TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 14-16, 2025
After sitting idle for back-to-back weekends, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to join the Cup and Xfinity Series for part two of the sport’s west coast swing.
NASCAR’s third tripleheader weekend of the season will kickoff under the lights Friday night with the Truck Series’ Ecosave 200, with the Bowtie brand looking for a three-peat in the series at the Nevada venue. The Xfinity Series will hit the track Saturday afternoon in ‘The LiUNA!’ 300-mile race, with NASCAR’s top division ending the weekend with Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube.
Chevrolet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the first among the three national touring series to be welcomed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nov. 1996, with the Xfinity Series following suit just a few months later for its inaugural event at the venue in Mar. 1997. Both series debuts saw a Chevrolet-powered machine make its way to victory lane, with Jack Sprague (Truck Series) and Jeff Green (Xfinity Series) becoming the track’s first-time winners in their respective series.
Chevrolet will enter the weekend with back-to-back Truck Series victories at Las Vegas. In Mar. 2023, Kyle Busch started his return to the Chevrolet camp with a trip to victory lane at his home track in a Spire Motorsports-prepared Silverado RST – a triumph that ended a double-digit winless streak for the manufacturer at the track. One year later, the Chevrolet organization took yet another checkered flag at the 1.5-mile venue with Rajah Caruth – the young driver’s first-ever victory in the NASCAR national ranks. Caruth’s triumph marked Chevrolet’s 11th all-time Truck Series win at Las Vegas.
In the Xfinity Series, the Bowtie brand will return to Las Vegas as the series’ defending winners at the track. In Oct. 2024, Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger earned his first win of the season and a bid into the series’ Championship Four by taking the checkered flag at the Nevada venue. The victory marked Chevrolet’s 18th all-time Xfinity Series victory at Las Vegas – giving the manufacturer a winning percentage of over 50 percent in the series at the track.
In 34 appearances by NASCAR’s top division at Las Vegas, Chevrolet has recorded 13 all-time victories. The Bowtie brand is the series’ defending winner of the track’s spring race – a victory courtesy of Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team (Mar. 2024). The feat was Larson’s second consecutive trip to victory lane in the division at the Nevada venue, with his triumph one year ago marking Hendrick Motorsports’ series-leading 10th victory at the track.
Next Gen in Nevada:
Chevrolet’s strength at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has skyrocketed in the Next Gen era, with the manufacturer earning the victory in four of the six events at the track since the debut of the Next Gen car. The first of those wins came in the car’s debut at the 1.5-mile oval in Mar. 2022 with Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, with his triumph celebrated by a Team Chevy podium sweep in the event (Kyle Larson – second; Ross Chastain – third). The manufacturer went on to tally three-straight wins in the division at the track, including a 2023 season sweep courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (Mar.) and Kyle Larson (Oct.).
ROWDY RETURNING HOME WITH TOP-10 STREAK
Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch has more drive than ever to make his return to victory lane in NASCAR’s top division, and the Chevrolet driver will head to his home track with a little extra momentum under his belt. The 39-year-old Nevada native is one of just two drivers that will enter the weekend with three-straight top-10 results, joining the series’ three-time winner Christopher Bell. Busch has made it to victory lane on his home turf in all three national series, including one Cup Series win (2009), two Xfinity Series wins (2016, 2019) and four Truck Series wins (2018-2020, 2023).
BYRON PROVING TO BE EARLY TITLE CONTENDER
Although it wasn’t the finish that the team was hoping for, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team was able to hold onto the points lead for the second consecutive week following a sixth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway. The weekend started with a strong performance on Saturday, with the 27-year-old North Carolina native knocking the series’ reigning champion, Joey Logano, off the top of the qualifying leaderboard to take his first pole win of the season. On Sunday, Byron drove his Chevrolet-powered machine to podium finishes in both stages, including collecting the win in Stage One. Running in the top-five nearing the final pit stop of the day, an untimely caution threw a wrench into the No. 24 team’s strategy – trapping the team on pit road and ultimately forcing Byron to take the wave around. With a fresh set of option tires on, Byron was able to power his way through the field and put the team back into contention – ultimately taking the checkered flag in the sixth position.
Despite the final result, it was still a banner day for the Chevrolet driver. Byron was able to extend his streak to 19-straight top-10 stage finishes at Phoenix Raceway – a number that matches Martin Truex Jr.’s record for the most consecutive top-10 stage finishes at a single track. Byron also tallied 83 laps led (second-most to race winner Christopher Bell), making him the only driver to lead laps in every race thus far this season.
LOVE TO THE LEAD
Tallying yet another top-10 finish at Phoenix Raceway last weekend, Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love powered his way to the top of the Xfinity Series points standings – entering the Las Vegas race weekend with a two-point lead over reigning champion Justin Allgaier. Competing in just his sophomore campaign in the series, the 20-year-old California native is making an early statement as a championship contender. Already earning a playoff berth with his victory in the series’ season-opener, Love is one of just three drivers that have earned top-10 finishes in three of the four races thus far this season. With only two starts under his belt at Las Vegas, Love’s career-best finish of sixth came in the series’ most recent appearance at the track (Oct. 2024).
