LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
LAS VEGAS PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: Las Vegas 400
DATE: March 15, 2026
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series 5 of 36
TRACK: Las Vegas Motor Speedway | 1.5-Mile Oval

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 TRI-STATE VACUUM & RENTAL TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JHN AT LAS VEGAS: John Hunter Nemechek has six NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas, with his highest finish at the track of ninth coming in October 2024. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Nemechek has made seven starts, including one race win in March 2024. He has only finished outside the top-10 twice at Las Vegas in the series. In his 10 starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he earned two pole awards and a race win in March 2021.

WINNER AT LAS VEGAS: Nemechek won the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Las Vegas in March 2024, where he led 99 laps and won with a margin of victory of 4.36 seconds over Cole Custer. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he took home the checkered flag in March 2021 where he led 94 of 134 laps and won with a margin of victory of 0.686 of a second over Kyle Busch.

T-MACK AT LAS VEGAS: Sunday’s race will be crew chief Travis Mack’s 11th NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas. His first outing came in 2018 with Kasey Kahne. Mack returned to Las Vegas with Daniel Suárez in the 2021 season. The duo competed in six races together through the end of 2023 and earned a highest finish of 10th in March 2023. In 2024, Mack competed with Derek Kraus in the March race. He then returned in March 2025 with John Hunter Nemechek. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Mack has five starts with Michael Annett, where the pair earned three top-10 finishes. They earned a best finish of fifth in March 2019.

TRI-STATE RETURNS: Tri-State Vacuum & Rental joins the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE this weekend, bringing its commitment to reliability and hard work to the track. Tri-State Vacuum & Rental specializes in industrial vacuum services, equipment rentals, and environmental solutions for a wide range of industries. The partnership highlights the company’s dedication to supporting high-performance teams and the communities they serve.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“I’ve had success in the past at Vegas, and I feel like our intermediate package at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has been really strong. This one should be a good one for us, but it will definitely be a test to see if our speed from last year can carry into this year.”

TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“I’m hopeful we’ll be able to build off our momentum from last year at intermediate tracks. The Las Vegas and Darlington races will prove if we’ve made gains this off-season, so there’s a lot of pressure there, especially in Las Vegas. I’m ready to see all of our hard work and dedication show up this off-season when we head back out west this weekend.”

ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES LAS VEGAS STATS: Sunday’s Las Vegas 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will mark Erik Jones’ 18th NASCAR Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile oval in the desert. Through these starts, he’s collected four top-10 finishes with a best result of eighth, earned three-times in his career. The first came in March 2018 after starting ninth. He followed that up with another eighth-place finish in September 2020 when he started 13th. Finally, he finished eighth in October 2022 after starting 22nd. Additionally, Jones has four starts outside of the Cup Series at Las Vegas – two in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and two in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He earned a best finish of third in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in March 2016 after starting second. Jones never finished outside the top-10 at Las Vegas in the Truck Series with a win in September 2014 and a ninth-place finish in October 2015.

TRUCK SERIES WINNER AT LAS VEGAS: Jones is a winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his NASCAR career. In September 2014 when Jones was running a part-time schedule in the Craftsman Truck Series, he started 13th in the No. 51 Truck for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He led twice for 19 laps in the race, first leading for five laps on Lap 27 before taking the lead for the final time on Lap 133. He bested runner-up Bubba Wallce by 1.329 seconds to earn his second of three victories in a season where he ran just 12 races.

ALEXANDER AT LAS VEGAS: Crew chief Justin Alexander has been on top of the box for 11 NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas. In total, he’s earned one top-five and two top-10s at the 1.5-mile oval. His best finish of fourth in February 2020 with Austin Dillon after thew duo started 21st. He has one race in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Austin Dillon in March 2017 where they started and finished fifth.

TOP-10 AT PHOENIX: Last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, Jones showed rebound and determination to earn his first top-10 finish of the season. He qualified 32nd for the race, but was confident that his team could find their way into a good spot. Despite going a lap down early, Jones and his crew chief Justin Alexander used strategy to get their lap back and continue their pursuit forward. With two laps to go in the race, Jones broke into the top-10. He defended his spot to finish 10th.

ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Las Vegas is one that we’re excited about as a group. Mile-and-a-halves last year were a strong point for us. They were tracks we always looked forward to. Las Vegas is one that has been good to us in the past. I’m excited to get back there and see what kind of program we have on the intermediates this season. It should be a lot of fun. I think we all have high hopes for it. Everyone has been clicking from the pit crew to road crew and it’s helped with execution. We just need things to go our way, limit the mistakes, and get rid of the issues that we’ve had to really get things going.”

JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
“Las Vegas is the first true intermediate track of the season, and historically those have been some of the stronger tracks for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. It’ll be a good benchmark for where we’re at early in the year. We’ll focus on unloading with a solid baseline, execute qualifying and put ourselves in position to be competitive on Sunday.”

CLUB MINUTES:
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB AT VEGAS: Since 2023, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has competed in five races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with five drivers: Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, Jimmie Johnson, Carson Hocevar and Noah Gragson. The team’s best starting position was 20th, achieved by Nemechek in March, while its best finish also came from Nemechek, who secured ninth place in the October 2024 race.

JJ AT LAS VEGAS: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson has an impressive record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He owns 23 Cup Series starts at the track that have resulted in four wins, seven top-fives, and 10 top-10s as well as 595 laps led. Johnson won three back-to-back races at Las Vegas in March 2005, March 2006, and March 2007. In 2005, he started ninth, led 107 laps, and bested Las Vegas native Kyle Busch by 1.661 seconds. Johnson followed that up in 2006 when he started third, led the final lap of the race, and bested Matt Kenseth by .045 of a second. He returned once again in 2007 where he started 23rd and bested Jeff Gordon by 2.795 seconds after leading 89 laps. Johnson’s final win in the Cup Series at Las Vegas came in March 2010. He started 20th, led 18 laps and bested runner-up Kevin Harvick by 1.874 seconds. He has two additional starts at Las Vegas in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with a best finish of 14th in March 2001.

KENSETH LAS VEGAS STATS: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth owns 19 Cup Series starts at Las Vegas. In these starts, he’s collected three victories, six top-fives, and 10 top-10s in addition to 526 laps led. He scored his first win in March 2003 when he started 17th, led 88 laps, and bested Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 9.104 seconds. He followed that up the next year in March 2004 when he started 25th, led 123 laps, and beat Kasey Kahne by 3.426 seconds. Kenseth’s final win at Las Vegas came in March 2013. He started 18th, led 42 laps, and bested Kahne once again by .594 of a second. Kenseth has an additional 10 starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Las Vegas where he earned a best result of second from the pole in March 2006.

2026 PETTYFEST: On Saturday, March 28, the Petty Museum will be hosting its annual PettyFest from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time. This event takes place at the Petty Museum in Randleman, NC and draws crowds from all over to meet “The King” Richard Petty and other members of the Petty family. With autograph sessions, tours, vendors, and food trucks, there’s a variety of activities offered. For more information about the event, visit RichardPettyMuseum.com.

MINT 400 RECAP: Last weekend in Las Vegas, Jimmie Johnson returned to his roots in the BF Goodrich Mint 400 where he drove the No. 84 Carvana 1Nine Industries built Trick Truck for Terrible Herbst Motorsports. After flipping his truck in qualifying, Johnson had a task ahead of him as he started in row 32 in Saturday’s timed race. He didn’t waste a moment and started passing competitors early on. Despite two flat tires, Johnson, co-driver Troy Herbst, and navigator Jason Duncan were sitting in sixth by the time they crossed the start-finish line.

CLUB APPEARANCES:
John Hunter Nemechek will stop by the trackside merchandise trailer to sign autographs on Sunday, March 15 at 9 a.m. local time.

Erik Jones will make a pit stop at the Toyota Racing Experience stage on Sunday, March 15 at 9 a.m. local time for a Q&A session.

TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the Las Vegas 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 15 at 4 p.m. EDT on FS1, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a premier auto racing organization owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, “The King”, serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.

