Manufactuer News
| For the first time this season, NASCAR will face a traditional intermediate oval with the Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wrapping up its two-race west coast swing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| Situated just outside the famed Las Vegas Strip, the 1.5-mile oval will host two events for both divisions this season, with the pair heading back to the venue in October to mark the halfway point of the Chase. With an undefeated season to its name, Chevrolet will look to match its record season-opening win streak with five-straight trips to victory lane in Saturday’s ‘The LiUNA!’. The weekend will culminate on Sunday with NASCAR’s premier series in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube. |
| Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas:Itching for its first win in NASCAR’s top division this season, Chevrolet’s numbers in the Next Gen era at Las Vegas Motor Speedway prove the manufacturer will be ones to watch this weekend. Among Chevrolet’s 13 trips to victory lane at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval, four have come in the series’ Next Gen era to lead its manufacturer competitors. Most recently, it was reigning champion, Kyle Larson, that added to Chevrolet’s triumphant tally at the track during the 2024 spring date. With his three wins, Larson lands second on the series’ all-time wins list for active drivers at the track. |
 LARSON WITH A STEADY CLIMB Despite a tumultuous start to his championship-defending campaign, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team are back to proving that they’re a consistent threat. The 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native put together a season-best qualifying effort and finishing result at Phoenix Raceway last weekend – starting second en route to a third-place finish. With back-to-back top-six results, Larson has entered the top-10 of the points standings for the first time this season as the Team Chevy driver heads to a track where he exudes confidence. In 10 Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has made three trips to victory lane, with arguably his most notable win coming in March 2021 to mark his first triumph with the organization. In the Next Gen era, Larson has produced a staggering eight top-nine results at the Nevada venue, including two additional victories and three runner-up finishes. |
 EARLY SEASON CONSISTENCY FOR THENO. 71 TEAMA strong Saturday turned into yet another valiant effort by Michael McDowell and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team at Phoenix Raceway last weekend. Despite being plagued with a tire issue near the halfway point of the race, the Travis Peterson-led team rebounded to take home a ninth-place finish to mark back-to-back top-10 results. The performance was enough for McDowell to make yet another move up the points rankings, with the Glendale, Arizona, native heading to Las Vegas Motor Speedway sitting eighth in the standings. McDowell has just two starts at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval under the Spire Motorsports banner – earning 16th-place results in each appearance to mark his career best finish at the track. While their Saturday speed has been prevalent this season, expect that to be no different this weekend with the No. 71 team returning to the track as the event’s defending pole winner. |
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS
Toyota continues strong start to 2026 … Team Toyota continued its strong start to the 2026 Cup Series with six drivers finishing inside the top-10 last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Christopher Bell, who led 176 laps and won Stage 2, finished runner-up in his best finish of the season to-date, jumping him to sixth in the series point standings. Following Bell was Ty Gibbs in fourth, Denny Hamlin in fifth, Bubba Wallace in sixth, Tyler Reddick in eighth and Erik Jones rounded out the top-10. Additionally, after the first four races of the 2026 season, Toyota has led 495 of the 878 total laps run in the Cup Series. Reddick continues to lead the Cup Series point standings by 60 points over second position, with Wallace in third, Bell in sixth, Hamlin in 12th and Gibbs in 15th.
Hamlin looks for back-to-back in Las Vegas … Last October, Hamlin captured his 60th career Cup Series win atLas Vegas Motor Speedway to punch his ticket to the Championship 4. This weekend, the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver is back and looking for a second consecutive victory at the mile-and-a-half track and his first visit to victory lane this season. Hamlin has typically run well at Las Vegas, with a top-10-or-better finish in eight of the last 11 races at the track, dating back to the Fall 2020 race.
Briscoe returns to O’Reilly Series … For the first time since Charlotte Motor Speedway last May, Chase Briscoewill pilot a Toyota GR Supra in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series this weekend in Las Vegas. With Brent Crews still under the age of 18, Briscoe will race the No. 19 for JGR at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he’s a two-time winner in the series, when he swept both races in 2020. Briscoe also looks to give the No. 19 team a second straight victory at the track after Aric Almirola won there last fall.
