NASCAR

NASCAR in Las Vegas preview: Starting lineup, watch info, TV schedule, drivers to watch

The third race of the 2024 season will take place this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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After a pair of wild-card races to open the season, NASCAR is rolling the dice in Sin City.

Last week, Daniel Suárez won at Atlanta in a three-wide photo finish. Before that, William Byron claimed the Daytona 500 by narrowly holding off his teammate.

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What’s in store for Las Vegas? It could be a return to normalcy.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be the first non-drafting track of the season, where drivers rely less on others and are forced to wheel their own cars to the best of their abilities. The results in Nevada will likely be more indicative of the rest of the season than what we saw in Daytona and Atlanta – each of the Championship 4 drivers last year won at a 1.5-mile track comparable to LVMS.

Here’s everything you need to know for the 2024 Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas:

NASCAR at Las Vegas starting lineup

Thirty-seven drivers will race in Las Vegas – the 34 full-timers, plus three others.

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Kaz Grala will drive the No. 15 for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time effort this season. Elsewhere, veteran J.J. Yeley is teaming up with NY Racing to race the No. 44 for the first time this year. Then there’s 22-year-old Derek Kraus, who will make his Cup debut in the No. 16 for Kaulig Racing.

Here’s the full starting lineup for Las Vegas after Saturday's qualifying session:

Starting positionDriver, car numberTeam nameSponsorQualifying speed (mph)
1Joey Logano, 22Team PenskePennzoil184.357
2Kyle Larson, 5Hendrick MotorsportsHendrickCars.com184.225
3Austin Cindric, 2Team PenskeDiscount Tire184.093
4William Byron, 24Hendrick MotorsportsZ by HP183.911
5Bubba Wallace, 2323XI RacingColumbia Sportswear183.648
6Chase Briscoe, 14Stewart-Haas RacingMahindra Tractors183.486
7Martin Truex Jr., 19Joe Gibbs RacingReser's Fine Foods183.169
8Ty Gibbs, 54Joe Gibbs RacingHe Gets Us183.150
9Chris Buescher, 17RFK RacingFastenal182.927
10Christopher Bell, 20Joe Gibbs RacingInterstate Batteries182.556
11Chase Elliott, 9Hendrick MotorsportsLLumar183.943
12Michael McDowell, 34Front Row MotorsportsLove's RV Stops183.592
13Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47JTG Daugherty RacingSmith's/Tree Top183.611
14Carson Hocevar, 77Spire MotorsportsPremier Security183.181
15Ryan Blaney, 12Team PenskeMenards/Pennzoil183.436
16Daniel Suárez, 99Trackhouse RacingFreeway Insurance182.840
17Corey LaJoie, 7Spire MotorsportsUSANA183.418
18Tyler Reddick, 4523XI RacingMonster Energy182.513
19Austin Dillon, 3Richard Childress RacingBetMGM183.063
20Ross Chastain, 1Trackhouse RacingKubota182.482
21Kyle Busch, 8Richard Childress RacingBetMGM182.716
22Erik Jones, 43Legacy Motor ClubDollar Tree182.309
23Alex Bowman, 48Hendrick MotorsportsAlly Financial182.587
24Zane Smith, 71Spire MotorsportsFocused Health182.309
25Brad Keselowski, 6RFK RacingSolomon Plumbing181.886
26Josh Berry, 4Stewart-Haas RacingMobil 1182.143
27John Hunter Nemechek, 42Legacy Motor ClubAlbertson's181.635
28Denny Hamlin, 11Joe Gibbs RacingSport Clips182.100
29Harrison Burton, 21Wood Brothers RacingMotorcraft/Quick Lane181.080
30Noah Gragson, 10Stewart-Haas RacingFanttik181.238
31Todd Gilliland, 38Front Row Motorsportsgener8tor180.699
32Kaz Grala, 15Rick Ware RacingN29 Capital Partners181.238
33Derek Kraus, 16Kaulig RacingWestern States Flooring178.968
34Daniel Hemric, 31Kaulig RacingSouth Point Hotel & Casino180.385
35Justin Haley, 51Rick Ware RacingOhanafyNo lap taken
36Ryan Preece, 41Stewart-Haas RacingHaas ToolingNo lap taken
37J.J. Yeley, 44NY RacingUrban Youth Racing SchoolNo lap taken

What time is the NASCAR race today?

The Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas is set for Sunday, March 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Before the race, there were practice and qualifying sessions. The 37-car field was split into two groups (found here), with each group practicing for 20 minutes on Saturday.

Qualifying began immediately after practice. Each car from the two groups made one lap in the first round, with the five fastest cars on single-lap speed in each group advancing to the final round. In the final round, the remaining drivers each got one lap to set the top 10 starting order, with positions 11 through 37 were set based on first round times.

What channel is the NASCAR race on today?

Saturday, March 2 (FS1 and streaming online)

Sunday, March 3 (FOX, FS1 and streaming online)

NASCAR Las Vegas past winners, race history

There are eight former Las Vegas winners who will race on Sunday, including defending spring LVMS winner William Byron. Kyle Larson is the most recent winner at LVMS, taking home the checkered flag in last October’s playoff race.

While both of those drivers have had success in Sin City, several former champions have dominated in the desert. Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano each have three Vegas wins apiece, while Martin Truex Jr. joins Larson as a two-time winner.

The other Las Vegas past winners include Kyle Busch (2009), Denny Hamlin (2021) and Alex Bowman (2022).

NASCAR at Las Vegas favorites, drivers to watch

As you could see from the past winners, it takes an elite driver to win at Las Vegas. Six of the eight active winners are former champions, and the two non-champions are perennial contenders (Byron and Hamlin).

When looking at the spring Las Vegas race, though, two organizations have typically commendeered victory lane: Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports.

A Penske or Hendrick driver has won the last five spring races and six of the last eight. Hendrick is on a run of three straight with three different drivers (Larson ‘21, Bowman ‘22, Byron ‘23), while Logano won the two years before them. It's not a coincidence that the first four starting spots will be occupied by two Penske and two Hendrick drivers after both organizations showed speed in qualifying.

The active drivers with the best career average finish at LVMS include Larson (9.9 in 15 starts), Truex (10.0 in 24 starts), Logano (10.0 in 21 starts) and Busch (10.6 in 25 starts). For non-winners, Ryan Blaney (12.0 in 15 starts), Tyler Reddick (15.0 in eight starts) and Austin Dillon (15.9 in 17 starts) lead the way.

Get to know NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney.
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