Full Race Replay: Pennzoil 400 | NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

and please remain standing as Billy Malden with motor racing outreach offers our invocation gracious God and Heavenly Father as we rise up today on this beautiful day Lord there's so much that we're thankful for men and women of our armed forces first responders both here at home and abroad that are defending and protecting the freedoms we enjoy today the Lord today of above all else we're thankful that this past week we saw our friend Ryan Newman walk out of that hospital continue to be with him father let your peace and your presence around us all that's in your holy name we pray amen and here to sing our national anthem please welcome the man known as golden pipes Carnell johnson oh say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the pair last fight or the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming [Music] proved through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave or the lava free No brain can one of the hometown boys Kurt or Kyle make it to victory lane what about seven-time can he break the winless streak we're gonna go racing at Vegas coming up next on Fox you I'm here with the 1980 men's US national hockey team Miracle on Ice gold medal gentlemen I got asked you guys you have a very important job later this afternoon you're gonna get these cars fired off so there's a bigger challenge winning that gold medal in 1980 or telling these guys to start your engines later today I think it's gonna be something you start their engines we don't know how we have no clue how to do it I'm pretty sure if you just simply tell them to start and don't find a way to do it but but why don't you give me a little preview I want a little insight as to what you're gonna say what's it gonna sound like out there we want to hear get out there guys thank you for being here thank you for being such a great representation of our country we're all so proud of you guys enjoy the race [Music] oh boy that's gonna be a good one and you know what there's still time fans to download the Fox Sports super 6 app and play NASCAR super 6 for a furry chance at some cash prizes if you pick the correct finishing position of six drivers you can win and this week's jackpot is up to $20,000 you set your lineup yeah Jamie yes you know these guys are all over easy Ross Chastain right in there filling in for Ryan Newman maybe just a little nervous first first racer at the Roush Fenway but he'll do a great job for those guys excited obviously but some big shoes to fill and all the racers will be thinking about Ryan Newman out there in the cars today there's a Kyle Busch right there he wants to win at this racetrack really bad yeah and he'll be going to the back he they got in trouble and inspection on Friday so he going to the back Brad Keselowski this has been a great track for Penske Larry really feel good about Brad's chances heading into today Jimmie Johnson was fastest in practice can the seven-time champion at winless streak and of course the other Busch brother who would love to get it done at Las Vegas as well all right it's time to go trackside for commands to start engines let's get it down there and now for the most famous words in Motorsports please welcome your grand marshals the 1980 US men's Olympic miracle hockey team [Applause] [Music] to win the race in Las Vegas you need is the same thing that it takes to win in this town you need to be deliberate take your time confidence and a tall stack of chips and whatever you do and when the moment calls for it don't don't just go all-in this takes time it takes patience you just got to go all-in what we win ten quarters come on guys whether you're all-in at the poker table or you pace yourself at the slots you're always a winner here so race fans sit back and enjoy the show whether it's glitter culture the strip one constant in Vegas has always been Wayne Newton Wayne Newton and a lot of fun wait that was a good time Mike great job by the way you you know that was four million dollars in chips you had there I was told that I was pretty nervous we have any left I think one or two mill fell out baby all right how do you take all of the emotion of Monday night the greatest Daytona 500 the concern for Ryan Newman take all that put it in a box shove it in the corner and get ready to do what these drivers have to do this weekend yeah Mike as we see these drivers put on the helmet strapped into this car and try to get back to business you can't help but think about what they've gone through mentally through this crazy rider that it's been this week all the drama worrying about you know your friend your competitor in his condition hearing the amazing news that he's you know doing well and walking out of the hospital but as you get here you say and I asked people ask me this all time why why do these guys get back in there you know why because this is what they were born to do this is normalcy this is their comfort zone when they get back in that race car and get back to business you guys truly are a special breed let's talk about restarts because they're gonna be insane here it's a big wide racetrack they like to fan out it's a great time to pass but oh my gosh Mike these restarts are gonna be nuts today because we've seen where these cars fan out and get three and four they're going to use every inch of real estate of this racetrack on that front straightaway through one and two terms three four and we saw yesterday in practice they never stopped they were three wide four lap after lap after lap sun's out now I'm gonna be very curious to see how long these guys can run three wide well hopefully somebody's gonna need to go all in on the final lap to win here in Las Vegas [Music] beautiful conditions are completely different [Music] [Music] welcome to the NASCAR Cup Series from Las Vegas on Fox presented by Jiffy Lube cars on track for getting their second pace lap the tippy loop starting grid was set by car owner points from last year qualifying was rained out so Kyle Busch on the pole but he goes to the rear under penalty as does Denny Hamlin so that will move up the drivers behind them two chance your winner today is going to come from these first four rows on the past Vegas winners and challengers in that groove we'll look at the rest of the starting grid is we talked to one of those contenders yeah let's talk to Las Vegas native Kurt Busch hey Kurt this is Jeff I'm the Fox Sports booth you got me well Curtis gotta feel good come to your hometown interact with family friends fans it's been a fun week it looks like for you how does that motivate you ready to go win this race today all right well thanks for talking to us love that steering wheel thanks for supporting our veterans have a great day that's a little look back to his short track days right there let's get late-breaking stories from pit road beginning with Vince Welch Mike wood Kyle Busch won here in 2009 he had qualified on Paul but had to start at the rear similar situation today was supposed to start first he'll go to the back can he come from the back to the front and win again if so they'll have to be better than they were in practice they've changed things in lean torn Martin Truex Jr set up we'll see if it pays off Matt Vince now not to be a Denny downer as if the odds couldn't be any more stacked against Denny Hamlin at his worse racetrack where he's never won now as you mentioned he too will be going to the back but I like to look at the glass half full he's won back-to-back races twice today would be a third Denny told me that the cautions fall just right it'll play into their strategy they could have a solid day regular well Matt the benefactor to Kyle Busch going to the back is actually Kevin Harvick wolf who will start from the inside of the front row in just a moment here that is music for that team Cheers they spent all of practice trying to work in that car being out problem for them to take control of this race early and try to hold it all day Jamie Reagan last year Tyler Reddick put on his show and drove his car to Victory Lane in the Xfinity series today though he's driving a Cup car for the first time in Las Vegas hey you at home if you want a driver who's brave who's not afraid to be the first to go where the other cars aren't and will stand on the gas all day long your man is Tyler Redick me8 mike joy Thank You Jamie ready to race in Las Vegas let's check in with our crew chief Larry McReynolds to set the table for us hi Larry hey Mike I love to gamble but not with so many unknowns when you think about how different the weather is the track has no rubber on it and we've not been on a track in almost 48 hours but my ace in the hole it's my race analysis let's take a look at that 267 laps 400 miles of stages 80 and 80 in the final stage 107 pit road speed 45 miles per hour the fuel window 58 to 62 laps a competition caution at lap 25 I don't know about all in Mike it might be all about when to hold and win the phone Oh Jeff Scott if I kind of like to go all in stack speak it said here in Las Vegas the 2020 Toyota Camry TRD leads the field out of turn number four Truex and Harvick finished 1-2 here last September so with the reordered lineup there they are the front row picking up where they left off Truex did not get Lane choice as both lanes moved up but he is the control car for the start green flag in Las Vegas already for why further back in the field there Mike it you know even though church didn't get laid to us I think he would have chosen the outside so it worked out in his favor he's got company way up high three of rest and Daniel Suarez has crept to the start line and may not see Ryan Blaney here's an issue with Suarez on the front straightaway and we're under caution right away and Jeff they are starts restarts here three and four wide look at them come across under caution I think that's just the beginning of what we're gonna see there boy tough start to the season for Daniel Suarez missing the Daytona 500 now issues before we even take the green flag here in Las Vegas now Denny Hamlin was behind Suarez at the tail end of the field Hamlin under penalty for unapproved smoke already coming out the right side [Music] now already the cars not even under power as he rolled to the green if that had happened Mike another 50 feet further that could have been catastrophic for the 11 also it might have damaged his radiator and punched a hole in the nose there will be a competition caution lap 25 you can hit before then but you cannot take fuel [Music] NASCAR Cup Series racing on Fox is sponsored by Progressive Insurance save when you bundle auto home or motorcycle insurance and by Toyota let's go places Martin Trek started from the front row but he is going to be fifth on this restart Kevin Harvick is the leader from Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney here's your Ford performance track facts for today Ford has one for the last five here at Las Vegas led about 75% of the laps pretty interesting here you saw tracks lose the lead from that top lane but now Kevin Harvick has chosen the outside lane even though he took the lead from the inside lane so should should be something to watch these two he must feel really good about his speed on those short runs now the Toyotas that started at the back under penalty for body modifications Hamlin Bell and Kyle Busch are all together 29 30th and 31st and this Toyotas even tricks did not show a lot of short run speed their car really comes on after about 10 15 20 laps pace car dives to pit road Kevin Harvick brings them toward the start/finish line and green flag [Music] when I watch some of these cars that are three wide see Joey Logano contact between the 42 the 19 that almost turned Kyle Larson right around but see Logano taking the lead Truex coming back to second but when I looked at those cars that were three wide saw Jimmie Johnson Matt DiBenedetto almost made contact got to be really careful that because that's what causes these tires to go flat early in a run when those sidewalls are low from air pressure larsson outside as William Byron gives bread Kozlowski a push into turn three watch the 42 and 19 on the replay great run by the 19 of Truex Church just gets into that little bubble and get to run I think Larsen put a small block on tricks and maybe tricks didn't expect that and they made contact [Music] Denny Hamlin up 5 to 25th now and Keselowski drifting back a bit here second place here's a battle we saw last fall here at Las Vegas these two went at it all day long Harvick was the faster car on the short runs Truex the faster come the long runs but Truex pretty feisty here in the early laps Harvick taking a look on the outside we didn't see that outside group come in yesterday in Pratt two days ago in practice if you think with the Sun coming out it will be a preferred lane later in some of these runs smooth exit off turn four single-file but this track has a lot of let's say character when you get down to turn one here Oh watch as we ride on board this visor came with Jimmie Johnson look at the bumps through turns one and two see his head bounce around you hear those skirts and the car slamming into the racetrack over those bumps and they just continue Mike all the way around that corner that is one of two side-by-side battles as we're back with the leaders Logano and Harvick back at 24th Kyle Busch's passed Hamlin here's the race for fifth place we saw William mired in that 24 car showed a lot of strength in practice you see him trying to side draft the left rear quarter panel of Larson to try to pull that car ahead using the aerodynamics to pull him ahead not going to clear how Larson Thapa to Jamie I talked to William Byron right before he got in the car and he was pretty optimistic about today he said with the new body style of the Chevrolets he said the car feels like it's less affected around other cars tables so he was hopefully you can see Ray's here today and felt the speed was good as well [Music] thanks Jamie ten laps in one caution flag early for Daniel Suarez and here this battle is enjoined for fifth I would think this is the perfect position for William buyer to clear Kyle Larson as it gets down into turns three four and he certainly does see how far back that nose was to the rear bumper of the 42 that's when you get the most effect of that side drafted dumping air in the left turn on that rear spoiler Denny Hamlin back with John Hunter Nemechek back at 26th place Kyle Busch about three spaces ahead of them and Christopher Bell push one of the usaa biggest movers eight spots since the restart little contact between Harvick and Logano no love lost between these two either we don't talk a lot about the rivalry look at the 19 trucks on the outside making it three wide these three drivers have combined to win five of the last seven races here yet trust me Harvick he'll lean on Joey Logano a little bit harder than he does some of the other competitors if you look through their past help on the way here comes Blaney up with that threesome and Byron well what that is when you get side-by-side especially if you get three wide these cars from behind the momentum shifts and all of a sudden they close up because of the disturbance in the air that big hole being punched and all the drag pulling those two cars side by side already a big close call among the leaders in Las Vegas [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the Silverado at new Silverado HD are the strongest most advanced Silverados ever learn more at chevy.com 19 laps complete here in las vegas Kevin Harvick Joey Logano as this battle