• In 28 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS), Spire Motorsports has logged three top-15 and nine top-20 finishes. Justin Haley earned a team-best 14th-place result at the 1.5-mile oval after Michael McDowell earned the organization’s first pole last March. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the Cup Series with Daniel Suarez, McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• The Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube will be televised live on FS1 Sunday, March 15 beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The fifth of 36 points-paying events on the 2026 Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Daniel Suárez – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Suárez will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at LVMS.
• The 34-year-old driver has made 17 starts at LVMS, earning two top-five, four top-10 and 12 top-20 results. He’s also led 168 laps total at LVMS, the most laps Suárez has led at any track on the current Cup Series schedule. Across his last seven races in Las Vegas, the driver of the No. 7 Chevy has finished inside the top 20 in all but one.
• Last Spring, Suárez started 23rd and finished a venue-best second, leading 12 laps and posting one of his best runs of 2025. Suárez held the lead with 20 laps to go but eventual race winner Josh Berry took control of the top spot with 12 laps remaining and drove to victory.
• Last October at LVMS, Suárez ran inside the top 15 for much of the day but finished 20th after pit-road miscues interrupted his strategy.
• In the 2024 Pennzoil 400, Suárez led 57 laps and came away with a solid third-place effort. Suárez’s 57 laps led was his most in a single race at LVMS.
• Four races into the 36-race season, Suárez sits 17th in the Cup Series driver standings.
• Last week in Phoenix, Suárez sustained heavy front-end damage that ultimately ended his day early and resulted in a 30th-place finish. Despite the setback, the NASCAR Cup Series veteran had a strong start, finished seventh in Stage 1 and earned four bonus points.
• Freeway Insurance was established in 1987 and is one of the largest and fastest-growing personal lines insurance brokers in the United States, offering coverage through a “click, call, or come in” approach that connects customers nationwide. The company continually researches, grows, and diversifies its product offerings to stay responsive to the evolving insurance market. Freeway provides a wide range of options—from basic to premium coverage—in auto, truck, commercial vehicle, homeowners, renters, small business, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, fire, and flood insurance. In 2008, Freeway Insurance became part of Confie, the nation’s leading personal lines insurance distribution company. Customers can access Freeway Insurance through neighborhood offices, online at www.freeway.com, or by calling (800) 300-0227.
• The Monterrey, Mexico native has made three NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at LVMS, resulting in two top-fives, three top-10s and three laps led. He recorded his best finish at Las Vegas (second) in March 2016.
• The 34-year-old is a veteran of 327 Cup Series starts and has notched two wins (Sonoma Raceway in 2022 and Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2024), 25 top fives and 76 top 10s in NASCAR’s premier division. Suarez has led a total of 907 laps and has earned three poles since entering the series full time in 2017.

Daniel Suárez Quotes
What makes Las Vegas so exciting and challenging?
“Vegas is exciting because it has a lot of character. It’s a mile-and-a-half racetrack with lots of options. You can run the middle, the bottom, or the top. It sits out in the middle of the desert, so it can get pretty windy. The car is very sensitive to the wind, and those conditions can change quite a bit, which makes it a challenge. The wind and weather in Las Vegas is also pretty unpredictable, so you just have to be able to feel the car and figure things out as the race goes on.”

You finished second at Las Vegas last Spring. What’s the biggest win you’ve gotten in Vegas, whether that be a personal victory at the casino or a good run at the racetrack?
“I’m not a gambler. The only place I gamble is at the racetrack. Finishing second last year was very painful. Sometimes it’s almost better to finish fifth than second because second is just so close – especially the way I finished. I feel like there were a couple of things we could have done differently, but that’s racing. You live and learn. Vegas has been a good place for me in the past, and I’m looking forward to going back.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Ryan Sparks

• Ryan Sparks has called 206 NASCAR Cup Series races, earning five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes since making his Cup Series debut atop the pit box in 2020.
• The Winston-Salem, N.C., native’s best result at LVMS came in Spring 2022, where he led the No. 7 team to a 15th-place finish. Sparks has called 11 races at Vegas and overall has led the charge in 98 races on intermediate tracks, resulting in two top-five and three top-10 finishes.
• Sparks joined Spire Motorsports in 2021, where he served as both Crew Chief and Competition Director, leading the organization’s competitive and technical efforts. In 2026, Sparks serves in a singular role as crew chief for Daniel Suárez.
• Sparks brings more than a decade of experience across all three national series, highlighted by 13 seasons at Richard Childress Racing and contributions to title-winning campaigns in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2011) and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (2013).

