A look at the winners and losers from the Round of 8 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
WINNERS
Kyle Larson — He swept the first two stages of the race and led 133 laps en route to the win. He became the first driver to punch his ticket to the Championship 4. Larson also became the first driver in Cup to lead at least 1,000 laps since the 2021 season.
Christopher Bell — He finished second after scoring 17 stage points, the second-most among the playoff drivers. He moved to only three points out of the final transfer spot to the Championship 4. Now Bell has two more opportunities to achieve his goal of taking one of the coveted spots in the championship race.
Denny Hamlin — He qualified 15th but spent the race inside of the top 10. Hamlin scored 12 stage points, the third-most among playoff drivers. He faded during the final stage but finished ninth. He still left Nevada above the cutline. Next up is Homestead, a track where Hamlin has three wins.
Kyle Busch — He spent the entire race inside of the top 10 after starting sixth. He struggled on restarts but still finished third behind two playoff drivers. This was Busch’s second consecutive third-place finish after three straight of 20th or worse. It capped off a weekend in which he avoided mistakes during every on-track session.
LOSERS
Chase Elliott — He started from the rear of the field after crashing in practice and going to a backup car. He was unable to crack the top 20 in the first two stages. Once Elliott restarted inside of the top 20, he received a penalty for laying back on the restart. He had to serve a pass-through penalty that dropped him one lap down. He finished 31st.
Chris Buescher — He missed out on points in the first two stages before finishing 10th. He was the only playoff driver to leave Las Vegas without stage points. Now he heads to Homestead 23 points below the cutline.
Martin Truex Jr. — He scored his first top-10 finish of the playoffs but also fell to only three points above the cutline after gambling by staying out at the end of stage 1 on old tires. Truex spent the rest of the race trying to recover his lost positions. He returned to the top 10 but missed out on points in stage 2.
Ryan Blaney — He finished sixth after scoring eight stage points. He was disqualified after his car failed post-race inspection for a left-front shock issue. He lost all of his stage points and left with only one point. Blaney will be in a must-win situation at Homestead or Martinsville in order to advance to the Championship 4.