Despite a disappointing early exit from the race last weekend, Love’s teammate, Austin Hill, is heading back to a track where he’s found a fair amount of success. The 30-year-old Georgia native is the series’ only current full-time competitor that is a past winner at Las Vegas (Mar. 2023). Hill has navigated his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to five-straight top-10 finishes at the track. Hill is also one of just two drivers that have tallied triple-digit laps led already this season, with fellow Chevrolet driver, Allgaier, joining Hill on that elite list after coming up just short of the victory at Phoenix last weekend.
CARUTH READY FOR A REBOUND
A return trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway is exactly what Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth needs to turn his 2025 season around. Putting a pair of tough speedway races in his rearview mirror, Caruth will head back to the track that delivered the young Chevrolet driver a career weekend one year ago. In just his third start with Spire Motorsports, Caruth quickly became a race-winning contender by driving his No. 71 Chevrolet to the top of the leaderboard in qualifying – marking Caruth’s first career pole win in the series. The 22-year-old Georgia native went on to tally 38-laps led (second-best of the race) en route to his first career victory in the NASCAR national ranks. Among the series’ full-time competitors this season, Caruth is one of just four past Las Vegas winners, with fellow Chevrolet driver and the series’ current points leader, Grant Enfinger, joining that list with one victory at the Nevada venue (Sept. 2018).
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 34 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 13 victories. Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at the track with 10, recorded by five different drivers: Jeff Gordon (2001), Jimmie Johnson (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010), Kyle Larson (2021, 2023, 2024), Alex Bowman (2022), William Byron (2023).
· Chevrolet has won four of the six races in the Next Gen era at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including the car’s debut race (Alex Bowman – Mar. 2022) and a sweep of the 2023 season’s events (William Byron – Mar. 2023; Kyle Larson – Oct. 2023).
· In 112 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 53 victories – a winning percentage of 47.3%.
· With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 867 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
Pennzoil 400
Sunday, March 16, at 3:30 p.m. ET
(FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
The LiUNA!
Saturday, March 15, at 4:30 p.m. ET
(CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Ecosave 200
Friday, March 14, at 9 p.m. ET
(FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Statistically, Las Vegas has been one of your better tracks in recent years. Why is that?
“I’ve been really good at Las Vegas in the Cup Series since I started driving for Trackhouse. I hope to continue that trend this weekend. We had a really good car there back in the fall until I sped on pit road. That put us behind and we spent the rest of the race trying to catch back up. I’ve been so fortunate that Phil Surgen has given me fast cars and I just need to leave the driver error out of it and get a great result for my team. For whatever reason, Vegas has been one of those tracks where whatever Phil does with the setup, it really suits my driving style there.”
Do you enjoy going to Las Vegas?
“Las Vegas is always a fun track for me and it’s great to be driving the Kubota car which represents who I am as person growing up in an agriculture family. Outside of the car I’m going to join the PRN (Performance Racing Network) booth to broadcast the Xfinity Series race which is always a unique perspective. Away from the track there’s a lot of great hiking and all kinds of different things to do in the market.”
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
How do you look to build some momentum heading into Las Vegas?
“We’ve had speed the past few weeks on our No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet ZL1 but have been plagued with bad luck. I’m looking forward to Las Vegas this weekend. It is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule and hopefully we can starting building some momentum.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
What are some of your early memories of Las Vegas?
“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. 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.”
What is your fondest racing memory of growing up in Las Vegas?
“My fondest racing memory is probably my first Late Model race. I started about eighth or 10th and ended up winning it. My first-ever start, I won. So that is definitely a great memory to have.”
Is there more pressure racing at your hometown track?
“Yeah, Vegas always means a little bit more pressure – more pressure on myself – just because it’s the hometown and you want to win there. Thankfully, I have won there and I’ve knocked that one off the list, but certainly you want to win there every year. I love Vegas, the atmosphere and everything going on around that place.”
What was it like to bring home a Cup Series win in your hometown in 2009?
“It was cool. To go out there and to run a smooth race and to have a shot at winning at the end of the race, that’s what it’s all about. I watched Vegas being built from the ground up, and I remember when it wasn’t anything but a gleam in the eye of Richie Clyne (founder of Las Vegas Motor Speedway) – all those guys who made that place happen.”
With four races in the books, how would you assess the start to your season?
“I would say that the step that we made from last year to this year was a really good step. Another major step like that, we can be a contender for racing for the win.”