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Workforce Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube at LVMS.
• Across 24 previous Cup Series starts at LVMS, McDowell owns seven top-20 finishes with a series/venue best finish of 16th, both recorded last season.
• The Cup Series veteran calls Glendale, Ariz., home, but early in his racing career, McDowell and his older brother, Billy, moved to Las Vegas to turn their karting dreams into reality. The brotherly duo built and sold karts in the area to kickstart their racing careers, laying the foundation for a 20-year path and a pair of wins in NASCAR’s premier division.
• March 11th, will mark Michael McDowell Day in Glendale, Ariz. The hometown hero received the keys to the city following his 2021 Daytona 500 win.
• Last weekend at Phoenix Raceway, the father-of-five secured his second consecutive top-10 result. This marks McDowell’s first back-to-back top-10 finishes since Spring of 2024.
• The No. 71 team secured Spire Motorsports’ first Busch Light Pole Award last March at LVMS. McDowell’s 28.833-second lap marks the fastest lap recorded in NASCAR’s seventh-generation Cup Series car (2022-present) at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval.
• Despite limited appearances in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, McDowell has made a pair of starts at LVMS on NASCAR’s junior circuit, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in 2009.
• With 32 points-paying races left on the 2026 schedule, McDowell is eighth in the driver standings and holds a 13-point cushion to the cutline. Over the first four races of the season, he has notched one top-five, and two top-10 finishes.
• Across the first four races of the season, the veteran racer has earned a 13.0 average start and a solid 14.0 average finish.
• Workforce is an Occupational Health and Safety Solutions firm based in Pittsburgh, Penn., with partners throughout North America. For over thirty years, Workforce has provided support to clients through the operation of its three divisions – Work Injury Management, Medical Bill Repricing, and Employer Services. The Work Injury Management Division connects employees to telephonic physician services with expedited access to a nationwide network of medical providers, including specialty, imaging, and therapy services – and employer access to recordable injury investigation, injury impact mitigation services, preferred medical provider panel development, and more. The Medical Bill Repricing Division provides cost containment services by minimizing incident, experience, and injury frequency rates while reducing exposure to insurance premium increases. The Employer Services Division provides employee onboarding services, corporate safety committee oversight, required annual certification coordination, and integration of any required testing, licensing, or accreditation. Since 1995, Workforce remains focused on developing partnerships with employers that facilitate a positive impact on any health and safety issues encountered at the workplace.

Michael McDowell Quote
You’ve earned back-to-back top-10 finishes over the last two weeks. What are you expecting to see at the first 1.5-mile track this season?
“We have some good momentum going into this weekend but Las Vegas is one of those tracks that really shows where you’re at as a team. These 1.5-mile tracks will tell a lot about our cars and our program. This West Coast swing is the perfect chance to see how far we’ve come and show the time we put in during the offseason. I’m proud of the effort from everyone at Spire Motorsports. All three cars are in a competitive points position, and I’m ready to see our 1.5-mile package. We had decent speed there in the last few years and sat on the pole last March. Now, with more experience and a bigger book of notes, we’re ready to build on this momentum going into Vegas.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson

• Across 117 starts serving in the crew chief role, Peterson has captured one win, eight poles, eight top-five, and 25 top-10 finishes.
• The 34-year-old contributed to several victories during his tenure at RFK Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports. He played a key role in Chase Elliott’s 2014 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship. Peterson was also part of Earnhardt’s three-win 2015 Cup Series team.
• In four previous races at LVMS, Peterson has led his team to one pole, four top-20, and six top-25 finishes, all with McDowell behind the wheel.
• In his previous role as race engineer for Hendrick Motorsports, Peterson was instrumental in Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s fourth-place finish at the 2015 event.
• Peterson is a mechanical engineering graduate of the Williams States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The West Bend, Wis., native earned his degree in 2012.