keeps going for fifth place and Mike I got to believe that the tires are starting to become a factor right now this is a green racetrack and we've seen a big shift in some lap time in some balance and some race cars as you see the 12 of Ryan Blaney slide around right there now here comes Brad Keselowski to the inside of William Byron that blue car of Kyle Larson had a big moment getting into turn three listen he's a dirt tracker he can slide but this is pavement he was looking for the cushion never found it remember it rained all day here in Vegas yesterday no rubber on the track to start this race so five laps from now we'll get a competition caution here's a driver that's been really making progress the 9 of chase Elliott just pick them off one by one as he's working on Mark Church jr. right now for third place [Music] back at em place Clint foyer and Kyle Larson fits well for Kyle Larson he says it's just tight in traffic and then really loose everywhere else especially through the tri-oval you see him up toward the front and you've also seen him of late falling back now just to the tenth spot and the air really disturbs these cars it changes the balance so much when you're behind that hole being punched in the air you don't get the air to the nose of the car and that creates a push it makes the front tire slide but as soon as you get that clean air all that air is pushing down on the nose now all of a sudden the back wants to swing around and get loose so put Larson among those most in need of this caution flag he started fourth he's back to 12 and lapping of slower cars has begun [Music] working lap 23 ricky stenhouse they're up behind Denny Hamlin who is 24th one spot behind Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch two laps ago that was a big I'm telling you Mike the tires are falling off the grip levels going away very faster the balance is changing obviously even for our leader Kevin Harvick as he slid that car off at turn two did everything he could just to keep it out of the wall and is this what you would expect of a green racetrack that had all that rain yesterday absolutely absolutely and it's going to change again when they put the next set of tires on change here for second place Marc Church jr. we expected him to be strong on the long runs he's up to second goes by Logano trying to run down Harvick [Music] you know guys one thing these crew chiefs have to be careful listening the feedback from the drivers is not over adjust the race car not adjust to what the car was doing when the green flag wave because your point Jeff and Mike there was no rubber on the racetrack Jamie that's easy to do to start over adjusting I mean it really isn't a we saw Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick these guys start sliding around they're screaming right down the radio wanting the crew sheets to make the right adjustments for this next set of tires so here's the competition caution this is something NASCAR usually does when there's a lot of rain the day before a race they tell the teams they'll be a competition caution lap 25 to allow them to come in and check tire wear and setups on a green racetrack and because it's a green racetrack Mike I would not be surprised at all if we look at some of these left-side tires they're a little bit softer compound if we don't see them almost all the way down to the cores [Music] now what's that rubber starts to lay down on the racetrack that tire wear will get better and better throughout the day I believe a reed sorenson in the 77 will be the free pass NASCAR Cup Series racing on Fox is brought to you by NASCAR's premiere partners pit road is open now of the cars that were under penalty at the start of the race Kyle Busch has raced up to 22nd Christopher Bell 23rd Denny Hamlin 25th we saw Denny Hamlin past Ricky Stenhouse jr. but Stenhouse actually was able to get back by him so I think some adjustments coming for Denny Hamlin coming from the rear also officialy second caution of the day the first was for Daniel Suarez who's a car would not get going on the start he's still in the race but two laps down here comes most everyone to pit road Jamie little the number nine in chase Elliott moved up six positions already said cars pretty good not as stable in the wake of other cars they're just gonna make an air pressure adjustment and four tires the 22 is Joey Logano a little bit loose especially in three and four overall pretty good a four-tire stop Regan Harvick spent out front the majority of this race but he is not happy with that race car right now it is way too loose for him the back swings out is what that means it's sure ex jr. pitted from second really like the car but said it got a little bit too loose toward the end of the run especially up top just four tires and an air pressure adjustment a little slow on the tire exchange insurer X is down here's the RAM race off pit road Harvick Truex hold station chase Elliott gains a spot so do Boyer Almirola and Dillon the only cars that stayed on track for those one lap down they'll be in the pits next time around Kevin Harvick your leader in Las Vegas [Music] NASCAR Cup Series racing on Fox is sponsored by coca-cola a premier partner of the NASCAR Cup Series competition caution complete ready to go green every team has nine sets of tires including the set they started on and they've all got new ones here's Kevin Harvick's crew chief Rodney Childers talking to his driver about those tires I would say I believe that's Joey Logano is left front tire you saw just a little bit of grainy maybe a slight hint of some chords there but I think it's only going to improve from here so nothing really to worry about but that was only 25 laps Mike now we're gonna go 50 laps to be able to get to the end of this first stage if it goes green the whole way lights out on the safety car Harvick and Truex will lead them back to green and Kevin has chosen the inside lane for the restart well he's he lined up at the start of this race on the inside of Martin Truex Jr worked really well for him to wrap the bottom and get the lead let's see if that works out for him again this time for Toyota up front Chevy of Elliott Ford of Logano here we go Blainey almost put chase Elliott down in the grass that's all I'm saying Mike they're gonna use every bit of real estate they can if you've got to run and you've got to draft you can pop out and try to make that he's going to do it again down the back straightaway three wide with chase Elliott in the middle bringing a long cut boy you're with them how about Ross Chastain filling in for Ryan Newman this week three wide in the middle off of turn four in the six car saw three wide in four different places and four wide as they came across now remember here this is not Daytona there's no double yellow line that you have to abide by you can use every bit of real estate here well chase le didn't take off but now he's given a big shove to the 22 of Logano that may help Martin Truex through three and four he's on the outside hunting the lead from Kevin Harvick Harvick right back after him this is what I expected to see on lap one of this race but Kevin Harvick was able to get ahead of Church not so fast this time here comes trucks to the outside Durex with a runoff turn to stays close to Harvick now moves away and he's a half a car lengths ahead entering the corner no more he's able to clear tricks that bottom seems to be a little bit better down in 3 & 4 the top maybe a little bit better down and 1 & 2 Michael McDowell is coasted into the garage as we've got a side-by-side battle for 3rd Logano on the outside of chase Elliott you have battling on that outside trying to steal some of that air off the right side of the 9 of chase Elliott makes it really hard for him to unwind the steer wheel coming off the corner but then the advantage seems to go back the other way down here in three fours oh good up there was Larson and he slid up right into the back bumper of Blaney yeah to the rear bumper of Blaney now here comes Keselowski to the outside the 42 we knew these restarts are going to be wild Mike it looks to me like Larson's car took off much better this run but it's still trending to go to loose this battle still going on here third place now Blaney getting the advantage on the outside for fourth Penske cars looking pretty good here right now third with Joey Logano fourth with Ryan Blaney least as they crossed a line Keselowski back there in fifth Ryan Blaney in fifth just up ahead there here's Regan well Mike you saw some very aggressive moves from Ryan Blaney on that restart that was by design before coming here this weekend him and spotter Josh Williams they studied the restarts in particular to make sure they could get every spot possible on those restarts you saw right there the 12 of Ryan Blaney moved down in the middle of the corner to get you don't really call it a side draft in the corner but it definitely changes how the air flows around that inside car makes it very difficult for them to carry the momentum and complete the pass right behind that pair looking on is Brad Keselowski Matt Mike a host of adjustments on that stop they shoveled the air pressures on the right side and two other adjustments the car three but his was more in the center of the corner he feels like they have made some good headway and he's moving up venturing out see if there's more grip up top the Penske is one half of the last eight races here Michael McDowell is problem a stuck throttle not sure if they'll get him back on track or not that is never a good thing they don't lift the throttle much here Mike but you still have to be able to slow that car down when you need it we haven't talked a whole lot about seven-time Jimmy Johnson making a pass on ty Dillon he was really fast in our practice session one practice - felt like he had a very fast race car this weekend Johnson at 16 Kevin Harvick leading from Martin Truex Joey Logano and chase Elliott [Music] [Music] [Music] Kevin Harvick crosses the stripe completing lap 44 of 267 he has a half second lead on Martin Truex one and a half on chase Elliott and two seconds on the team penske intramural battle between Logano Keselowski and Blaney what if it has been we saw Ryan Blaney trying to navigate through those bumps in the bottom lane and one and two the car started bouncing around he had to check up it was corrected to the right and then the two of Keselowski went to the outside of him here we are onboard with Brad Keselowski starting to see a couple different grooves form you saw it right there the two of Keselowski just peek into the maybe a half a car with wider than his teammate Joey Logano but then that opens up the door to the 12 of Ryan Blaney these guys are just searching for clean air look at Keselowski almost all the way up on the fence down here at three and four all right come on these guys are teammates why can't they get with it and run on the same plan right here well I think they'd like to be but Keselowski was behind the 12 of Ryan Blaney a couple laps ago and Blaney had a moment and lost his momentum and so you cannot slow your momentum down even for your teammate pretty heads-up driving right there for Ryan Blaney he saw what the two Keselowski was doing the top went to the top one and two goes to the top again down in three and four behind them Kyle Larson gaining no ground he was really quick on the restart for three or four laps but then fell back there in seventh place ahead of Alex London and Almirola when the toughest situations I think for a driver is having a loose car and clean air and a tight car in traffic now Denny Hamlin of the cars that were under penalty has advanced the least he's up to 24th Christopher Bella's 21st Kyle Busch is 18th right now this is pretty shocking to me I thought these guys would just work their way up through there with no problems because Truex looks like he's got plenty of speed up there in second their teammate and he skies these Penske guys can't decide who wants to be out front they swap a few times now Ryan Blaney seems to have maybe a slightly better call in the long runs here using that outside lane all the Penske cars showing speed none of the Penske crew chiefs working with the same driver that they had last season yeah the crew chiefs talked about there was plenty of chemistry before just working together in meetings but now they've got to learn how one another works through the details of communication riding on board here roof camera Jimmie Johnson and just ahead is Austin Dillon Richard Childress two cars are 13th and 25th after 50 laps here's Michael Waltrip atop the media center yeah I'm here at the neon garage beside legendary NASCAR our owner Richard Childress you got two cars in the race Austin Dillon and Tyler etic what's the report on the new Chevy how do they light things so far Richard we like it so far we're just a little bit loose right now we've got to tighten the booth up next stop you find a unique place to watch the race you always go somewhere or there isn't a lot of people around huh that's what I've tried to do get up here I can see as much as I can and Here I am bugging you sorry [Laughter] way to go Michael absolutely Michael McDowell is back on track after fixing that throttle problem as Kevin Harvick continues to lead Martin Truex by half a second the same margin as after things settle down from the restart so jerks kind of holding station here as we work our way toward the end of stage one at 80 laps ninth place aric almirola another car that in practice showed a lot of speed staying in the top 10 right now but doesn't seem to be moving forward well like we expected it to Jamie how about our tenth place car well William Byron you see him up high there a little bit tied into three but he just told his team he has a slight vibration crew chief on the box told the team to get ready they put their helmets on they're keeping an eye on that vibration if it gets any worse they'll bring him in like you know when you've got a vibration you might have an issue what do you want to do get as close to that outside wall as you possibly can a lot further to go if you're gonna hit it but a vibration sometimes it just happens with a new set of tires they've got to monitor whether it continues to get worse are you recounting my drive in that gremlin last week yeah I got you Mike you inspire me all the time what's fun though all right back to the Penske group now you see McDowell back in the race amongst them Ryan Blaney Joey Logano Brad Keselowski let's listen in on the man in the middle Logano yes and what they're talking about the reason why there's some speed right now in that top groove is because the rubbers started laying down the inside lane now as you move up it's a cleaner racetrack a little more grip on a cleaner racetrack so you can find some speed but it will wear those tires more for Toyota Chevy in the first three spots Harvick Truex Elliott after 54 laps [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] NASCAR Cup Series racing on Fox is sponsored by credit one bank the official credit card of NASCAR perfect for race fans and by Geico official partner of NASCAR 60 laps complete this time Kevin Harvick still leading but chase Elliott has forged into the second-place passing Martin Truex yeah the last 15 laps were the best averages of anybody in the field last five laps he's been faster than our leader Kevin Harvick here he goes to the outside of Martin Truex Jr really just not a whole lot Martin can do right now I think he knows the 9 of chase Elliott's a little bit better more adjustments probably coming to the 19 car Jamie I talked to his crew