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
“Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) is a track that early in my career in the Cup Series wasn’t a very good track for me, but over the last three or four years, especially with the next gen car, I’ve seen mass improvements on results and confidence around the track. I’m feeling pretty strong, and I feel like this year we’re going to have a good opportunity to go in there and have a good run. I think Kaulig Racing always has good success at Las Vegas, especially in the Xfinity Series, so there are some good vibes around the racetrack. We had a good run last weekend at Phoenix, just some mistakes on my part that I need to clean up, but hopefully we can go into this weekend and have another solid day and keep improving on our No. 10 Sea Best Chevy.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
“Las Vegas on the Cup side has been fairly strong for us. In the past, I have been comfortable running that track, obviously we’ve had success on the Xfinity side, and we’ve always had speed. It’s a really fast racetrack and the first true mile-and-a-half. I feel like with the work we’ve done in the off season, we can have a lot of speed and put together a solid weekend.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
Over the past two seasons, you’ve averaged top-25 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. What more do you need to help break into the top-20 at not only Las Vegas, but other intermediate tracks?
“Las Vegas Motor Speedway has kind of been an up-and-down track for us. I feel like we’ve had speed at times, but with this new car, I feel like we’ve somewhat struggled. For sure the last time at Las Vegas, but we were trying some different things, so I think we know what made us not as good there. I’m looking forward to going back though. Mile-and-a-halves have been a place where we should run better theoretically based on the handling of our racecars and the speed we’ve had. We need to limit mistakes and make sure we have a good car this weekend.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
What are your thoughts heading into Las Vegas?
“We had a lot of speed in Phoenix, and it showed in qualifying. Unfortunately, our day was cut short of the result we probably deserved. We are going to learn a lot on this west coast swing, but we are trending in the right direction. I am proud of everyone at Spire Motorsports and excited to see where our 1.5-mile program will be this weekend. Las Vegas has been a second home for me after I left Phoenix. I spent a lot of time there early in my karting career with my brother, so I am excited to get back there and see where our intermediate program stacks up.”
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Las Vegas will be the first true 1.5-mile intermediate track that the Cup Series will visit this season. How do you feel the team is progressing at this point and what do you expect this weekend?
“We’ve had a really good start to the season and I think we’ll see that continue at Las Vegas. We’ve had a lot of speed and it’s been really fun to be competitive early in the year. The mile-and-a-half tracks have always been some of my favorites. I feel like those are where I’ve had the most consistency so I’m eager to see where we end up during practice and qualifying.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
You raced for Red Bull in Supercars. What does it mean to have Red Bull join you in the NASCAR Cup Series?
“It means a lot to have Red Bull on my Chevrolet. They were great supporters of mine back home in Supercars, so it’s pretty cool to have their backing in my NASCAR career. I have enjoyed a lot of new experiences and met a lot of new people since coming to America and I’m excited for Red Bull to join me on this journey. Hoping for many great results in my No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet.”
How has it been for you to adjust as a Cup Series rookie, after all those years of being the superstar in the Supercars series?
“It’s been awesome and it’s been a really good change. The off-season was great. But just racing every weekend is the biggest adjustment, knowing what I am doing every single weekend until November. Normally I’m trying to find other drives and other series to race in to fill my time. It’s a pretty full-on year coming up but I’m really pumped about it.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
What about your season so far?
“We have had fast Chevrolet’s in just about every race but haven’t been able to get the finishes we should get. That will change. We will have a good weekend soon, hopefully this weekend in Las Vegas. The last two weeks we have had a top 10, maybe a top-five car. We keep doing that and we will be okay. I’m ready for some good luck.”
What do you remember about the October Las Vegas race?
“It was a little heartbreaking. We were so close. We had a great No. 99 Chevrolet and I certainly thought we had a chance to win. As it was coming down to the checkered flag, we needed to get to the bottom lane, but there were a few cars stuck down there and in dirty air. I felt like if I had the bottom, Joey (Logano) wouldn’t be able to pass me, but you never know.”
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
What have you been doing to prepare for Las Vegas?
“We have been doing quite a bit of SIM work. It’s a high-speed track, high banking, and high grip. It’s going to be cool to go there for the first time in a stock car. I grew up racing go-karts in Vegas quite a bit and enjoyed it a lot. I’m excited to go back and run at the NASCAR track for the first time.”
How important is this stretch of races for you in the learning process?
“We’re finally starting to settle in at these racetracks, getting into more normal style racetracks. It will be good to get into a rhythm these next few races and figure out what we need to be doing and how I like the car. It’s important to have good cars at these racetracks. It’s good to get some points early in the season and start stashing them for the playoffs. Hopefully we can get some stage wins, run up front, and contend for wins.”
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: 1
Poles: 1
Laps Led: 250
Top-Fives: 8
Top-10s: 18
Stage Wins: 2
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 867 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 754
Laps led to date: 252,961
Top-fives to date: 4,377
Top-10s to date: 9,025
Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:
General Motors: 1,201
Chevrolet: 867
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 840
Ford: 740
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 192
About General Motors
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