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Carson Hocevar will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chili’s Ride The ‘Dente Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at LVMS, marking his sixth start in NASCAR’s premier division at the popular Nevada oval. Hocevar will Ride the ‘Dente Again’te in a rhinestone-studded livery and firesuit inspired by Nudie Cohn, the original “Rhinestone Cowboy”.
• The No. 77 team sits 14th in points thanks in part to a collection of 23 stage points through the first four points-paying races of the year. Hocevar stands as one of only two drivers to earn stage points in every event this season. He was also awarded nine points for a second-place finish in the America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
• Last week at Phoenix Raceway, the 23-year-old driver qualified seventh but was forced to start from the tail of the field after the team discovered an alternator issue in final pre-race checks Sunday morning. Despite slicing his way inside the top 10 early on, a position Hocevar held for much of the afternoon, handling challenges late in the event hampered his progress, leaving him 20th in the final scoring rundown.
• The No. 77 crew has been hitting their stride, averaging a 10.17-second four-tire pit stop last weekend at Phoenix, the fourth-fastest average on pit road over seven stops.
• In last March’s Pennzoil 400, the Portage, Mich., native maintained top-10 track position throughout the afternoon but contact while leaving his pit stall during the final sequence of the day dealt performance-hindering damage to his Chevy. Still the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year managed to finish the day with a respectable 15th-place finish.
• The five-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner owns four previous starts at LVMS where he registered a series/venue-best seventh-place result in March 2023.
• Hi, welcome to Chili’s! A proud leader in the casual dining industry and the flagship brand of Dallas-based Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT), Chili’s was named Ad Age’s 2025 Brand of the Year. Founded in 1975, Chili’s is known for serving Big Mouth Burgers®, Crispy Chicken Crispers®, and sizzling fajitas, while hand-shaking more margaritas than any other restaurant brand in the United States.
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Carson Hocevar Quotes
What are you most looking forward to heading to Las Vegas?
“I am excited to get to Las Vegas this weekend. While I think we show speed and can compete up front anywhere, we proved last year we really excel at the intermediates, including the mile-and-a-halves. We won the pole at Texas, started on the front row at Charlotte, and had good speed at Vegas last year. They are my favorite tracks and I am expecting to be really competitive come Sunday.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert

• Crew chief Luke Lambert enters his third season at Spire Motorsports and fourth with Carson Hocevar. The duo has logged one pole award, four top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in 84 races together.
• The 16-year veteran crew chief has called 19 NASCAR Cup Series events at LVMS, earning one top five and four top 10s, highlighted by a third-place finish with Ryan Newman in March 2015.
• In three NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races at Las Vegas, Lambert-prepared cars have yet to finish outside the top-three. He and driver Noah Gragson earned a pair of runner-up finishes at the venue in 2022.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.

The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on Feb. 21, 2026, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Fr8 Racing 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 2026, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization will also field the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.

LAS VEGAS 1

Saturday, March 14 – NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, 5:30 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, March 15 – NASCAR Cup Series, 4 p.m. ET (FS1)

Ford Racing heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway after putting together its best weekend of the year in which Ryan Blaney drove to victory and Joey Logano scored the pole at Phoenix Raceway. Both drivers figure to be competitive again at LVMS, where Logano has won a career-best four times and Ford is the defending winner after Josh Berry won a year ago.

BLANEY CAPTURES FIRST CUP WIN OF 2026

Ryan Blaney gave Ford Racing its first NASCAR Cup Series win of the season on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. The win was Blaney’s 18th career triumph and second straight at the one-mile racetrack. It also moved him into a tie for 16th place on the all-time Ford Cup Series win list with Fireball Roberts. In addition, it marked Team Penske’s 108th series win with Ford. Blaney will try to make it two in a row this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he has a career-best finish of third in 19 career series starts.

450 CAREER WINS FOR DOUG YATES

Blaney’s victory also marked a milestone for Roush Yates Engines CEO Doug Yates as it was his 450th career NASCAR victory (Cup, O’Reilly, and Truck combined) since starting his career with Robert Yates Racing in 1990. Yates, who was recently presented with the Spirit of Ford Award on behalf of the Yates Family for contributions to motorsports, has served as CEO at RYE since the operation began in 2004.

BERRY RETURNS TO SITE OF FIRST CUP WIN

It didn’t take Josh Berry long to adjust to his new surroundings at Wood Brothers Racing, taking the team to Victory Lane in only his fifth start after winning last year’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Berry passed Daniel Suarez and led the final 16 circuits to post his first NASCAR Cup Series victory and give WBR its 101st all-time triumph. The win is Berry’s only top 10 at LVMS in five starts.

