining title contenders that already have a championship title under their belts. For the 2025 regular season champion, consistency was the name of the game for Byron and the No. 24 team throughout the last round – building a points cushion that took them one step closer to a third-straight Championship Four appearance.
Larson Heating Up:
Kyle Larson and the No. 5 team drove to a true championship-caliber performance during the Round of 12 to further prove they’re a title threat. Despite a disappointing opening round, the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native turned the second three-race stretch into the ultimate rebound – earning a streak of top-seven finishes to carry into the Round of Eight. With the playoff rankings restacked, Larson will lead Team Chevy to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the third position and four-points above the cutline. With momentum on his side, the 2021 champion will take on a trio of tracks that fares very well for the No. 5 team – two of which they have found victory lane.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway will forever hold a special place in Larson’s Cup Series career – being the site of his first win with Hendrick Motorsports (March 2021). Since then, the No. 5 team has found their footing at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval – tallying three wins and a pair of runner-up finishes over a nine-race timespan. With a series-best average finish of 9.389 at the track, Larson is arguably one of the leading contenders to grab the first ticket into the Championship Four this weekend.
Round of Eight Tracks:
With just a single-digit points cushion for the series’ top-four drivers in the playoff rankings, a win in one of the next three races is more important than ever to solidify the opportunity to compete for the Bill France Cup. For the Team Chevy playoff contenders, the Round of Eight sets up a strong group of tracks for the trio with each driver owning a victory at two of the three upcoming venues.
In addition to his three wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson is also a winner in the Next Gen era at Martinsville Speedway – conquering “The Paperclip” to capture his first grandfather clock in April 2023. Chase Elliott’s championship-earning career also includes triumphs at two of the three tracks in the Round of Eight, including two wins at the round’s “wild card” stop, Talladega Superspeedway, as well as his win at Martinsville Speedway in Nov. 2020 that led the driver to his first career Cup Series championship. Following suit of his teammates, William Byron’s Cup Series resume includes one win at Las Vegas and a pair of Martinsville triumphs – all of which have been recorded in the Next Gen era.
TEAM CHEVY COMMANDS IN NXS ROUND OF EIGHT
In the first elimination race of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, Connor Zilisch added onto Chevrolet’s already historic run by delivering the manufacturer its 24th victory in 29 races – the most all-time by a single manufacturer in series’ history. Heading into the Round of Eight, Zilisch is one of five Team Chevy drivers left to vie for the championship title. Among the four organizations represented in the next round, two come from the Chevrolet camp with all four JR Motorsports entries and Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love.
Zilisch, Allgaier Continue as Powerhouse Duo at the Top:
It’s a rookie and a veteran that continues to command in the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff rankings. Coming off his 10th win of the season, Connor Zilisch will head west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a monstrous 57-point lead over the playoff cutline – a cushion that sets the record for the largest points advantage heading into the Round of Eight in the series’ playoff history. Looking to turn his rookie campaign into a championship-earning season, Zilisch will enter the final three-race stretch with already a handful of records under his belt including a streak of 17 top-five finishes and an average finish of 2.1 over the past 17 races.
His JR Motorsports teammate and reigning series champion, Justin Allgaier, is the only other driver with a double-digit points cushion heading into the next round (+24 points). The 39-year-old Riverton, Illinois, native will tap into his veteran experience as he tries to grab the first Championship Four berth – entering the weekend as Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s defending winner. In addition to being one of only two active past Las Vegas winners, the champion also leads the series at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval in a variety of statistical categories with four runner-up finishes, 12 top-fives and 19 top-10s in 22 career starts.
Love Looks for First Title Bid:
With the right combination of strategy and execution at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Jesse Love and the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team will continue the march towards the championship-deciding race. Competing in just his sophomore campaign in the series, this season marks Love’s second appearance in the Round of Eight. Despite having just three career starts at each of the next three venues, his stats speak for themselves and prove he’s a threat for a Championship Four berth.
At the forefront is his strength on superspeedway’s, with his first career Xfinity Series win coming at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2024. Since then, the 20-year-old Menlo Park, California, native has yet to finish outside of the top-six at the 2.66-mile Alabama track, including a podium finish in the spring. Looking at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Danny Stockman-led team will return to the venue with back-to-back top-six results, including a third-place finish that came in March. In both events, the team has scored top-10 results in each stage – proving this weekend could be a big points day for the No. 2 team.