chief Alan Gustafson this morning and he told me with this new tire combination the car is naturally a little bit freer and in final practice on this morning and it is paying dividends here he's definitely not as loose as the cars around a member a little bit better than they expected yeah they fell in at second and closing he was three tenths of a second faster than Harvick that lap yeah his car just seems to get better and better on these longer runs as the tires start to fall off that's where he really shines shine in practice I'm pretty surprised because I heard chase Elliott talking about his car and wasn't real happy with it seemed to be pretty loose yeah guys the thing that's impressive to me about chase Elliott right now and Jeff you hit on it earlier he's not haven't used the top where the tracks green he's able to do this ride on the bottom get that left front on the white line lots of grip if you can get to that his car is just good and and he's able to do it to run the bottom which I think is gonna be really important later on yeah Jamie here's a panel right here between teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron these guys have been going back and forth back and forth for this eight position the last five six laps but I was gonna say Truex when he was so good here last fall he wrapped a bottom and couldn't just go right around that white line around the bottom of turns one to two and that's exactly what Jamie was saying about chase Elliott right now well we heard Joey Logano being told we don't want to be the first to run up there in rubber in the top groove I wonder how many other drivers were told that by their spotters and crew chiefs well I think if your tires look good after that first 25 left run we feel pretty safe about it but as we saw the corner edge of that 22 cars left front tire did have some extra wear on it so I would think that they're going to be a little bit extra careful right now these two Chevy's have caught Brad Keselowski at seventh place you're looking back from our Ford performance cam I've been watching these two guys these teammates a lot one of them is really good at one end of the racetrack you see Bowman go to the inside because of a lap car slowing down Brad Keselowski it just seems like one of their cars Alex Bowman is better at one end of the racetrack William Byron's a lot better at the other end of the racetrack that's why they can't really decide on who's going to get out front and drive away Bowman has the best average finish of all drivers over the last eight races on mile and a half speed waves 15 to go to the end of stage one Kevin Harvick chase Elliott two tenths of a second the difference yeah looks to me like Kevin Harvick very similar to the last time we're here in Las Vegas his car falls off a little bit more than his competitors on these longer runs big run coming from the 9 of chase Elliott Jamie McMurry talked about how good his cars around the bottom it's free to do that you can see the back moving around that means the front tires are gripping better than the rear but doesn't slow him down he's able to complete that pass [Music] chase Elliott becomes just the third leader of today's race we're going to take you Fox side-by-side [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] 70 laps complete aerial coverage provided by Goodyear discover what's possible keep moving Goodyear more driven [Music] chase Elliott your leader Martin Truex Kevin Harvick Ryan Blaney Joey Logano your top 5 Jimmie Johnson just had a big run down the back straightaway to pass aric almirola for ninth place Matt the part of the racetrack Mike he's in right now turns three and four that's where Jimmie has felt the car much looser but what a comeback for Johnson now he lost eight spots on that last pit stop his changer in the back Alvin Teague one of the best on pit road had a Love hung on the left rear cost him time regrouping and on their way to the front Jimmy up to ninth now we've seen Brad Keselowski dropping back he has fallen from six on the restart to 12 so when you overdrive the car like that you heat up one tire maybe that sounds like the right rear that tire will then wear more to build more air pressure and just makes the loose condition even worse how about Rojas Chastain that is an amazing run that he has going on right now top ten pence but he's been pretty happy with the car they've been fighting a little bit of tight Ross just radioed in and said he feels like the right front is doing all the work he doesn't want to give up the rear grip to correct the front so keep an eye on that when they come to pit road at the stage brake to make a change look for them to make a small adjustment there and to get Ross Chastain in the car in place of Ryan Newman very different size of drivers about a hundred pound difference they had to really lighten up that brake spring the hip rust has stayed in that seat biz week so Chastain in tenth he will run the Xfinity race later today that was rained out after one stage complete yesterday and the Xfinity race will start about an hour after this race ends it'll be on Fox Sports 2 and if you don't have Fox Sports 2 you can sign in under your Fox Sports one subscription to the Fox Sports app and watch the race there Brad Keselowski just holding on tight waiting for this stage to get over as Kurt Busch goes to the outside he wants to make some big adjustments to try to and maybe an air pressure adjustment something that's gonna make those tires hold on longer at the end of this stage right now five Chevy's in the top ten for Fords and the only Toyota is Martin Truex in second place Kyle Busch has fought his way up to 16th but since the restart bell and Hamlin have not advanced [Applause] [Music] Denny Hamlin our Toyota cam sounded like a long time out of the throttle there yeah that's not a happy driver right there I mean when he's happened to get out of the throttle that much and never really even make him the gain on the 95 there Christopher bell using every bit of the racetrack - Matt you have something on the 11 before that competition caution Jeff Denny said the car felt like he was on ice after that stop his biggest issue is corner entry he doesn't like a loose race car on entry that's exactly what he's dealing with now - loose in the turn one and turn three I don't think we can accentuate it enough how much different your car will be on the longer run when you take off in traffic versus being up front like their teammate mark tricks junior Kyle Busch up to 15th restarted restarted 19th after the competition yellow lap 25 chase Elliott has flown through this field restarted fourth and for quite a while fastest car on the racetrack 3040 for his fastest lap and that is the fastest lap of the race I think tricks just continues to lurk as these runs go on he gets better and better but this is gonna be a great opening to the season for chase Elliott I know he didn't have a great result last week but he did win a stage and last week's Daytona 500 so it was chase Elliott who crashed and turned 2 of the final lap no caution at Daytona chase Elliott is going to get the stage win second Truex Harvick and Blaney fighting it out for a third Logano rounds out the top five well Ross Chastain picks up the tenth and final stage point in stage one [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] welcome back to Las Vegas where pit road will be open this time around for stage ending pit stops caution free so far but for the competition caution and the lap one yellow for Daniel Suarez who continues three laps down chase Elliott leads them on to pit road Jamie and chase Elliott said in that run he got a little bit loose and then he ended a little tight but he did notice that the track has not changed much you'll see a tear off right there for a clear view a four-tire stop air pressure adjustment for the nine Regan the four car Kevin Harvick we saw him get passed by chase ayat if that exact home and he said my racecars gone too tight the front tires are sliding on the left ear screen Brian played that race car is on the splitter firing off it means it's bouncing too hard through the corners this it's going to be a chassis adjustment for the 19 of Martin Truex they just took the wrench out of the window it's going to be a four-tire change just a little bit loose for qu X but the car gets better they also put a little bit of tape on the front mark gets better deeper in the run as you see chase Elliott first one on pit road Eliott Truex Harvick Joey Logano picks up a spot from his teammate Blaney you say we dial up our stage won't win or chase le hey chase this is Jeff and Mike up the Fox Sports booth you got me yeah hey buddy Congrats man that thing look really really strong there you look strong on pit road off to a great start here today yeah what's the obviously really really early Pauli's go got to keep up with it do happen all right well thanks for talking to us look like cars strong in the long runs but looks like your exes too should be a great battle thank you yeah bad thing stage one complete chase Elliott our stage winner [Music] [Music] NASCAR Cup Series racing on Fox is sponsored by Ford Bill Ford proud and by Ally proud partner of jimmie johnson and team 48 this Friday John Cena joins the superstars of SmackDown as he returns home to Boston don't miss a special Friday Night Smackdown this week at 8:00 7:00 central on Fox Michael Waltrip who you got a couple guys that were part of that beautiful miracle on ice hockey team 1980 and Dave Christian you've got quite the Olympic history your father and uncle won gold in sixty you won it in 1980 what do you think about NASCAR here today this is craziness yeah how about those pit stop that makes like a line chain engine hockey looked like walking apart that's fun right it's a lot better changing and we do it hockey I got to tell you something guys it took me 462 tries to finally win a race how long did it take you to score your first goal in the NHL BB seven seconds take your notes Mikey Wow that's a bunch of Boston boys hey I know we're in that I know we're in the desert but you know they do some ice skating out here too you know out here absolutely Mike Joey Logano whose sister was a skater so the parents build an ice rink and of course Joey was on ice early same time his racing career started and the Logano zone an ice rink in Charlotte North Carolina now I mean look at the joy Logano he could have been a hockey player not a race car driver he's got some skills there for young Joey Logano think about the comparisons and what happened in hockey versus what we're seeing on these restarts three and four wide yeah but in hockey you can pile into the boards and skate away here not so much all right stage two here we go with chase Elliott and Martin Truex Chevy and Toyota on the front row as they approach the Geico restart zone Harvick and Logano Bowman and Blaney Johnson and Byron Chastain and Larson the top ten and we're back under green see how a CLE doesn't get inside lane every time it's prevailed but look at Kevin Harvick making a bold move to the inside making it three wide not where chase Elliott wants to be right in the middle Ryan Blaney in these restarts are crazy still three wide all the way back through four wide for a moment there with Chastain and further back yeah that Stenhouse to the outside three wide with the six car he drove for Roush Fenway he drove for last year well Jeff a lot easier to pass them coming up to speed then once everybody's at full speed right well and that's why they're trying to take advantage of this this is why they're so aggressive you see right there there's Stenhouse going to the inside the 47 car and we've seen and talked about how aggressive he is but yeah Mike you got to keep the momentum up every chance you get to make a position that's a position gain that might stay there later in this race see one of our rookies Christopher Bell stuck in the middle [Music] luckily an opening in that outside lane well Logano and Blaney right back after it and now they've got Jimmie Johnson to contend with hey watch out seven-time Jimmie Johnson is now in but sixth position seventh position how about fifth [Music] there's this dilemma tiser cam yeah look at the telemetry see the mile per hour rpm most importantly look at the green that means 100% on throttle right now comes out to about forty forty five percent first half dozen single-file then it's Byron versus Larsen and Bowman Matt DiBenedetto for the Wood Brothers battling there Christopher Bell in the 95 John Hunter Nemechek the rookie in the 38 and don't be surprised if Matt DiBenedetto gets into the top 10 at 21 carved here by Paul Menard last year top 10 in both of these races last year [Music] tell you what gas business is picking up they're definitely making these cars better with adjustments on pit road I'm looking at our top five just ran the fastest lap that they had running this race including Kevin Harvick in that four car your leader joey logano fastest lap of the race coming right after the restart he's currently slotted fourth behind Harvick Elliott and Truex how about Logano Jamie Mike remember Joey Logano in the 22 basically he has practice off you can tie your team that he's had for many years pit crew and crew chief included and on that last pit stop these boys went to town and showed how good they are they had a tape on the grill wedge air pressure for tires and they did it in 12 point six seconds that's right each driver kept his car number his uniforms and his spotter and basically the three drivers all swapped swapped teams at Team Penske Denny Hamlin this is probably the biggest surprise of this race so far he is at 27th racing ty Dillon for the spot here I'm absolutely shocked by this right now I expected them to roll out that Daytona 500 victory and keep the momentum going here here's a battle for sixth place Ryan Blaney in the 12 William buyer and these guys have been battling quite a bit today having a lot of fun out there [Music] and back here at 20th place rookies Bell and Redick with Boyer and Keselowski there's a nice mixture that I'm seeing Mike with veteran drivers like the 2 of Keselowski 14a Boyer mixed in with some rookies there with Tyler read it Keselowski up top now Matt Mike you came back the last fall Boyer was on the pole they had those cars trimmed out the speed came back with an entirely different approach looking for balance and handling he was good in the first practice but then he was really lack of confidence after the second Tillie saw the dad and said all right you know what we're gonna be good on Sunday but it has not been the case Boyer has been chasing the racecar not free like everybody else she's been pushing horrible speaking of free Ryan Blaney really loose off the corner there big moment for Jimmie Johnson I think that was Ryan Blaney getting to the outside of him loosening him up and then teammate William Byron also went by Laini holds on to fifth see this again so maybe the air is disturbing Jimmie Johnson from the 22 here comes the 12 a Blaney to the outside yeah didn't really loosen up Jimmie Johnson just slowed down his momentum you but you could tell the 12 of Blaney was on the gas not wanting to lift had a little bit of a moment as he got out to the wall and then was able to actually go up there and get to the outside of the 24 William Byron now there's three of the four Hendrick cars all four are in the top eight with chase Elliott's second and we're all 11th or better here last September kevin harvick on point after 98 laps in Las Vegas [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] welcome back to the