Joey Logano executed a flawless strategy to win the Series South Point 400 held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, propelling him to the Cup Series Playoffs Championship 4.
The No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang driver showcased an impressive performance that combined skillful driving with smart pit strategy, ultimately leading him to his third win of the season and second playoff victory.
Logano executed a strategic race plan that centered around fuel conservation, allowing him to outlast his competitors and secure his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Championship 4 round set for November 10 at Phoenix Raceway.
The Cup Series Playoffs race held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway began with a competitive atmosphere as drivers vied for position early on. Tyler Reddick, who started second, quickly made his presence felt as he battled pole sitter Christopher Bell for the lead during the first stage.
Reddick’s aggressive driving style was evident as he sought to capitalize on every opportunity. However, it was Bell who dominated much of the race, leading an impressive 156 laps and demonstrating the strength of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
As the race progressed into its second stage, tensions escalated dramatically. A major incident happened on lap 90 when Reddick attempted to squeeze between Chase Elliott and the wall exiting Turn 4. The maneuver went awry resulting in Reddick making contact with Elliott’s car after contact from Martin Truex Jr. which resulted to a multi-car wreck involving Ryan Blaney and others.
The chaos behind the incident was compounded by Reddick’s car flipping onto its roof, creating a moment of shock among fans and competitors alike. His day ended prematurely with a 36th-place finish after he managed to drive his damaged vehicle back to the pits.
After being caught up in Reddick’s crash, Chase Elliott sustained significant damage to his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Despite clearing NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy by maintaining minimum speed, he could only salvage a 33rd-place finish, leaving him in a precarious position in the playoff standings.
As the race approached its climax, Joey Logano’s strategy came into play. With just over 37 laps remaining, Bell made a pit stop that would ultimately prove costly in his quest for victory as Logano and his crew chief Paul Wolfe made a bold decision to stay out on track, banking on fuel mileage to carry them through to the end of the race.
This gamble paid off as Logano expertly managed his fuel in the final laps while holding off Bell’s late charge. Bell could not quite catch the race leader before crossing the finish line less than a second behind despite cutting down his lead significantly.
“Man, we did some fuel mileage stuff, didn’t we? Holy crap,” said Joey Logano after NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “What an incredible turn of events here the last week. Very fast Pennzoil Mustang.
“We’re going to the Cup series Playoffs Championship 4 again. It’s real. Great fuel mileage, great calls by [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure she’s full, giving me the info to keep the lead that we needed to. We’re going racing again. What an incredible situation, man. I’m so blessed.
“Just incredible day. Like I said, it takes the whole team to do the fuel mileage stuff. Not just the engineers, spotter. It takes all of us to do it. Total team win.”
Meanwhile Christopher Bell expressed disappointment post-race, acknowledging that while his team executed their strategy flawlessly, it simply wasn’t enough to secure the win.
“I don’t know [how to come to terms with the race ending] and I don’t think I have come to terms yet” said Bell. “Just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today.
“This thing was obviously on rails, pit crew did an amazing job and (crew chief) Adam [Stevens] called a great race. Did everything we needed to, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be today.”
Bell’s afternoon was good enough to propel him into the championship points lead with a 42-point advantage on the cutoff line.
“The points look pretty good, but you’re never safe in this deal,” he added. “We needed to win today and unfortunately we didn’t. We’ll go on to the next one.”
William Byron also had a noteworthy performance at Las Vegas, finishing fourth and extending his streak of strong finishes in recent races. His consistent performance has kept him well above the cutline as he heads into the next round of playoffs.
Trackhouse Racing had a solid outing as well, with Daniel Suarez finishing third and Ross Chastain placing seventh. This marked only the third time this season that both cars from Trackhouse Racing found themselves in the top ten together—a promising sign for their competitiveness moving forward.
Alex Bowman, a week after the biggest disappointment of his NASCAR Cup Series career, came home solidly in fifth position ahead of Martin Truex Jr., who brought his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota home in the sixth position. Ross Chastain, Playoff contender Denny Hamlin, John Hunter Nemechek, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-10 finishers in Sunday’s race.
Last week’s Charlotte ROVAL race winner Kyle Larson finished 11th, which would have been a disappointment heading into the day. But considering the driver lost a lap in a horrendous green flag pit sequence, where the driver had to go down pit road twice to complete his service, the fact that the driver of the No. 5 was able to battle back to the lead lap and finish just outside the top-10 had to feel like a win.
Larson leaves Las Vegas third in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings, and now sits 35 points above the Playoff cutline.
Next on schedule is the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway where the drivers will battle it out in the Straight Talk Wireless 400 on Sunday, October 27.