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 32 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 14
Poles: 11
Laps Led: 3,383
Top-Fives: 60
Top-10s: 132
Stage Wins: 23
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races complete:
Wins: 24
Poles: 18
Laps Led: 3,494
Top-Fives: 97
Top-10s: 190
Stage Wins: 45
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 22 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races complete:
Wins: 6
Poles: 2
Laps Led: 939
Top-Fives: 46
Top-10s: 102
Stage Wins: 7
BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
Kyle Larson – three wins (Mar. 2021, Oct. 2023, Mar. 2024)
William Byron – one win (Mar. 2023)
Alex Bowman – one win (Mar. 2022)
Kyle Busch – one win (Mar. 2009)
· In 35 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 13 victories – four of which have come in the Next Gen era.
· Chevrolet has earned at least half of the top-10 finishing results in 14 of the 32 points-paying races thus far this season, including a season-high seven top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
· In 140 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 66 victories – a winning percentage of 47.1%.
· With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 880 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.
TUNE-IN:
NASCAR Cup Series
Playoffs Round of Eight: Race One
South Point 400
Sunday, October 12, at 5:30 p.m. ET
(USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Playoffs Round of Eight: Race One
Focused Health 302
Saturday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET
(CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
How does it feel not making the next round of Playoffs?
“It’s so disappointing to not make it to the Round of 8 because we worked so hard to put ourselves in the position to make the Playoffs this season. For the chance at a championship to go away by a few points at Charlotte, just isn’t ideal. The good news is we still get to compete for wins and our cars are getting better so even though we aren’t fighting for a championship, we are still competing for wins.”
What’s your outlook on Las Vegas?
“We’ve come really close to winning at Las Vegas a few times. We just need that extra little bit to get it done. For whatever reason, it has been a really good track for me since I’ve been at Trackhouse. Phil Surgen knows what I need there to get the maximum performance out of the car at that particular track. It would be awesome to get the Tootsie’s car in victory lane at Las Vegas for Steve and his group.”
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Historically, you have had some good runs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Describe racing there.
“Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a great mile-and-a-half. Our No. 3 team felt good there earlier this year and it has been a good track for us. We haven’t always gotten the finishes we deserve, but our performance has been solid. The track is rough through Turns 1 and 2, and you have to be able to cut through the bumps. Restarts are wild, too. Vegas is an awesome place to go.”
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
You finished in the top-15 in the Spring race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, what’s your outlook for the Fall race this weekend?
“Las Vegas is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. We’ve had great speed at the 1.5-mile ovals this year, and the No. 7 team has continued to bring really competitive cars. Hopefully we can execute a strong weekend in the Fly Alliance Chevrolet.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
This is your home track. What does it mean to you that you now race here with NASCAR’s Cup Series, and what are some past highlights for you?
“I always remember sitting in the grandstands as a kid, just kind of turning around looking and being like, man, one day, you know, one day I want to race there one day. So Vegas is just a cool track. Years ago it was wider and flatter and put on some really good racing. I finished really well there early on my first few years, then they reconfigured and remade it. I won early on in 2009, I believe it was, to get my only win there. But man, I’ve been so close, I think my top three finishes is really, really high.”
For a track like Las Vegas, where restarts are so hectic and crazy, just take me through a restart here on a race weekend?
“Restarts are sort of the name of the game, I guess, now, because once you get single-filed out and spread out a little bit, it’s hard to make up time and make up ground unless you’re really, really good. And to get by guys that you’re around or in front of you, as well. So you try to get as many as you can and whatever you can. It’s kind of tough, you know, with the defense being as good as the defense can be with guys, where they pull up in front of you and block your air and things like that, where you’ve got to, you know, get out of the gas and whatnot. So it’s definitely changed over the years. This car has changed it again. But it seems like, more and more times, guys are more amped up and more — not amped up, but more ramped up to just be ready to defend and make it harder for guys to make ground as much as you used to when we first went to some of the double-file restart stuff.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
“Las Vegas is one of my favorite mile-and-a-half racetracks. We’ve had really good speed there in the past and the spring race was really strong for our No. 16 team. We have the opportunity to be very competitive there and earn another top-10 finish.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
“It’s great to have Real American Beer back on the car again this week. We’ve had some good speed lately, and Vegas is one of those places where anything can happen. We’re hoping to run up front and bring home a good finish.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
In the spring you started on the pole, but you had issues mid race. What can you do differently to run up front this time?
“We had good speed until we ran into an issue with the rear diffuser. All our Spire Motorsports cars had good speed there. It was early in the year, without a lot of data points and not a huge notebook on how to go into race day. I feel like we have a better grasp on it this time around. Hopefully, we can bring back the same speed we had there the first time and execute a whole weekend.”