NASCAR Cup Series from Las Vegas on Fox presented by Jiffy Lube 104 laps complete and chase Elliott out front now from Kevin Martin Truex and Kevin Harvick yeah you saw again the nine cars the run goes on he can wrap that white line better than anybody gets me the inside of Kevin Harvick down here and three and four to make the pass here Kevin Harvick talking about being too loose this car takes off great it just seems like as the run goes on it builds looser and looser you heard them already lap eight the car getting loose that's gonna make for a long run here Joey Logano closing in let's have a look at how the coca-cola family of drivers are faring after 105 laps Logano for thoughts to Dillon in the top 20 then Bubba Wallace Denny Hamlin having an off-day loose everywhere and Daniel Suarez had problems on lap one yields to rebound from we've been seeing a lot of teammates battling Logano and Blaney at Team Penske we've seen Alex Bowman William Byron and Jimmie Johnson all battling a team Hendrick now the only thing we're not seeing Mike is the tricks in his teammates and Kevin Harvick and his teammates where are those guys at because you would expect as good as the floor and the 19 of n that those teammates would be up there battling with them good point there are the manufacturers as they run what's in Jamie McMurray Jamie McMurray in on this yeah guys I'm just so impressed with the with the Chevy's new Camaro we talked about that last week you know biggest race of the year but really when these manufacturers build the cars it sits around a track like this and Larry and I have been sitting here talking that if this is essentially the debut Larry what's the potential for this new Chevy Camaro for these guys in the year as they get to work on it well Jamie you can spend countless hours in the wind tunnel you can do all the simulation you want to do but this is the test and this is their first test and sitting here as we're closing in on you know the middle of Stage two to have five Chevrolet drivers in the top 10 I think this is a great beginning it will only get better for them it's like Kurt Busch said our cars have always drove good by themselves where we had to get better is in traffic and I'm seeing an improvement now Larry I'm gonna be really anxious to see after we come out of the West Coast Swing because these Chevrolet's especially the Hendrick Chevrolet is read pretty good here last fall but when they went to Fontana when they went to Phoenix they really struggled so the next two weeks I think are going to be the even truer test but I definitely agree they're off to a good start here this weekend William Byron and Jimmie Johnson just lapping equal to our race leader chase Elliott and here's mr. high saw Kyle Larson he's found the cushion Mike it's up on the wall I know what this car was extremely loose and clean air looks like they've tighten that carp a bit and he's coming to the front and these two continue to battle as well as the two Hendrick cars behind him but Penske and Hendrick having some great battles with one another in the beginning of this race Christopher Bell back at 27th place now in the 95 when we talk about the talent of the rookies this year all bubble that I mean you know the air definitely for Bubba Wallace his front bumper forced him to get sideways but what an incredible job by that young rookie that dirt-track experience for Christopher Bell definitely paid off right there you only lost two positions that's hard to believe it believe that 111 laps complete chase Elliott your leader [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] NASCAR Cup Series racing on Fox is sponsored by Ram trucks motor trends back to back truck of the year and by credit one bank the official credit card of desk are perfect for race fans 43 laps to go in stage 2 chase Elliott's our leader by almost a full second and coming to pit road was Christopher Bell and now Ross Chastain Larry are you looking at fuel mileage or tire wear to plan this green flag stop well I think you're looking at tire wear and you're looking at just overall grip and and time on the stopwatch basically the window has opened that splitting this stage in half right here yeah you could run the lap 140 which would be 20 to go in this stage but I think this is gonna start an epidemic of people starting to make their trip to pit road under green I think we know why Christopher Bell came to pit road because he smoked the right rear tire off of that car Vince yeah you guys talking about the six of Ross Chastain when he came in he's has been battling loose the first stage and then was too tight he just kind of need a general overall grip during that second run they brought him in made a chassis adjustment a lot of chassis adjustment a lot of wrenches in windows during these stops here the last couple of laps through and you will probably see more here from the 10 of Almirola Almirola is in Bubba Wallace is in one lap from now we'll be halfway in stage two [Music] looks like four tires for Elmo rola little adjustment the right side window Kurt Busch headed for pit road one of the toughest pit roads to get on to coming off of turn four it's very abrupt and the change in banking from the track onto pit roads we see Kurt Busch rolling down pit road leaders stay out this time going to run a few more before they come to pit road but Alex Bowman peels off and comes to the pit lane also very slick pit stall assist there concrete but this concrete here seems to be a little smoother than some of the other tracks we go to Larson behind Bowman on pit road along with Kyle Busch and Reed Sorenson man very consistent day for Alex Bowman in the 88 car now by himself he was on the free side but especially over the bumps the bumps would upset the race car and push him to the tight side Vince on the Toyota the 18 of Busch well in Kyle Busch had to start at the back of the pack and he has really been dealing with that dirty air as he's come up through traffic through much of the afternoon they made major adjustments on the last stop with air pressure wedge and tape not as significant of changes this time for the 18 Jamie William Byron doing a great job in that 24 they just made that chassis adjustment there a four-tire stop Kevin Harvick in the 4 car they've been bouncing back and forth between loose too tight they're trying to find that happy medium with the race car he's had speed but it hasn't been perfect yet Denny Hamlin gets blocked getting into his pit as Jimmie Johnson was exiting Boyer is in Keselowski is done DiBenedetto leaves as Fellaini comes in he stays going from bad to worse Ryan Blaney scar fires off on the splitter too hard after 15 laps so he is very happy with that race car leader chase Elliott comes to exits the pits Ricky Stenhouse has taken over the lead from Austin Dillon Tyler Reddick John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Preece ty Dillon and Corey Lajoie who got the free pass at the last stage break they have yet to pit there are race leaders Martin Truex back in eighth as the first of the cars that have pitted no signs of Stenhouse jr. coming to pit road this time still right in that high lane Ryan Preece getting serviced while his teammate Ricky Stenhouse tries to stretch the mileage out this was a pretty familiar sight last week at Daytona for the Daytona 500 with Ricky Stenhouse jr. started from the pole led a lot of laps let's look at this close call between Hamlin and Johnson they're pitted two pits apart Denny peels off and he Steve he sees Jimmie Johnson starting to pull out of his pit stall pretty heads-up driving by the 11 of Denny Hamlin Wow you can hear him lock up the brakes luckily just keep it in gear and keep the engine running well he hit the brakes about the same time Jimmy did and it's like you go no you go no you go now we're both messed up and they call that on pit road usually the crew chief calls him out and I thought that was a very close call but still you know the 48 was ahead of him I think that that was the right call by the 48 to send him out for for the lead Austin Dillon Ricky Stenhouse no one wants to lead a couple of laps here before his pit stop there are now six cars on track that have not pitted including both of the Richard Childress cars all right one of two tyler etiquettes pit road and here comes Austin Joey si hand out the window signaling to any cars that may be behind him that he's coming to pit road this time by stand how still out on track [Music] Ricky Stenhouse leads another lap it's been a rough day for Denny Hamlin both on track and on pit road [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] 133 laps complete ricky stenhouse stays on track and out front chase Elliott was the leader when pit stops began when we cycled through Martin Truex Junior will pick up the lead there's the difference on their pit stops but not only did marcher exchanger come in one lap earlier so he's been on fresher tires a little bit longer but also they executed flawlessly on pit road all day long chase Elliott and his pit crew have been doing a great job but that time just a little bit better by the 19 of Mark jerks junior and Joe Gibbs Racing [Music] Ricky Stenhouse out in front of John Hunter Nemechek by six about catching the eye of Jimmie Johnson when this happened and yeah you've done this in your strengths all right water what were you thinking yeah and right now Stenhouse jr. as long as he's been out there he's just holding on tight with this call in these old tires so frustrated Jimmie Johnson and he kept that hand out there awhile he wanted to make sure sent outside Vince I'm not surprised they're on a different strategy crew chief Bryan patty told me before the race they didn't have a car they felt like could win maybe maybe a top-ten car they were so disappointed after all the speed they had last week at Daytona and ended up 20th they just told Ricky he could be out there for another 20 plus laughs Matt it was sort of like I heard it here but then you guys set it up there it's exactly what Jimmie Johnson said what was he thinking he's not even the leader they said actually he was a little bit different strategy than we are good ty Dillon is in so that will leave just Stenhouse Nemechek and Lajoie on the racetrack of the drivers who have not pitted John Hunter second-generation driver is in second place seven seconds back while Corey Lajoie is 24 seconds back right now in seventh place well the thing that these guys that haven't pitted yet have to worry about is if this thing stays green they're losing about a second a lap right now to mark Church juniors the first car with fresh tires you want to go all in Ryan Patti's gone all in his one shot is to leave his driver out there and catch a caution you got to catch that last card Jeff that's definitely going all-in yep and you know it's worked in the past it's been it's been a viable strategy remember that you left out one minor detail what was that all stack of chips for million dollars and chips oh my gosh so here's the difference between ricky stenhouse on worn tires and Martin Truex Jr yeah there's just nothing that can beat the grip of new tires lower air pressures versus those old hot tires on the 47 of Ricky Stenhouse jr. in five miles per hour difference on the straightaway alone that's how much more speed mark tricks Jr's carrying off the corners at some point though you just have to figure this isn't going to work well not and it will work if they get lucky and that caution comes out hey it's Vegas you got a gamble of course you know how game --lens been working out for me lately Mike not so I hate yeah to give all those to my bat fight last night their fury fight was entertaining but didn't go so well for me [Music] lower right are the pit stop lap numbers when the last five cars pitted so Truex still has about 12 seconds to make up to catch John Hunter Nemechek but of course when those stupid all that will change in trucks will be the leader over chase Elliott unless we get a caution when here's the big battle look at Chase le huge run off the top gonna get a run on mark Church jr. go to the inside this could be the pass for the lead if the caution doesn't come out and Stenhouse jr. comes to pit road and Nemechek boy chase Elliott has had a great long run car today Corin Lajoie is on pit road so just Stenhouse and Nemechek are out there still 18 laps to go in stage two now if you are the stage 2 winner the last five races we've had here at Las Vegas you were also the race winner that means these next 18 laps for guys like Trix and chase Elliott they're gonna battle for because they they know how important it is not just to get those stage points as some see pouring the joy on pit road but also you know sending a message to your competitors by winning this stage would be big also there's Nemechek John Hunter Nemechek on pit road he comes into his spot giving up second place in the process he almost slid through that yeah and that will leave Ricky Stenhouse as the last man standing I think he's gonna run that thing out of fuel before he comes to pit road he's been there at lap 83 at the end of stage one there's Brian Pattie he's a real contrary what everybody else everybody does he's headed in another direction here we go and you won't miss it because we're going to take you nascar on foxh side-by-side [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] chase Elliott Martin Truex just a couple car lengths apart for the lead with 13 to go in stage two and unbelievable but they're coming up to Denny Hamlin to lap him been a horrible day for Hamlin Carr has been super loose the back end wants to turn around and pass the front going into the corner coming off the corner and then they had the trouble on pit road as Hamlin tried to get in his pit while Jimmie Johnson was leading now Ricky Stenhouse has made his pit stop but Brian patty put only right-side tires on the car with just 13 laps then to go in stage two he was trying to keep Stenhouse on the lead lap and he's done it he has so far still got 12 laps to go or 10 laps to go in this stage and he's definitely not liking the grip with those two tires on the right side but he might just make it over this let next 10 here's a battle for fifth between the 22 Joey Logano the four on the inside of Kevin Harvick Navigon owes teammate Blaney is up ahead of them in third so that little intramural Penske battle is kind of separated for a while now Jamie this will update on the 22 today but definitely going in the right direction crew chief Paul wolf told me this morning this is going to be a great test of their communication how well the offseason is God's if they've gotten to know each other what Joey needs and what kind of adjustments really give him what he needs and they have adjusted the heck out of this 22 and Joey said we're going in the right direction the car is good alright he is in fifth meanwhile his teammate Brad Keselowski is back in 14th place now that's four spots higher than he was at the last restart earlier one yeah once you get that further that far back in trapping you got to figure out where you can make your moves that's great information here we go back up front the top four positions is William fired in the twenty four run in a really solid fourth place today and Denny Hamlin up there is doing a nice job I think they've made some improvements to that 11 car because he's been able to fight off these leaders he'd stay on the lead lap and Hamlin needs to do that for seven more laps to get to the end of stage 203 wide as they go around a lap car that was Quinn house hey remember we've shown where the 9 of chase Elliott really likes