VEGAS PROVES TO BE LOGANO’S BEST

Joey Logano has four career victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which is tied for the most he has at any track on the circuit (Phoenix Raceway). In 25 career starts at the intermediate track, Logano has a finishing average of 9.6, which ranks as his statistical best on tracks where has made at least 10 series starts. Much of the success the driver of the No. 22 has enjoyed is a result of qualifying well. Logano has an average starting spot of 7.7 at Las Vegas, which is also a personal-best, and includes three pole positions.

HOMECOMING FOR GRAGSON

Las Vegas is home for Ford Racing’s Noah Gragson, who kicked off race week by driving a Ford Bronco Raptor from Phoenix. Gragson, who is still looking for his first Cup Series victory, has won 15 times combined in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (13) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2), but none of those have come at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sunday’s race will mark his seventh career series start at the 1.5-mile track with his best finish coming in this event two years ago when he ran sixth.

RYAN PREECE: “Honestly, Las Vegas has just been really good to me here as of late, as well as our entire group, with everything that we have going on, so I feel really excited about going there We’ve been firing on all eight cylinders when it comes to our mile-and-a-half program, so I’m excited about it.”

JOEY LOGANO: “Vegas has just been a good one. I think our Ford Mustangs have always been fairly strong there and it’s a track that seems like it kind of fits my style. We’ve been able to figure out how to move around that racetrack fairly well from top to bottom and we think that’s opened up our options. We’ve won there in completely different ways almost every time, whether it’s speed, strategy, tires at the end, staying out at the end, fuel mileage. It seems like we’ve gotten to the end of that one just about every way you can, but it’s been a good place.”

ZANE SMITH: “The intermediates for us last year were great, so I’m looking forward to getting back to those. I feel like we should have some good progression throughout the offseason to be better on those as well. Outside of that, I feel like we’re pretty consistent with being good on all of them, but the road courses. The road courses have been the main area where we need work, but I’m excited for the mile-and-a-halves.”

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 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at the 1.5-mile facility. The organization has posted seven NCS wins and six NOAPS 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 O’Reilly Auto Parts 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.

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)

2024 – Joey Logano (2)

2025 – Josh Berry (1)

FORD’S LAS VEGAS NOAPS 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)

As the spirit of America, the Ford Mustang is the world’s best selling sports car and one of the planet’s most popular race cars. With Mustang-based race cars competing in international sports car competition (GT3 and GT4), NASCAR, NHRA, Formula Drift, in Supercars, at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and in its own bespoke regional one-make series – Mustang Cup and Mustang Challenge – the platform has an unprecedented global reach. This weekend, 12 Mustang race cars are scheduled to race across all disciplines. Learn more about Mustang at www.FordRacing.com.

Noah Gragson | Todd Gilliland | Zane Smith
Las Vegas Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series Race Advance
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 400
Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026
Event: Race 6 of 38
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-miles)
#of Laps: 267
Time/TV/Radio: 4:00 PM ET on FS1/PRN/SiriusXM channel 90

FRM Points Standings:

Zane Smith (19th)
Noah Gragson (25th)
Todd Gilliland (26th)

Noah Gragson Notes

Noah Gragson returns to his stomping grounds this weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series faces the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The hometown hero has an impressive record at the 1.5-mile track, recording seven top-five finishes in eight O’Reilly Auto Part Series starts. In the Cup Series, Gragson’s best finish at the track came in March 2024 where he started 30th and finished sixth.

Featured as the primary sponsor on the No. 4 car for this weekend’s race will be Curate, creators of the next generation of restaurant apps. Curate is built to help restaurants move faster, deepen customer relationships and grow in a digital-first world. For the brand, NASCAR represents speed, precision and teamwork – values that align perfectly with how Curate approaches technology for the restaurant industry. Curate also sees similarities with their approach to innovation in driver Noah Gragson, as he embodies the next generation of racing talent – focused, competitive and always pushing forward.

