Mobile, Alabama’s Bubba Wallace is off to the best start to a season in his NASCAR Cup Series career. The 23XI Racing driver rallied to his second career runner-up finish in the DAYTONA 500 to start the 2022 season, and then followed it up with a 19th-place finish after a wild Auto Club Speedway to find himself ninth in NASCAR Cup Series driver standings heading to Las Vegas this weekend.
Now the 28-year-old, Wallace, is a mere 20 points back from the series standings lead and is looking to roll the dice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to keep his good luck this season alive.
Wallace has made eight starts at Las Vegas in the NASCAR Cup Series amassing one top-10 finish.
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NASCAR Cup Series Featured Matchups: 2022 Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway –Below is a close look at the featured matchups fans can bet on heading into this weekend’s event.
Ø 9 – Chase Elliott VS. 5 – Kyle Larson
o The two young Hendrick Motorsports superstars make up an ultra-compelling lead Featured Matchup this week coming on the heels of their dust-up this past Sunday in Fontana.
o Elliott and Larson each had race-winning speed at various points of the race on Sunday – with Larson ultimately prevailing after throwing an errant block for the win on Elliott that sent Elliott into the wall, effectively ending his day.
o Both drivers have showed significant strength at Las Vegas in recent races at the track – Larson won the spring race at Las Vegas in March of 2021; Elliott finished second in the Fall 2021 event at the track after a late battle for the win with Denny Hamlin.
Ø 18 – Kyle Busch VS. 22 – Joey Logano
o Busch and Logano infamously tangled late in the race in the 2017 spring race at Las Vegas – an incident that ultimately drove both drivers to fisticuffs after the event.
o Busch – a native of Las Vegas, Nevada, and a hometown crowd favorite, has historically had bad luck at his home track (outside of a lone Vegas victory in 2009) despite running well nearly every time the series visits the facility. However, Busch has been strong at the track in recent races – he has the fifth highest average finish (8.17) at Las Vegas since February 2019
o In Logano’s case, Vegas is one of his strongest race tracks – he owns the highest driver rating at the track since February 2019 among all drivers (109.2) – and has collected 2 wins in that span (2019 and 2020, both in the Spring)
Ø 8 – Tyler Reddick VS. 24 – William Byron
o Reddick and Byron had two of the best cars in the field in Fontana on Sunday before a late-race accident between the two drivers (due to a cut tire on Reddick’s car) ended each of their days. Reddick led a race-high 90 laps in the event and appeared to have the dominant car before the incident.
o Reddick and Byron have notably battled fiercely for wins late in numerous races over the past year prior to Sunday – the two drivers battled hard at Playoff races in Charlotte and Texas last season and have seemingly run near each other each week since. Both drivers are on the cusp of a breakout – Reddick is still seeking his first Cup win, while Byron (a two-time Cup winner) is looking to convert his weekly race-winning speed into more frequent wins.
Ø 3 – Austin Dillon VS. 45 – Kurt Busch
o Las Vegas native and local favorite Kurt Busch squares off in the final matchup on this week’s slate against last week’s surprise runner-up at Fontana – Austin Dillon.
o Dillon and Busch have very similar recent numbers at intermediate tracks – Busch has a slightly higher average finish on intermediate tracks since 2019 (13.05 to Dillon’s 13.66), and also has a recent win at Las Vegas (Fall 2020).
o However, despite Kurt’s breakthrough win at the track in 2020, Dillon has posted better numbers at Las Vegas in recent races. Since 2019, Dillon has averaged a 15.50 finish at the facility vs. Busch’s 16.17.
Grammy-Nominated Country Trio Midland to headline Pennzoil 400 pre-race – Country music group Midland will headline pre-race festivities for the Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube on Sunday, March 6 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Known for such hits as “Drinkin’ Problem” and “Burn Out”, Midland will make its first appearance ever at Las Vegas Motor Speedway prior to the annual NASCAR Cup Series race.
“We’re thrilled to have one of country’s hottest acts kick off the Pennzoil 400,” said LVMS President Chris Powell. “Midland is incredibly popular with our race fans and we know the guys will put on a great show to get everyone’s motor running for the green flag.”
The band is expected to take the stage at the speedway at approximately 11 a.m. (local time).
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