the inside line and that's what Denny Hamlin's doing taking that line away from him making it really challenging for chase Elliott to make this pass Oh at Rick's gets right to the bumper of the number nine as he goes back to the bottom of the racetrack Hamlin trying to stay on the lead line that time Denny Hamlin went to the top side he knows that chase Elliott runs that top side down in 3 & 4 the bottom and wanted to I mean he's just trying to block every move he can to try to stay in the lead lap so they can make more adjustments that's allowed Ryan Blaney to close up on these two getting to the rear bumper of Mark Church jr. ask anybody out there who's the hardest driver to pass most everybody will say Ryan Newman we know he's watching he's recuperating we're so glad that he is out of the hospital and on the mend no timetable for his return but he wears that as a badge of pride he's gonna race you hard we can't wait to see him back at the racetrack Ross Chastain doing a great job filling in currently in 14th place they're definitely thinking about you Ryan sending our best hope you're watching there's chase Elliott finally getting that run to the inside of the 11 Denny Hamlin now Denny Hamlin just a few laps to go in this stage is hoping he can be that first car one lap down or for tehina not done yet now chase Elliott has that preferred inside lane and oh he bobbled a little bit through the bumps right there had to check out that's going to allow the 11 and maybe even trucks to get a run Jeff let him go because right now with two to go in this stage he's either going to be the last car on the lead lap or the first car one lap down get the free pass I don't see anything to be gained by pinning Hamlin a lap down right now well the only thing you can gain is just trying to win this stage and I think you feel like you have to pass the 11 of Denny Hamlin in order to win this stage we'll find out in two laps Truex Blaney Byron all closing in Blaney hang in the backend out loose off at turn two on the inside of our trucks junior only the stage winner gets a playoff point ask for the 12 oh we got an incident Christopher Bell in the back straightaway and caution is out so this will take us to the stage break if this caution is out for Christopher Bell Christopher Bell is a twenty fifth position before that incident look who's rolled up into the top ten don't count this guy never count out Kyle Busch so here's Christopher Bell yeah just on the inside their ugly vest Jimmy Johnson on his outside we talked about getting loose through those bumps around that bottom lane he does a heck of a job of keeping it from going around but then it catches he locks down the brakes it makes pretty head oh wow you heard him say I think I killed it well that was a hard hit doesn't look like the damages as bad as it really is so the stage ends with chase Elliott Ryan Blaney Martin Truex Byron and Logano the first five stage racing in Las Vegas as they close to the end of stage two and yes Denny Hamlin get back on the lead lap in Las Vegas coke energy the energy you want the taste you love you're watching NASCAR on Fox thanks baba thursday on fs1 buckle up for one of the most intense rivalries in college hoops as indiana take on the Boilermakers at 7:00 Eastern his classic Big Ten matchup is also available on the Fox sports app stage two in the books here in Las Vegas chase Elliott has won them both the first for Martin Truex and this one from Ryan Blaney with Truex a second and a third in the two stages so far Ricky Stenhouse is strategy paid off he is still on the lead lap and Denny Hamlin will get the free pass and get back on the lead lap yeah Mike you just you know no matter how your day's going good or bad you have to battle you have to fight you can't give up and that's why the 11 team at Denny Hamlin's is so strong and don't count them out of this yet just like we're talking about their teammate Kyle Busch these guys on pit road getting ready to go after it pit roads been kind of a decider on who comes off pit road this so far today here they come Jamie 24 year old chase le and having a heck of a day a heck of a race car is good said it's okay he's running the right front off of it so four tires will be helpful fuel no adjustments this time meanwhile the 22 of Joey Logano said he really likes the direction they've gone with the changes cars getting better in the 24s and is well Regan well the normally very fired up Ryan Blaney has been calm cool and collected on the radio all day long needs a little bit more help firing off still with that race car good otherwise Vince 19 of Martin Truex the winner here last fall he just can't get off the bottom if he gets off the bottom the car just gets too loose they don't want to make big changes but they know if he's gonna win he's gonna have to be able to get off the bottom here's the race off pit road sponsored by ram martin truex up to chase Elliott loses two spots Joey Logano and Kyle Busch gain positions on pit road that puts Bush the series champion as high up as he's been all day first time he's been up into the top ten at Sun Dial that mark Church jr. won the last race here in September finished third that stays but he's leading off pit road hey Martin this is Jeff and Mike up in the boot to get us yeah I got ya well man what about you guys are putting on out there it's been fun to watch your car looks really strong on the long runs you guys have been really strong on pit road tell us about how your day is going so we'll let him go that voice sure hurt was James smalls his new crew chief this year we'll update the direct story when we come back here is your stage two winner [Music] [Music] [Music] welcome back to Las Vegas Martin Truex had to come back to tighten left-side lug nuts they weren't sure they were all tightened and the crew work fast because on their stop they were really busy look at the front of the car where it says Las Vegas and a crewman has to touch a tire he can't go over that Waller and it'd be a penalty and they save him yeah that's why you were a belt absolutely but obviously that pit stop a little too fast for mark Church jr. because they had to come back down and tighten those left-side lug nuts and lose some valuable track position here they come to the Geico restart zone to begin stage number three back under green on a Penske car cerca hood oh they're gone but now they're racing one another and I thought that was going to turn around the 12 AB lanius Logano went to the inside here comes chase Le to the rear bumper you're gonna go maybe three wide Wow what a pounding he gave lookout oh they're firing up the outside five wide whoa they think that caught Blaney off-guard his teammate pushing him to the lead and then taken taken to the inside as they went into wanted to to get the lead and here comes Harvick that is a wad of cars and the Hendrick teammates three wide with Jimmie in the middle Oh trouble turn to John Hunter Nemechek sliding down to the apron but and cautions out catch your breath just for a second here you're talking to me right yes I am now he had just taken the wave around to get back on the lead lap which means he did not pit during the stage break now he'll be in the middle of your picture Arius right here in the middle you can see there's just tremendous amount of dirty air those cars are stacked on either side of him as Carla gets very loose long slide stays in the throttle keeps it out of the wall maybe a little damage to that splitter in those tires boy these restarts are equal or more thrilling than last week at Daytona [Music] [Music] under caution here in Las Vegas Monday night in Daytona Ryan Newman trying to get pushed to a Daytona 500 win by Ryan Blaney goes up in the air and then hit by Corey Lajoie thanks to NASCAR's ongoing safety improvements in these cars Newman is out of the hospital and recovery here's Larry Mackay you know Mike one of the integral parts of these cars as far as safety is the roll cage and the basic structure has been about the same for a number of years but a couple of changes been made over time is the halo bar the pop bar at the top of the car it has been actually widened out especially on the left side did he get away from the drivers head but back in 2009 Ryan Newman had Carl Edwards come down on the top of his car at the finish of the Talladega race and they added this part and guess what they named it the Newman bar certainly that was a contributing factor Newman is the only College engineering graduate went to Purdue in the driver core of this Cup Series and so when it comes to vehicle dynamics well that was his major he knows what he's talking about Ross Chastain in that car in 20th place and I love that the team kept try Newman's name on the door and on that back window Logano Blaney up front take the green flag and Elliott pokes out right away that didn't work so well that's Trey saying that didn't work out well at all Larsen got a pretty nice run here we go again now is the true Excel right up there but they're five wide a little bit further back target's been really strong on these short runs curious if he could get to the right rear quarter-panel the Logano and he does see Jimmie Johnson side drafted with Ryan Blaney these restarts they're just getting more and more intense on every one of them still a lot of three-wide mid-pack Jimmie Johnson up for third Jamie Mac what are you seeing in these restarts guys it's the craziest thing it's the guy at third place has actually been the leader when we got back to the start/finish line on the last two restarts I'm keeping track of that because we've talked about how wild these restarts are and if you want the inside lane or the outside lane I got to be honest I don't think anybody before the race started what have said I want to line up in third Jimmie Johnson outside chase Elliott teammates fighting for fourth you know Mike we talked about the implications when you have an incident on pit road like the 19 of Truex and you get further back in traffic and it's things like this that happened you see he gets wide off I believe best turn four and a we've seen when you touched the wall like that does it take much and boy he got it pretty good that's gonna be a tire rub he's gonna have to get to pit road before that tire goes down second place Harvick and Blaney [Music] and all because one maybe two lug nuts were not tightened on the pit stop that's all you know it's so orchestrated what these teams have to do ZZZ - oh we got a little bit of contact between Harvick and Blaney no Blaney was just not in control right there he tried to slide in right to the rear bumper the for Kevin Harvick not to lose any spots there but boy that was almost big now you're the expert but I don't know if Harvick would have called that a little bit right at the end right there [Music] I can tell you one thing about racing with Kevin Harvick he'll race you the way you race him and when something like that happens he's not going to forget it easily car in the wall turned four and it is Truex caution that's what I've seen Mike he's just all it takes is one tiny little mistake like that puts you further back get you back on your heels I learned that by the way at the fight last night and and then you know you get in traffic dirtier air and you get into the wall Truex was 14th with Denny Hamlin with these flared fenders on the body styles these days when you make contact either with another car the wall like that you have no choice you can't ride it out you have to get to pit road right away and get those tires change and get those fenders pulled out Cole Custer will get the free pass and that will give us 27 well 28 cars on the lead lap provided Truex is able to continue right he's really coming down yeah so that right front tire doesn't do any more damage if it were to flail apart he's still on the lead lap he left to restart at the back for pitting before pit road was open and that right front really caused a lot of damage to the top of that fender hard to get the car on that jack oh look at them struggling just to get the car to get it on the jack right now so guys we've got 26 27 drivers on the lead lap we've only run about five or six laps I would say if you're at the back come on and get four more tires adjustments if you up front stay out well a few of them fainted at pit road but only William Byron came among those frontrunners and he was seven jamee 24 was far enough back they decided well let's roll the dice and pit here while the leaders ahead of him all decided to save a set of tires for later on Matt wreck his Lasky in the two-car already over to the left side the past two runs the car has been on the free side and air pressure adjustment on that deuce Vince well the 10 of aric amirola getting a chassis adjustment as well they just haven't been able to find the sweet spot in that balance today remember new crew chief Mike Berger Ravich working with Almirola bugger Ravich the former crew chief for Clint Boyer a little tight in the box there but amirola is able to get it out liam byron leads that group off pit road however 12 of the first 14 cars did not stop safety interline ER does its job for Truex [Music] 88 laps to go under caution for Martin Truex who banged the wall in turn number four time for today's credit one bank ones to watch Jeff well Mike I've got my eyes on Kevin Harvick in that four car really strong on the short runs we've seen how important it is to be fast on these restarts and maneuver through traffic he's got two wins here at Las Vegas already and I think number three is coming Jeff foe seven-time Jimmie Johnson four wins here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but the last one 2010 but you know what that old forty eight he's look Tracy every since he unloaded it on Friday Larry I got my eyes on the 12 car of Ryan Blaney crew chief Todd Gordon won this race one year ago Ryan has been so calm cool collected on radio it's been smooth sailing for these guys guys Mike I had my nuts start in the back he it's been a slow climb to the front but he's in the top ten now it's Kyle Busch and clearly he's always one to watch boys you don't have to win every hand just the last one who's had the best long run speed all day chase Elliott and those are your credit one bank ones to watch and Jamie next week you have a 15-minute hold for practice for failing to take account [Laughter] here's William Byron's radio again I'll put you there sorry about bud copy her a couple are out there that I didn't say sorry I think that's just checked and I was thinking he wasn't going to lose that much track position that more would come with them on to pit road well if you're starting twenty-fourth you don't want to just be smart you need to be lucky there we go and again the Penske teammates out front Logano and Blaney Austin Dillon in the outside I believe that's Kyle Busch there's a little bit of contact there Jimmie Johnson pushing the rear bumper of Ryan Blaney down the back straightaway here comes the poor Kevin Harvick to the inside bold move by Harvick his cars just shown great short run speed all day long and I like what I'm seeing with him on these restarts and I like what I'm seeing further back three four even five wide at times Kurt Busch in 19th Hamlin just ahead of him what I'm just look so good at practice yesterday expecting a little bit more out of that team today [Music] Ford Ford Chevy Chevy she Joey Logano was able to get to the outside of Jimmie Johnson going into turn three here comes Kyle Busch do not count this guy out Vince the issue with Kyle the car hasn't been horrible but he's been back in the traffic in the dirty air