As part of this sponsorship, Curate is also proud to spotlight Ike’s Love & Sandwiches, an iconic brand and notable partner of Curate. Fans of Ike’s know the brand for its legendary tradition of naming sandwiches after local celebrities and athletes, a tribute to community, culture and impact. Ike’s Love & Sandwiches founder, Ike Shehadeh, opened his first locations in San Francisco and Palo Alto, building a loyal following in the same communities that shaped Curate’s founders during their time at Stanford, where Ike’s became a familiar part of campus life. Ike’s Love & Sandwiches has three (3) locations in Nevada, including a location just a short drive from the track, in Las Vegas.

“This sponsorship is an exciting opportunity for Curate to tell our story on a national stage alongside Noah Gragson and an incredible partner like Ike’s Love & Sandwiches,” said Grant Russell, CEO and Co-Founder of Curate. “Our platform helps restaurant brands build stronger direct relationships with their customers, and we see this partnership as a natural extension of the energy, ambition, and forward momentum that define our brand.”

“Last week was rough, from start to finish, but we’ll put it behind us and get ready for this weekend,” said Gragson. “I’m excited to get back to Las Vegas and spend some time with family and friends before racing in front of the hometown crowd on Sunday, with a new partner to the sport on board, Curate. We had a strong run there, in the fall, and I feel like we can repeat that this weekend to get ourselves back on track before returning to the east coast.”
Road Crew

Driver: Noah Gragson

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Crew Chief: Grant Hutchens

Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska

Car Chief: Joey Forgette

Hometown: Iron Mountain, Michigan

Engineer: Dillon Silverman

Hometown: Chico, California

Engineer: Scott Bingham

Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Mechanic: Chris Trickett

Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia

Mechanic: Tony Infinger

Hometown: Fort Valley, Georgia

Tire Specialist: Chris Aunspaw

Hometown: Zelienople, Pennsylvania

Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

Hometown: Monroe, New York

Spotter: Nick Del Campo

Hometown: Blauvelt, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: Ron Miske

Hometown: Fairfield, Connecticut

Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Tafton Hensley

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Justin Fox

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Drew Baum

Hometown: Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania

Jackman: Graham Stoddard

Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska

Fueler: Blake Baker

Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Todd Gilliland Notes

Riding the momentum from last week’s 12th-place finish at the Phoenix Raceway, Todd Gilliland and the No. 34 team look to test their luck this weekend in Sin City. In the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Gilliland has scored four top-10 finishes in seven starts at the track.

Love’s Travel Stops returns with Gilliland and the No. 34 team for this weekend’s race. Fans are encouraged to download the Love’s Connect App to unlock exclusive benefits and savings. Users can save 10¢ per gallon on gas and up to 25¢ per gallon on auto diesel, along with access to great mobile-only deals. Fans can download the app from Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Love’s Travel Stops rolls out a major update to the Love’s App, introducing a unified Love’s Rewards program that now benefits every customer who stops at Love’s. Whether fueling up, grabbing a snack or stocking up on Love’s-branded products, customers can now save and earn points at every turn simply by scanning the Love’s App in-store or at the pump. The new Love’s Rewards program focuses on delivering meaningful value at every stop and aims to make Love’s the first stop drivers think of on the road. To explore all the new benefits of the Love’s Rewards program, visit www.loves.com/loves-rewards.

“Vegas has always been a challenging track for me, but I really like the direction the team is heading after Phoenix,” said Gilliland. “Our 12th place finish last week was really encouraging and gives us some much-needed momentum heading into this weekend. This is the point of the season where things start to pick up, and you start going to more mile-and-a-half’s where qualifying becomes more important.
Road Crew

Driver: Todd Gilliland

Hometown: Sherrills Ford, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Chris Lawson

Hometown: Medway, Ohio

Car Chief: Joe Marra

Hometown: Somers, New York

Engineer: Marc Rullo

Hometown: Ringwood, New Jersey

Engineer: Kevyn Rebolledo

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Spotter: Brit Andersen

Hometown: Branford, Connecticut

Mechanic: Michael Brookes

Hometown: Columbus, Ohio

Interior Specialist: Ethan Deguevara

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Tire Specialist: Billy John

Hometown: Pitman, New Jersey

Mechanic / Engine Tuner: Kyle Moon

Hometown: Troy, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: Randy Bernier

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Grissom

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Danny Olszowy

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky

Rear Tire Changer: Austin Chrismon

Hometown: China Grove, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Paul Steele

Hometown: Wichita, Kansas

Jackman: Ryan Selig

Hometown: Lindenhurst, Illinois

Fueler: Zeke Nance

Hometown: Calhoun, Georgia

Zane Smith Notes

The “West Coast Swing” carries into Las Vegas, Nevada for 400-miles at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Zane Smith looks to regain momentum following last week’s race at the Phoenix Raceway. In the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Smith has five top-10 finishes at the track.

