In our daily lives, temptation is everywhere but it is tempered by the relative absence of outlets to act upon it. In Las Vegas, though, all the temptations one's heart desires are catered -- including the temptation to take hundreds upon hundreds of horsepower into your hands and use them to go as fast as you possibly can.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400, the third race of the 2023 season and the second leg of its West Coast swing. As the first mile and a half track of the season, Las Vegas presents an important benchmark for each team: This weekend marks the first showcase of which drivers and teams struck the right balance between horsepower, setup, and aerodynamics to be fast on intermediate tracks during the offseason, and which still have work to do.
Aerodynamics aren't the only determining factor at Las Vegas, however, as evidenced by both races at this track last year. A gutsy two-tire call on his final pit stop got Alex Bowman the win in overtime last spring, while fresh tires and superior grip gave Joey Logano a win in the fall that would end up propelling him to his second Cup title.
How to watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas
- Date: Sun., Mar. 5
- Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- TV: Fox
- Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
What to watch
A Rowdy homecoming
Last week at Fontana, Kyle Busch served notice to the rest of the Cup Series field when he won in just his second race with Richard Childress Racing giving him the all-time Cup Series record for most consecutive seasons with a win. Given that Busch could easily be two-for-two on the season had a late caution not come out to deny him a Daytona 500 triumph, the garage area should take warning Kyle Busch may be on the verge of dominating again.
After winning his second Cup title in 2019, Busch had just four wins between 2020 and 2022, none of which came consecutively. Before that, though, Busch went through a stretch from 2015 to 2019 where he won five races or more four times including eight races in 2018. There were several times in that stretch where Busch won races consecutively -- something he has not done since scoring back-to-back wins at Phoenix and Fontana early in the 2019 season.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway would be an ideal place for Busch to do that again given that he is a Las Vegas native and has unfinished business here from a year ago. In the spring of last year, Busch was on his way to victory when a crash by Erik Jones brought out the caution, triggering a final round of pit stops and strategy plays that led to Busch finishing fourth while Alex Bowman *ahem* backed into the win on a two-tire call for track position.
Should Busch prevail this weekend, it would give him a second Las Vegas Cup win that he's been seeking for some time. His only Cup win so far at this track came in 2009.
Unfinished business for Bubba
Bubba Wallace's team was very strong on intermediate tracks last year and had a legitimate chance to win last fall at Las Vegas, as Wallace led 29 of the first 94 laps and won stage one.
Then, Wallace got squeezed into the wall while racing for position with Kyle Larson and proceeded to completely lose his head. By the time Wallace right-hooked Larson's car into the wall and got in a shoving match with the 2021 Cup champion, he had earned himself a one-race suspension.
Last week at Fontana showed that much of the growth that Wallace and his team showed in the second half of 2022 has carried over into this year, as Wallace drove well up into the top 10 before an engine issue forced an early end to his day. Keep an eye on the No. 23, particularly if his team can replicate the right stuff that propelled their driver to multiple strong performances on intermediate tracks and a win at Kansas last year.
Logano Vegas
Over the last eight races at Las Vegas, no driver has performed better than defending Cup champion Joey Logano. The No. 22 driver has won three times in Vegas since 2019, including last fall's dramatic playoff win that put him in the Championship 4, which has tied him with Brad Keselowski for the most wins there by an active Cup driver.
Should he prevail this weekend, Logano stands to enter or expand upon a select category He would become the fourth driver to win consecutively at Las Vegas, joining Jeff Burton (1999-2000), Matt Kenseth (2003-2004), and Jimmie Johnson (2005-2007).
Pick to win
(Odds via Caesars Sportsbook)
Ross Chastain (+800): Las Vegas was the site of Ross Chastain's first career Xfinity Series win in 2018, and shoed his knack for this racetrack. Chastain led 83 laps in the spring before finishing third, then led 68 laps in the fall before finishing second after an epic duel for the win with Joey Logano.
After winning three out of four stages to start the year and leading the most laps at Fontana, Chastain is now the Cup Series points leader for the first time in his career. And though he hasn't won since Talladega last spring, he's maintained extraordinary relevance at the front of the field and is due to win again. Whatever poor watermelon he and Trackhouse Racing bring to the track this weekend might not be long for this Earth.