and he said I think if we could get the clean air we might find out exactly what we've got well he's getting closer to clean air and it's getting better the further up he goes we've got a new leader Kevin Harvick can see how good his car works around the bottom it turns three and four Jeff the question is going to be not how good does his car work but how good for how long exactly Mike it just seems like especially as we get to this stage this final stage you're going to have some long green flag runs here's a battle for second play or third place with Joey Logano and chase Elliott going to the outside but we've taught you mentioned it the night of chase Elliott's been so good on the long runs yeah for carpet don't count out Rodney Childers and Kevin Harvick making that car better for the longer runs Hendrick Chevy's third fifth and sixth and we documented here last fall at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Pacific Chevrolet's all the top eleven so they like this racetrack [Music] never heard the throttle cracked one time on board with Jimmy Johnson oh whoa contact between Logano and the 9 of chase Elliott there has been a lot of incidental contact today where you just thread the needle because if you could side draft off of another car that's what helped you clear the pass over right here that Joey Logano is coming up we saw this similar thing happened with the four car on the rear bumper the 22 of Logano at the beginning of this race I don't know if he was trying to touch it but he definitely was trying to pull him back like dumping that air on the rear spoiler Timmy Hill has gone to the garage and be the first car out of the race 80 laps to go Kevin Harvick 30 50 last time by and that was class of the field so Harvick has shown short run speed all day but this from what we've seen could be a long green flag run here see firing with those fresh four tires trying to catch his teammates that are further up front William Byron is in the best position of those that came to pit road under the caution for Truex if this goes long green flag but a you at this stage of the race this is going to pay off big for that 2014 of those others that came in and got tires they have 15 lap fresher tires than the drivers who are in the top mostly top 14 and I got to say this about Goodyear I like the tire they brought here we saw some wear on those left fronts earlier in this race but now the rubbers laid down not seen that as much but it has fall-off making it a fun race and fun for strategy of whether you come and get tires or stay out Denny Hamlin now sixteenth behind Chris Buescher so certainly that car is better than it's been most of the day [Music] legacy right I mean this is something we didn't see out of Denny Hamlin earlier in this race he wasn't able to run up top and carry the momentum as you saw and be right there on outside of the 17 of Chris Buescher this has been a good race for the Richard Childress cars rookie tyler Redick is 13 and Austin Dillon is up into the top ten Regan all day long Austin Dillon's been pleased with that race car his biggest Achilles was turns three and four that cars coming to him in three or four and they felt like they had top-ten lap times all day now we see him up front in the top 10 everything is good down here with the three and we heard when Michael talked to Richard Childress earlier he just said he's been really loose so I guess the tracks come to him a little bit and that adjustments tighten that car up Tyler Redick the rookie lead lap 12th place having a good run last time by let's take a look at the Xfinity fastest laps Kevin Harvick remains quickest chase Elliott Ryan Blaney Brad K and Jimmy J almost almost throw a blanket over those guys I mean other than Kevin Harvick being out there in clean air putting together a really strong lap now that we're just gonna keep watching this four car he's stretching his lead right now but earlier in this race he talked about lap eight ten maybe twelve where that car started to get loose and start to fall off emmalin's on the movies 14th he is running 31 17 that's only about three tenths off of kevin harvick space at the moment and he's still back in traffic too Mike III really think that battle he had with our leaders when he tried to stay on the lead lap I think they made some adjustments car was better but I think that gave him some confidence that we're seeing show offensive speed right now so Kyle Busch has become our Toyota top performer after starting this race on the last row unapproved body modifications for Hamlin Bush and Christopher Bell there's where they run right now with those four cars all on the lead lap [Music] now it looks like Kyle Busch losing pace just a bit Vince they just don't have any grip that's been the issue for a Kyle during this stretch of the racing they just don't have the grip that he needs to be able to lean on to make the passes as you see him work up on the three and look to the outside of Austin Dillon but just don't have the car that he needs to be able to take to the front yeah finn's talks about losing grip what does that mean those tires and that body create all that force into the racetrack the banking and it gives you a sensation in the wheel and in the seat of the car planted and stuck to the racetrack but as you start to lose grip the right front or the right rear starts to slide and you just can't maintain the same amount of corner speed as you could when the grip is better Matt DiBenedetto Jeff is trying to shed the underdog role now that he's with the Wood Brothers he's never had a top ten on a mile and a half Speedway but he could get one today in his first mile and a half Speedway drive for the Wood Brothers [Music] 71 laps to go in Las Vegas you'll see it all as we go Fox side-by-side [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] from our aerial coverage provided by Goodyear chase the possibilities unlock discovery at every turn Goodyear more driven you saw the pass for the lead and all day Kevin Harvick has had the best short-run car in the field that as the laps run along under the green flag other cars have more pace just like that nine have chase Elliot Ryan Blaney up front goes by camera it's like they just hit a cliff like and and fall off of it I mean he just that 4 car of Kevin Harvick is so good for about 10 12 maybe 15 laps so Larry could that be part of Rodney Childers strategy hoping for a caution in the last 20 laps well it could be Mike and I just was actually looking at strategy and all the teams and drivers that pitted back at lap 163 we weren't racing with a hundred and one laps to go so I think what they'll do Mike they'll split this stage in half which means somewhere around lap 215 that opens that window now those that just pit it a few laps ago they may go 10 15 laps further but definitely I think they're gonna split the stage in half if you did not pit that last time thanks Larry so the first five cars pitted on lap 163 Keselowski and Byron at lap 178 among the top 10 and for the lead here comes man that was so close see Ryan Blaney trying to close the door on chase Elliott chase Elliott not lifting one bit every member guys off the racetrack these guys are buddies I mean on the track they're fierce competitors boy they'll have something to talk about tonight as long as it doesn't get any worse than what we almost saw there yes they will but boy that nine car is just so good on the long runs from the Goodyear blimp see the big run momentum off of turn four chase Elliott turns down to the bottom just look like Ryan Blaney at the last second was gonna try to get down to the bottom also but chase Elliott already there well that that could have been maybe they didn't even touch that's just pretty wild that was just the bumps the air coming off the nose of the nine pretty impressed with that that the 12 of Blaney was able to hold on to it right there meanwhile Kevin Harvick has slipped to 1.3 seconds off the lead Regan will Mike much like earlier in the race as soon as he got passed from Ryan Blaney came on the radio the front tires of that race car are absolutely gone he said it's plowing again right now Ryan Blaney up front he actually got held up by the lap car there that's what allowed chase Elliott to get the run on him very very frustrated with the lap cars right now and that's why he was probably fighting as hard as he was he knew that he could maybe maintain that lead on chase Elliott but that lap car cost him some time cost him some momentum and allowed the nine to close up on him of chase Elliott [Music] and I misspoke earlier like talking about the for car getting loose sounds like they're really struggled with that front grip after they get about 15 or 20 laps on their tires all three of the Penske Ford's in the top six Brad Keselowski up eleven spots since the restart into the top half dozen here's aric almirola to pit road well with 59 laps to go they could make it from here but hmm [Music] fit windows open he's the only taker so far well and we've seen where if it's going to go green for a long ways hitting early can definitely help you out Vince well it is a poor tire change four tires and enough gas to get them to the end as you said Mike they can make it from here but it's a little bit earlier than what you might have thought we would have seen amirola come to pit road but that's the gamble they're going to take and see if it pays off having some trouble of the left front seventh place now William Byron remember has 15 lapped newer tires than his teammate Alex Bowman in the 88 and it shows right there you see Brad Keselowski one of those others that also pitted at the same lap as William Byron both of them coming forward his Kyle Larson on pit road and he's in that same boat of having older tires I guess this is the reverse of the Ricky Stenhouse strategy in stage two where he stayed out as long as he possibly could and again it goes back to like Larry Mack's trends and they see long green flag runs typically happen in this final stage in the closing laps of this race so I think short pitting is going to benefit you see the 22 of Logano going to the outside of Harvick for third place yeah third position Kurt Busch is in same strategy as his teammate Kyle Larson as we continue under green with 56 to go top Harvick was going to be able to get back by Logano and here's the older of the Bush brothers in for his stop Kurt Busch Kyle Busch and Riley Hertz the Xfinity series driver who is also from Las Vegas each donated a hundred two coats for a military and veterans for this race great gesture absolutely there William Baier now close it now that he's gotten in some clean air those older tires starting to really become a factor and slow these guys down and those newer fresher tires on the 24 fireman he's making up some good time as well as Brad Keselowski right ahead of him as he goes by Kevin Harvick [Music] Keselowski and Byron are the two cars in the top ten with the fresher tires yeah there are some guys as you point out there Mike that did come in and take fresher tires but have not really been able to make much out of his we see Chris Buescher on pit road in his pit box setting up for four tires for buscher so let's review with our top ten and show you when they were last on pit road only Keselowski and Byron came in when Martin Truex brought out the caution at lap 177 now the one thing I'm seeing that's a little bit different than some of these other guys on older tires chase Elliott and maybe even rhyme blaze in this category they're able to maintain some really good lap times right now close to what those guys have further back on fresh tires here's Byron and Keselowski even on tires 4th and 5th [Music] you know no driver has ever scored his first Cup win at this racetrack this is a tough track Mike I mean we've seen where and here comes Kevin Harvick to pit road this track really seems to lend itself to the highest quality drivers have won championships those teams I think it's a team effort in a pit road effort a driver effort it's just the combination of those championship caliber teams and drivers seem to be the ones that win here let's just not tell that to William Byron just yet friggin for Carl Kevin Harvick has been back and forth on adjustments all day long still not able to find what they need to make this car have long run speed obviously short pitting right here with the hopes that maybe they can make up a little ground here Jamie 22 Joey Logano youngest driver to hit 400 Cup starts last week impressive run for him a four-tire stop he's just been one and a half loose all race long they've made a little headway but just not where they need to be to compete with the nine who is your leader a lot of activity on pit road and the 24 wins Byron wanted to go ahead and come in also get those fresh tires back and Jimmie Johnson's in those guys who's finishing up service on that 48 depending on whether he had a car in front or clean air he was most of talking about being tight Jamie chase Elliott led 16 laughs today an impressive run better than they even anticipated the car would be a four-tire stop for hammock touch-free Regan Ryan Blaney has been happy with this car this run other than when he got behind chase Elliott all of a sudden he lost the nose of the race car that meant it stopped turning for him as good as he wanted [Music] guys I like what Chad canals did with William Byron right there even though he had an advantage with fresher tires he made sure he didn't let the rest of the field get the jump on him with fresher tires so he bought a lot but hitting while ago after everyone stayed out but I think he kept tempo by pitting with them right there I think that's a great move right there yeah well you're gonna lose so much time if you let those other guys come out on fresh tires I agree Larry Bryan Patti's gonna make a believer out of us he's got Ricky Stenhouse out there and his teammate Ryan Preece is in second Truex Nemechek Dylan and Lajoie who come to pit road now to join Dylan do so there's four cars out there in front on old tires there's Ryan Preece [Music] and we're under cushion chase Elliott has a flat left rear let's watch is the Goodyear blimp think about how the cars that have been the strongest in this race have had trouble here's chase le knows he has an issue trying to hold on to it a little bit of damage to that right rear goes around don't know if it's a left rear right rear tire the left rear ended up flat not sure if it was the cause boy just been so tough for these guys that have been so strong today Jamie they were so strong all day long Alan Gustafson and crew chief said man I saw it flat on the left rear did you hear me say it and then he felt it and you saw what happened he tried to save it but that pit crew was pumped up right before the last stop they all fist pumped around like this is it guys this is our win today and unfortunately he's back in the pit it was Jamie he was on the way to a win [Music] and there's the tire a little damage from the wall on the right rear corner [Music] and with pit road closed we remind you another huge weekend of XFL football get started Saturday to Seattle dragons face off with the st. Louis battle Hawks Saturday at 5:00 Eastern on Fox and on the fox sports app 46 laps to go here in Las Vegas and then about an hour after our race ends yesterday's rained out Xfinity Series race will resume with the start of stage two and you can watch that on FS 2 if you don't have FS 2 you can use your FS 1 sign in to watch on the Fox Sports app let's have a look at the progressive race summary with 45 laps to go in the 400 mile today Ricky Stenhouse jr. is