As part of its 2026 activation, Aaron’s is running the Fastlane 5000 Sweepstakes, now through March 31. Fans can enter for a chance to win a $5,000 home upgrade from Aaron’s, along with weekly prizes, by visiting Aarons.com/Fastlane5000. The sweepstakes connects the excitement of race weekend with Aaron’s nationwide footprint, driving engagement both in-store and online across nearly 1,200 Company-operated and franchised locations. To find an Aaron’s store location near you, visit Aarons.com.

“Phoenix was disappointing, but it’s a long season and each weekend presents a new opportunity to score some points and even a win,” said Smith. “I have a love / hate relationship with Las Vegas. I was really good there in the Truck Series but have struggled there in Cup. With the direction were headed, I think we can leave Vegas on a good note, though.
Road Crew

Driver: Zane Smith

Hometown: Huntington Beach, California

Crew Chief: Ryan Bergenty

Hometown: Plainville, Connecticut

Car Chief: Will Norris

Hometown: Bells, Tennessee

Engineer: Jacob Clamme

Hometown: Hartford City, Indiana

Engineer: Chris Yerges

Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconsin

Mechanic / Engine Tuner: Steve Godfrey

Hometown: West Haven, Connecticut

Interior Specialist: Matt Fowler

Hometown: Spartanburg, South Carolina

Mechanic: Austin Bloom

Hometown: Lowell, Oregon

Spotter: Ryan Blanchard

Hometown: Bethlehem, Connecticut

Transport Co-Driver: Bryan Whitman

Hometown: Newton, North Carolina

Transport Co-Driver: Shawn Sellew

Hometown: Stafford Springs, Connecticut

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Michael Louria

Hometown: Gibraltar, Michigan

Rear Tire Changer: Adam Riley

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

Tire Carrier: Jarren Davis

Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida

Jackman: Nate McBride

Hometown: Vidalia, Georgia

Fueler: Ray Hernandez

Hometown: Orlando, Florida

ABOUT CURATE

Curate puts the power back in the hands of restaurants. Every year, restaurants lose billions to delivery apps charging hefty commissions while owning the customer relationship. With Curate, brands instead use our breakthrough no-download app technology that drives seamless direct ordering and loyalty. The result is higher-margin revenue, full ownership of customer data and AI-powered marketing and loyalty that keep customers coming back more often, all commission-free. To find out more about Curate, visit getcurate.com.

ABOUT LOVE’S TRAVEL STOPS

Love’s has been fueling customers’ journeys since 1964. Innovation and perseverance continue to lead the way for the family-owned and -operated business headquartered in Oklahoma City with more than 40,000 team members in North America and Europe. The company’s core business is travel stops and convenience stores with 640 locations in 42 states. Love’s continues its commitment to offer products and services that provide value for professional drivers, fleets, four-wheel customers, RVers, alternative fuel and wholesale fuel customers. Giving back to communities Love’s serves and maintaining an inclusive and diverse workplace are hallmarks of the company’s award-winning culture.

ABOUT AARON’S

Headquartered in Atlanta, The Aaron’s Company, Inc. is a leading, technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of lease-to-own and retail purchase solutions of appliances, electronics, furniture, and other home goods. Aaron’s offers a direct-to-consumer lease-to-own solution through its approximately 1,200 Company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada, as well as its e-commerce platform, Aarons.com.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, FRM has earned top honors including a 2021 Daytona 500 victory and the 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series championship. Based in Mooresville, N.C., FRM fields the No. 4, No. 34, and No. 38 entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, along with the No. 34 and No. 38 teams in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. For more information, visit teamfrm.com and follow Front Row Motorsports on social media — X: @Team_FRM, Instagram: @teamfrm, Tik Tok: @Team_FRM, YouTube: @FrontRowNASCAR, and Facebook: facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.