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
There’s been a lot of improvement for the No. 77 team since the first race at Las Vegas. Where do you feel like the biggest gain has been?
“Overall, I think we’re just better as a team. Spire won the pole at Las Vegas with McDowell, but then we got another at Texas and I feel like I’ve done better with qualifying lately. We’ve led laps and run up front, so I just think we’re better prepared this time around and have more info to pull from when it comes to our setup and how we adjust during the race.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
What track do you feel like style-wise that you are gaining ground on?
“I think it’s two sort of stories. The road courses obviously have been amazing, and then the ovals — I started the year in the 30s, genuinely, which is very average, but I feel like we’ve grounded out, now we’re a 15th to 10th place car on most weeks. I think all tracks are difficult. Las Vegas this weekend, going there and having to hold it wide open at 190, it’s a crazy feeling and something I’m not comfortable with. It’s so fast when you hook into those corners there. Then when you do it in the race around other cars, that’s where I’m learning trying to get comfortable, know where to place the car in the air and try and understand what’s happening. It’s just taking time.”
Your livery this weekend resembles your home country, New Zealand, how special is this to you?
“It’s an awesome paint scheme, so special to have some influence on the design. It’s super cool to be able to show some of my kiwi heritage on the track this weekend in Las Vegas. To be able to have the Southern Cross, Silver Fern and the colors of New Zealand on my car – I was speechless when I first saw it. Just really special to me and I’m excited to be carrying huge momentum with my team into the weekend.”
How do you keep yourself level-headed to the job you have to do to perform on road courses when the storylines coming in is that wins are kind of a guarantee?
“I don’t think it’s a guarantee in this series. But I think it’s a nice feeling. I don’t feel any more pressure, but it’s nice people think so high of us now. It’s a cool feeling that everyone knows the 88’s going to be pretty good on road course weekends. I like that. You certainly feel a pretty good atmosphere in the shop on a road course week. My teammates are strong on road courses, as well. I don’t think it puts any more pressure or expectation from outside. I guess from other drivers and media, maybe. But I find it’s a nice feeling to have.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
You came very close to winning the last two Cup races at Las Vegas. That must give you confidence entering the race this weekend.
“We did everything right earlier this season at Las Vegas. The Freeway Insurance team did a great job on pit road and Matt (Swiderdski, crew chief) did a great job on strategy. We struggled a little bit on the short runs but I’m confident we will be better this weekend. Running well this past weekend at the ROVAL was a boost for all of us.”
How important was it to run well last week at the ROVAL?
“Running well this past weekend at the ROVAL was a big deal for everyone on the No. 99 team for sure. Everyone at Trackhouse has been working so hard all season and it was great to have a good day. It’s important to have momentum entering Las Vegas this weekend where we’ve proven that we can run up front.”
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
“Las Vegas is one of the more important races that we will have this season and it’s a really good track for me. I loved racing there earlier this year. I’m excited that we get to go back there and I have an opportunity for redemption. We probably had a chance to win the race back in March, but I sped on pit road in the final stage, and we finished ninth. I know if we do our job this weekend, we’ll have a really good shot to win the race. To win there would be a big stress reliever because we would clinch a spot in the Championship 4.”
How do you and your teammates race together but not ruin someone’s chances to make it to the Championship 4 at Phoenix?
“It’s tough to balance that but I feel like all four of us have a good understanding and get along. We know when to be nice and like at the ROVAL, we were trying to help the 1 (Carson Kvapil) and the 8 (Sammy Smith) do what they could to get in. There wasn’t much that I could really do to help them, but our goal was to get the two of them through and I’m glad that it worked out. Sammy had a really good day at the ROVAL, and he has done a really good job growing as a road racer. Carson has done a really good job this year overall. Dale tells us all the time when you have four fast cars at the front there’s going to be times that things happen, but we try to do our best to manage it. I’ve tried to become a lot better at treating those guys the right way and I feel like I’ve gotten a little bit better at that.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2024): 43
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)
Most recent: 2024
Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2024): 33
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)
Most recent: Kyle Larson (2021)
Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021
Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)
2025 STATISTICS:
Wins: 14
Poles: 11
Laps Led: 3,383
Top-Fives: 60
Top-10s: 132
Stage Wins: 23
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 880 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 764
Laps led to date: 256,094
Top-fives to date: 4,429
Top-10s to date: 9,139
Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:
General Motors: 1,214
Chevrolet: 880
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 846
Ford: 746
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 201
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