your leader 21 lead changes among six drivers 7 caution flags for 30 laps and we listened in on Kevin Harvick every time at a cost when I pick up the rubber up and then when I picked the rubber up it where's our left front tire two pots I'll take her over like you did last time we're here as well but little Rover gets put down it takes it right back up now the pits are open but there may be few takers because the timing of the caution just as Brian Patty and Ricky Stenhouse hope for leaves only three cars on the lead lap if you pit here you cannot take the wave-around Ryan Blaney will get the free pass but if you want to get back on the lead lap you've got to stay out here I mean I'm just you know just this fell right into behind Paddy's hopeful strategy he knew something we didn't know gonna lock down these cars they're gonna have to take this wave around so JTG Doherty racing is on pit road left of your screen Ricky Stenhouse on the right in that very brightly colored car is Ryan Preece and John Hunter Nemechek is on pit road as well chase Elliott returns to pit road for damage repair [Music] so that means only three lead lap cars are going to have new tires for what's bound to be a wild restart they've been so wild all day long how about a little restart 101 with Jamie McMurray from the Charlotte studio [Music] when leading on a restart it is crucial to put yourself in the best position to protect your spot but how do you know which lane to choose well much like real estate it's all about location are you on a short track or a road course it's pretty easy take whichever line is preferred and turns one and two if you want to be low take the inside if you want to be high take the outside simple as that on super speedways you need to keep an eye on your neighbors which drivers will be lining up behind you a driver that's willing to work with you or one that can push you will help determine this choice having a teammate your rearview mirror makes this decision very easy tracks between 1.5 and two miles present a whole new set of problems the rules changes last season then it became a combination of both the preferred line and the cars in the second road these variables could change from week to week or even restart to restart meaning it's harder than ever to find the correct answer so you have your line what's next on super speedways and some of the intermediates you give the driver behind you a little wave out the window they lock onto your bumper and you both take off together everywhere else it becomes a strategic mind game as the leader you can take off at any point in the restart zone early late that's up to you you're just trying to catch everyone else napping but if they figure out your strategy they could beat you at your own game I just don't know how he colors that past it stays inside the line great job Jamie McMurry that was awesome it and I mean that Illustrated and really explained it perfectly the only factor I would say that we've seen today as we've seen where your teammate is your friend and then they're your foe as they get to turn one Oh Ryan Preece something happened on that pit stop and the second-place car is headed for the garage Regan we saw Ryan Blaney coming off pit road right there nothing to lose for these guys they got the wave-around that's gonna allow him to start back up with the leaders after he took these tires they used that opportunity to put a little tape on the nose of that race car should give them some downforce maybe a little more speed Jamie well we found the culprit for chase Elliott's cut left rear or a flat tire this is what a valve stem is supposed to look like this is the one that just came off of his car many factors can lead to this being knocked in this one was actually knocked off the pit crew found it it snapped in half with the difference between a lot of times what happens is you're changing those tires if that car takes off or the gun hits that valve stem it can break it in half and then all the air is gonna leak out of it I'm not I'm gonna I'm not even gonna count I'm just gonna tell you 25 cars took the wave-around because that's how many are left that are not on the lead lap nope more in 25 we have Stenhouse John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Blaney was the free pass car and sadly Ryan presa was in second place is now in the garage and out with 42 laps to go everybody else will come around and line up on the tail end of the lead lap behind those three or four cars but without the advantage of fresh tires that they have well and give some credit you know Ricky Stenhouse jr. and Brian Pattie as well as John Hunter nemi Nemechek and his crew chief Seth barber they've been playing the strategy all day long hoping it would pay off and get some track position it finally just did now let's see what they could do with it so we will restart with 25 lead lap cars and about five of them at the back and three of them at the front three of them at the front have fresh tires now Mike I'm just wondering you got a bunch of veterans right behind these guys they're looking at that yellow stripe on that rear bumper John Hunter Nemechek he has his work cut out for him to keep those guys behind him especially Joey Logano who's on his rear bumper we've seen how aggressive he could be and has been already today on restarts but John Hunter has fresh tires Joey does not will that make a difference well I mean I think it's a good I don't know if there's a big enough discrepancy in those fresh tires for these other guys we're about to find out Stenhouse Nemechek here we go green flag Oh Ryan Blaney getting to the outside the 47 is Stenhouse jr. is there enough room for Ryan Blaney to thread the needle a Stenhouse goes for wide and Blaney has to breathe it there just wasn't enough room for everybody right there took Stenhouse a little while to get up to speed down the back straightaway but boy once he got the bat shovin that hole opened up he's shot out there Logano and Harvick at the front Stenhouse and Nemechek holding even with the rest of this group Byron with a run on the bottom and Keselowski going to the top or trying to find clean air any which way you can we've seen how out-of-control these cars can be when you're tucked in right behind somebody in that spoilers punching a huge hole in the air Kurt Busch has pitted and so is Ross Chastain at the tail end of the lead lap somebody pokes out to make it three wide down the back straightaway biron still charging on the outside Keselowski and Byron [Music] [Music] justno give on these restarts Mike [Music] now the third place car is Ryan Blaney is there an issue there Regan well he thinks he's got a tire up on that racecar right now Mike they looked at it the tire that the Goodyear's rubbed off of the tire and there is a little bit of left rear fender damage on that racecar from the restart yeah that's one of the big fears and all these drivers have on these restarts is they're three and four wide and it's getting so intense that all it takes is a slightest bit of movement in a three or four wide battle to cut down one of these tires crossover moved on his teammate Denny Hamlin by Kyle Busch [Music] fighting for 13th and up front Harvick with a run you can see the damage right behind the left rear that's gonna affect that that aerodynamics but did they make contact with somebody else and cut that left rear tire down so far so good sixth place Byron and Nemechek [Music] really nice job John Hunter Nemechek just you learning so much right here meat start up front with all those guys barreling down behind you that's a tough thing for a rookie to deal with second race of the year depended eddo having a really solid race today so Nemechek and Stenhouse started upfront Nemechek has settled here in 7th behind DiBenedetto Stenhouse has settled in 4th place yeah he's doing an excellent job Ricky Stenhouse jr. maintaining in that fourth position taking advantage of that strategy in that caution that paid off that worked out for him for the oppress also at Brad Keselowski that he's been able to improve his race car throughout this day because he was not a top 5 car earlier watch for Jimmie Johnson on this replay as he gets up and into the yellow paint and we saw similar thing happened to the 19 of March uruk's jr. earlier is this something that could cause too much damage and cut that right side down on Jimmie Johnson's boy that looks very similar to what we saw earlier with Mark Eric's junior map and Jeff as soon as that half of his pit crew put fresh tires up on the wall just in case he had to dive down pit road so they wouldn't cut a tire down and have a day like Truex had Jimmie racing Kyle Busch here for eleventh place going back to Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain the reason they both pitted was they bounced off each other on the restart a lot of contact they each felt it out for a lap neither car working well that came to pit road they're both one lap down and that's a smart call you hate to do that but that would end your race in a hurry well I just wonder what's going to happen here with Jimmie Johnson it doesn't always take smoke inside the car for you to think that that tires cutting down I mean we saw how quickly it happened the 19 of mark tricks jr. earlier [Music] remember how tight things got on the back straightaway on that restart here's the 47 maybe made a little bit of contact there with the 12 of Ryan Blaney yeah you could see that fenders folded in boy it didn't take much Mike over that right front fender to just do a little bit of that damage but I don't think that's enough to cut the left rear tire you had Truex there 15th and Tyler Reddick 16 Blaney third we're gonna take you Fox side-by-side [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] welcome back to the NASCAR Cup Series from Las Vegas on Fox presented by Jiffy Lube Mike joy with Jeff Gordon watching Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick reports actually out front counting Ryan Blaney with 26 laps to go and the question will be for Kevin Harvick does he have enough speed to make it to the distance let's first hear about the race leader Joey Logano Jamie and I talked to his new crew chief Paul wolf about Joey this morning and Paul just smiles ear to ear and says having Joey as my driver is so refreshing he's so great with all of our team with the guys he's around all the time and when it came to setups for this track he said Joey said do whatever works for you Paul wolf on the right and won this race with Brad Keselowski three times in the past if Joey was open to trying something new so together their four wins but today they're trying to win their first race together and Jamie I got to think that right now the guy who's smiling the biggest is Roger Penske because he's looking like a genius if you look at work first and third with Blaney his other teammate and Keselowski and six with all those crew chief of team changes the captain turned 83 Thursday Brad Keselowski in 6th chasing William Byron he's about half a second ahead of Alex Bowman who just had a pretty fierce battle with Matt DiBenedetto to take seventh place behind Brad K Jimmie Johnson still going strong even though he made contact with the outside wall so far so good on no tire rubs or issues with those right-side tires okay I got it kind of laughs oh here's a great battle between Keselowski Bowman Bowman trying to get to that left rear quarter panel try to side draft Keselowski to get positioned into turns one and two Bowman was the fastest car on the racetrack last lap I was gonna go back to Jimmie Johnson and laughing a little bit because after he hit the wall there brushed the wall a veteran driver knows what that may lead to and he started running right up against the wall who a little contact here with a 38 of John Hunter Nemechek I don't know if he wants to do any more damage to that right side there but as a venture driver he's running right up next to the wall he knows if those right sides go down he's gonna be as close to that wall as possible but now everything seems to be good he's going back down to the bottom of the racetrack this race is flown by VIN has won even coming to twenty laps to go rookie title retic we saw there and here is Stenhouse trying to get JTG Daugherty's first ever top five at Las Vegas they have one top-ten finish here to do it he's going to have to hold off Alex Bowman and his fast closing teammate William Byron Vince such a big year for this team they brought over Ricky Stenhouse as their driver Brian Pattie as the engineer Mike Kelly came over from Roush as well they believe they have all the pieces in place to be competitive even though they have less than a hundred employees a third or a fourth of some of the big teams like kids and Penske stewart-haas but they still believe they can be competitive and they're showing it again here today thanks Vince battle for second Harvick trying to hold on to second and Blaney knowing what we know that Harvick fires off quickly at the start of a run but has not yet shown the speed at the end of a run that he's had at the beginning well and I was just getting ready saying I thought Harvick was holding on a little bit better and then all of a sudden and that's all it seems like it takes this one lap and the next thing you know Harvick's car just starts to fall off so obviously Blaney trying to take advantage of that right now is going to go by and take over second place Team Penske Sports one two now and Alex Bowman working on Ricky Stenhouse for fourth thought Bowman looked like one of the best cars you looked at average lap times in practice on Friday doing a great job hanging in there and making it all work making some adjustments to get back up there possibly into that top five before this thing's all over or is in the top five sorry so Ford's one two three Chevy's four five six the first Toyota would be Kyle Busch back in 11th place eight and a half seconds off the lead and Denny Hamlin back at 14 Truex has rebounded to 15 after bringing out the caution at lap 170 7-iron getting to the outside of Ricky Stenhouse jr. for fifth place hello Ricky Stenhouse jr. just never goes down without a fight still maintaining as he stays to the left rear quarter panel William Byron [Music] remember these two got together in the early laps of the Daytona 500 [Music] that's right Stenhouse got into the back of Byron's sent him into the infield wall in the back straightaway and first car out of the race was Byron look at this battle up truck to the lead I think Ryan Blaney is the guy to beat here as we come to 15 to go his car looks a little bit better than Joey Logano he's been able to watch Joey Logano see where he's strong see where he's weak see if he could take advantage of it Team Penske finished 1-2 in two of the last six races here and the driver who had the best long run speed chase Elliott he had a problem ended up in the pits and one lap down after a flat tire [Music] I love how Blaney's using that hi Lane you've got Joey Logano working the low line guys that we've been watching the SMT data on the 12 of the 22 and because Ryan Blaney is running up high like you see right there his mouse per hour is so much greater at the end of ever every straightaway look how much he runs down the 22 down that back straightaway yeah but is Joey Logano gonna move to the top and block it as he does you know Joey so good at watching his mirrored and Blaney this is his shot and he makes it happen slides up in front of him great job to take the lead Blaney to hold him off at least for the moment that's close what a great tonic this is for Ryan Blaney remember it was his push to try to help Ryan Newman win the 500 in the last 500 feet that sent Newman airborne and to the hospital it's been an extremely tough week for Blaney of all the drivers here glad that Ryan is on the mend but winning can be the best medicine fastest car on the racetrack is Alex Bowman and he has taken third from Harvick only 11 laps to go but he is less than a second behind the leaders here's his pass of Kevin Harvick for third whenever one sorry Alex Bowman has found he is like a rocket ship already caught the 22 of Joey Logano Ryan Blaney is hoping these guys run side by side for a while so he could get away tend to go [Music] let's see Logano goes to the bottom tries to disturb the air behind him to slow down the momentum of the 88 of Bowman and Joey's got to be on defense now tend to go to Penske Ford's up front and a Chevy Camaro filling his mirror well and he ran the high line got past for the lead now he's got Alex Bowman he's tried to figure out what can he do to keep Alex Bowman behind him and even in this situation he feels like maybe I don't have a shot at winning now his role work goes to a different mindset how can I make sure my teammate at Team Penske wins this race seventh place right of your screen Matt DiBenedetto getting past Ricky Stenhouse after they ran side-by-side for a lap or two here we go for a second stop Holman got a great blow off the top goes to the bottom clears Joey Logano easily he's going to slide up in front of them now what can he do nine laps to go eight laps to go put a big block on Joey Logano Bowman is eight tenths back with eight to go and that gap is staying pretty constant fourth place William Byron passing Kevin Harvick in Chevrolet's looking really strong here at the end of this race we saw how strong chase Elliott was earlier in this race on those long runs now his teammates Alex Bowman William Byard coming on strong what every lap car every decision you make low high middle getting the car over the bumps it could come down to that absolute final lap or final corner of this race [Music] Boman 6/10 behind Jeff dad it's got to be agonizingly close to look at that car out in front so close and yet so far I don't know what's more agonizing being in second looking at closer to car around back straightaway big slide cautious jesting oh he was having such a great day now he's got to try to stay on the lead lap with those flat tires not Terrapin defenders boy now things get interesting Mike haha well you talk about a race playing into somebody's hands has this race just fallen right into the four cars lap you mean the guy that I picked yeah because of the short run here's where I want to go to our chief Larry McReynolds because five to go yes these tires are older I would imagine these guys are going to come down pit road but just somebody risk it well Jeff we've got 23 drivers on the lead lap and there's 35 laps on those these tires I think you're gonna see some stay out here you cuz you're only gonna go back racing with three or four laps to go I agree it's what do you call it Larry a mixed bag we're gonna see but boy saw Ross Chastain just car gets loose right in the middle turns one and two and goes for a big slide remember what I said when to hold him when to fold them Ryan Newman's name on that number six Steve knew mark said earlier today no timetable for Ryan Newman's return we know he's watching and glad that he is out of the hospital and on the mend it's Ross Chastain filling in thanks to a Chip Ganassi Racing and Chevrolet the approval for Chasteen to drive that Ford came very quickly everybody in this sport helps out everybody else isn't I'm Mike oh don't oh boy Logano stays out Biron stays out here's math and hearing the conversation back and forth between Bowman and Ives there was never really much debate about whether to stay out or pit the car it gotten tighter but it was not tight enough he didn't have enough stability to run the high side Regan no debate on the 12 car Ryan Blaney crew chief Todd Gordon said come on get up pit road it's gonna be four tires for him for the end of the race okay I have six lead lap cars staying on track including Logano and Byron Jamie Mike Paul Wolfe clearly told Joey Logano Pitt if everyone else pits and Joey said what was that do I pit or not and then he stayed out and he said I don't know what you were trying to tell me there and they said you have 35 lapped tires under you right now all right well let me update seven drivers did not pit you see the first seven on your screen down to Bubba Wallace did not stop Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson will be the first drivers with fresh tires for this restart let's hear from Chad canal so William Byron's crew chief done all I can for you it's in your hands now we've seen some wild restarts today Mike oh we're getting ready to see it go to a whole nother stratosphere what's the Larry Mac says my work here is done that's all the drivers hands now well I just think of these tires we heard Rodney Childers talk earlier about how they pick up rubber these hot old tires under caution there's going to be a lot of debris and rubber on these tires got to get them cleaned up and then can you get up through the gears not spin the tires and get up and get going and keep those cars behind you not to mention those with fresh tires wow this is gonna be wild was there ever a down Prime paddy was believe Regan well you could hear the disappointment in Todd Gordon's voice when he came on the radio told his driver Ryan Blaney I thought more cars we're gonna come it's so hard as you know Larry when you're the leader you know everybody's gonna do the exact opposite of what you do if he stayed out they come in if he comes in they're staying out there's only seven drivers who did not come in lower right you're going to see the last pit stop by the top ten drivers and you see Stenhouse had a little fresher tires than those others back to Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace to me one of the toughest places to be on this mic is that those first two cars lined up without new tires because you're just a sitting duck watch Keselowski Johnson and Truex fire out from the middle of the pack because they are the first cars on brand new tires yeah they just got to get past that start/finish line then you're gonna see them fan out four or five wide for sure now we are not in overtime even though they will restart with two laps to go we are still within the scheduled distance how about that big stack of chips you got where you want to put them now oh my goodness but the fans are standing up they know this is about to be one heck of a show two laps to go is this the final restart of the day green flag Logano big push from Stenhouse Byron a little bit of help from DiBenedetto three wide dependent dental goes the inside of William Byron Oh tire rub they made contact [Applause] Oh Jimmy Johnson all the way down the apron underneath Tyler Radek wow what a moving dream Austin Dillon dives it into turn three he is four Stenhouse third Stenhouse DiBenedetto battling behind Logano here they come for the white flag from credit one bank tons of contact treble william byron backing up through the field there was contact among several drivers and we are under caution the race is not over I think that tire blew on contact and damage I think maybe the leader had seen the white flag and Race Control has confirmed that since the leader saw the white flag under green the next flag ends the race that caution flag will do just that and repeats what he did a year ago here Joey Logano but with that new crew chief Paul Wolfe and what a move by DiBenedetto and Stenhouse battling for second behind them great finishes for them Austin Dillon fourth Jimmie Johnson fifth some happy Joey Logano fans in the stands today and what a crowd we've got here to see that awesome race [Music] twenty-two races since his last win at Michigan in June 24th career win for Logano he's now won a race in every one of the last nine seasons keeps that trend going Mike past champions winning here in Las Vegas so true [Music] and nobody doesn't burn out or donuts or whatever you call it this like Joey Logano [Music] now William Byron we know had a tire rub I'll show you where that came from they see DiBenedetto goes to the inside of William Byron William Byron already committed to the inside lane they make contact that fender rub now is cutting the left rear tire down on William Byron so let's pick this up coming off turn four see Tyler etics sliding back Oh more contact as you see Erik Jones just you know everybody's just going for it there well that was wild and crazy' coming off a turn for they knew they're coming to the white flag so plain he gets the outside they're three four wide here Erik Jones comes up squeezes William Byron into the 12 of Ryan Blaney coming to the white flag under green yeah no doubt that was before the caution came out so Joe and the gone are our winner while I count about six drivers who are going to be happy leaving Las Vegas and they're in positions one through six everybody else not happy it's a lot of drivers gonna be angry with the other drivers and we leave Las Vegas Vince Welch well how about a little bit of miscommunication there I coming to that last stop kept you out there and it paid off what were your thoughts is that restart was about to begin not really sure if you're supposed to stay out or coming I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do but what we fought hard for this one today you know Amanda what a battle between Blaney and I and chase Elliott the 19 hour in the race and then to see this finish with Matt finished in second it's a great day for Wood Brothers and for Team Penske so man nothing like winning the pens all 400 in front of this amazing crowd with this awesome yellow car right here in the front oh man this is a huge win and nice to kick off the season with the W you got a huge push from Stenhouse on the restart was that the difference yeah yeah it really was you know you get you know a good start like that and you I watched him he pushed me and then he shoved me ahead which was great and then the block of the 24 that was the winning move as they only get down in front of him and then be able to separate myself a little bit from the field clean air was gonna be key with with old tires if I got too swallowed up by a couple cars I was just gonna fall backwards really quick so being able to get that clean air secure that and man this is great get back in victory lane and your first win with Paul Wolfe wanted to remember yeah it really is I mean he's such a great job and it's been fun getting to know each other and with the whole team you know a pizza pit crew was amazing today we I think we came to spot it every time at least so I'm proud of a part of the effort that it was put in over the offseason to come out here and the start of the West Coast Swing it and get one of those cool stickers right next my name on top of this car well done thank you [Applause] Joey Logano has won in Las Vegas beating Matt DiBenedetto and Ricky Stenhouse to the finish line you welcome back to Las Vegas Joey Logano is your race winner aerial coverage provided by Goodyear for those that push the limits of possibilities Goodyear more driven [Applause] well let's hear from the runner-up here's Matt Yocum one spot away from that magical 100th Wood Brothers win but this is the type of day that you dreamed of when you took over the iconic 21 it was man this was all just too surreal it's tough to be that close by this is only a second race of the season so the strength of this team it's so cool to have the backing of all the people that allowed me to drive this thing it took so many people I mean motor craft quick lane to be driving this iconic car it's so cool and Menards you know and Paul I know you're watching a home and proud I can't thank him enough and that whole family for this opportunity for power under the hood is always good have got to be having that Roush AIDS power under the hood but man this whole team Greg Irwin all when we we recovered it wasn't pretty at the start of a man they did an excellent job so happy to be working with his team the fans thank you all so much the journeys been pretty cool Ricky Stenhouse jr. with a brand new team this year last week at Daytona it's the pole this week you lead 31 laps mix it up you finished third but tell me about when you guys stayed out that option to stay there what were you thinking you know Brian's just really good at calling races and he apologized for that when that one backfired on us in that second run we got good track position and then we stayed out a little too long and gave up that track position so then we were fighting kind of all race to get it back up and he went long again and it paid off with the caution and our Kroger Camaro was was good it wasn't perfect by any means but we know what we need to work on now and it was cool to get a good solid run in this Camaro for everybody at JTG Dougherty racing I got a thing hungry Jack and all energy drink and everybody that works hard on this car so far so good two weeks we've we've been fast last week we weren't bad this week and we know what we need to work on and I know Brian and the boys will tune it up came in with the strategy worked out it brought it on third did best Las Vegas finished there for Ricky Stenhouse Matt D matches his best cup finish and Joey Logano celebrates in victory lane with the headset on Joey they say in Las Vegas you'd rather be lucky than good I'd say today you were both maybe a little bit that cautious at the end was something we needed to have and being able to you know eventually you'll stay out there get the clean air take that clean air it was a huge deal for this whole team and being able to win the race that your sponsor is sponsoring is such a big deal you know and obviously with Pennzoil and Autotrader and you know Ford arouse eight centers that built this thing unbelievable car I want to say hey to my wife and son at home they are not able to come all the way out here to the west coast when it's a little long flight for him but man I wish you guys were here and in celebrating with us but we're still gonna have some fun drinking some coca-cola and having a good time here hey Joey we saw an incredible race today where there were long run speed for some cars short runs from others and then these wild restarts three or four wide how concerned were you on that final restart not only from getting a push from Stenhouse but these guys that took fresher tires or what all chaos was gonna break out yeah like I said I'm the start/finish line I needed clean air ID to get to the front if you have clean air that that's enough to overcome the tires and you know that's what we're able to do get a good push from Ricky and it kind of pushed me out a little bit and then I saw well I didn't see TJ told me in the booth or in the spotter stand to you know protect the bottom twenty-fourths come and made that block that was key and then Matt made a move on him to get to second so once they did that I was able to separate myself from the pack to where they couldn't draft me as much time to straightaway and then be able to run a couple smooth laps until you get the checkered flag all right go celebrate congratulate our Logano probably raced his teammate Ryan Blaney hardest of anybody he battled all day more to come from Las Vegas [Music]

Channel: NASCAR

Views: 302,954

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Id: hdd28Fcz-0I

Length: 210min 52sec (12652 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 25 2020