It came down to the final laps of last week’s Round 12 elimination-race at the Charlotte ROVAL to decide who would advance and continue their quest for a championship in this season’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell won the wild event in Overtime at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course marking the sixth-time in the ‘elimination-style’ Playoff Era (2014-2022) that a driver has won their way into the next round. Now, the eight elite drivers that have made it this far, need to regroup as the spotlight turns to 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this Sunday’s South Point 400 on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90), the first race of the Round of 8.
This is the fifth-year Las Vegas Motor Speedway has hosted a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race (2018-2022). The 2022 season also marks the first-time the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 has opened at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – race No. 33 of the season and seventh of the postseason.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the sixth different track to host the seventh race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs; joining Atlanta Motor Speedway (2004-2008), Talladega Superspeedway (2009-2010), Martinsville Speedway (2011-2019), Kansas Speedway (2020) and Texas Motor Speedway (2021).
Prior to the 2022 season, Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2018 and 2019 and the fourth race in the Playoffs, the first race of the Round of 12, from 2021-2022.
Four different drivers have won the Playoff races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin.
| Track | Playoff Race Winners | Date | Race No. |
| Las Vegas | Brad Keselowski | Sunday, September 16, 2018 | 27 |
| Las Vegas | Martin Truex Jr | Sunday, September 15, 2019 | 27 |
| Las Vegas | Kurt Busch | Sunday, September 27, 2020 | 30 |
| Las Vegas | Denny Hamlin | Sunday, September 26, 2021 | 30 |
A total of 11 different drivers have won the seventh race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, led by Jimmie Johnson with four postseason victories (Atlanta: 2004, 2007 and Martinsville: 2012, 2016). Team Penske’s Joey Logano leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in victories in the seventh race of the Playoffs with two postseason wins (Martinsville 2018 and Kansas 2020).
| NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race No. 7 Winners | ||
| Track | Playoff Race Winners | Date |
| Atlanta | Jimmie Johnson | Sunday, October 31, 2004 |
| Atlanta | Carl Edwards | Sunday, October 30, 2005 |
| Atlanta | Tony Stewart | Sunday, October 29, 2006 |
| Atlanta | Jimmie Johnson | Sunday, October 28, 2007 |
| Atlanta | Carl Edwards | Sunday, October 26, 2008 |
| Talladega | Jamie McMurray | Sunday, November 1, 2009 |
| Talladega | Clint Bowyer | Sunday, October 31, 2010 |
| Martinsville | Tony Stewart | Sunday, October 30, 2011 |
| Martinsville | Jimmie Johnson | Sunday, October 28, 2012 |
| Martinsville | Jeff Gordon | Sunday, October 27, 2013 |
| Martinsville | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Sunday, October 26, 2014 |
| Martinsville | Jeff Gordon | Sunday, November 1, 2015 |
| Martinsville | Jimmie Johnson | Sunday, October 30, 2016 |
| Martinsville | Kyle Busch | Sunday, October 29, 2017 |
| Martinsville | Joey Logano | Sunday, October 28, 2018 |
| Martinsville | Martin Truex Jr | Sunday, October 27, 2019 |
| Kansas | Joey Logano | Sunday, October 18, 2020 |
| Texas | Kyle Larson | Sunday, October 17, 2021 |
Five times the winner of the seventh NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race has gone on to win the championship later that same season: 2007, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2021.
In 2007, Jimmie Johnson won from the sixth starting position at Atlanta Motor Speedway and went on to win his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. The win was the second of four consecutive Playoff victories he put up en route to the title that season (Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix).
In 2011, Tony Stewart won from the fourth starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his second NASCAR Cup Series championship (2005, 2011). The victory was his third of a record setting five Playoff wins that season.
In 2016, Jimmie Johnson won from the third starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his record tying seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship. The victory was his second of three Playoff wins during his title run that season.
In 2018, Joey Logano won from the 10th starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. It was his first of two Playoffs wins that season (Martinsville, Homestead-Miami).
In 2021, Kyle Larson won from the pole at Texas Motor Speedway and went on to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship. The victory was his third of a record tying five Playoff wins season en route to the title.
The worst finish by a driver in the seventh NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race that later went on to win the title that same season was at Atlanta Motor Speedway (2004-2008). Kurt Busch posted a 42nd-place finish in the 2004 Atlanta Motor Speedway race, then the seventh race in the Playoffs, and went on to win the title that same season. The finish was due to engine failure.
The finishes by the eventual champion in the Playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
- 1st by Kyle Larson in 2021 – the fourth race of the Playoffs.
- 22nd by Chase Elliott in 2020 – the fourth race of the Playoffs.
- 19th by Kyle Busch in 2019 – the first race of the Playoffs.
- 4th by Joey Logano in 2018 – the first race of the Playoffs.
Three times non-Playoff drivers have won the seventh race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: 2006, 2009 and 2010.
In 2006, Tony Stewart won the seventh race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he was 11th in points at the time of the win.
In 2009, Jamie McMurray won the seventh race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Talladega Superspeedway, he was ranked 22nd in the points at the time of the win.
In 2010, Clint Bowyer won the seventh race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Talladega Superspeedway, he was 12th in the points at the time of the win.
No non-Playoff driver has ever won the Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But that could change this weekend, four of the first six Playoff races this season have been won by non-Playoff drivers. Plus, the 2022 season has produced the series-most (19) different winners in a single season this year, tied with 1956, 1958, 1961 and 2001.
All the NASCAR Cup Series on-track action will get underway with practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying on Saturday, October 15 and both can be viewed on the NBC Sports App at 12:05 p.m. ET or at 12:30 p.m. ET on the USA Network.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway: Clinch scenarios and other tidbits
With the start of a new round in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the contenders get reseeded and are once again faced with trying to earn their spot in the next round. This weekend’s South Point 400 (Oct. 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will kick-off the Round of 8, the first of three races the contenders have to navigate through for a spot in the Championship 4.
Already Clinched
No drivers have clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round.
Can Clinch Via Win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.
Of the eight-driver Playoff field heading into this weekend at Las Vegas, two are former champions – Joey Logano (2018) and Chase Elliott (2020), and only three of the eight have made career appearances in the Championship 4 Round – Denny Hamlin has four appearances ( 2021, ’20, ’19, ’14), Joey Logano has four appearances (2020, ’18, ’16, ’14) and Chase Elliott has two (2021, ’20).
Half of the eight-driver Playoff field have advanced to the Round of 8 for the first time in their NASCAR Cup Series careers – Chastain, Bell, Byron and Briscoe. Plus, the youth movement in the series has arrived, six of the eight drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 are in their 20s, the youngest being William Byron at 24. The two drivers not in their 20s are Joey Logano at a ripe age of 32 and Denny Hamlin at 41. The average age of this season’s Round of 8 is 29.5 years old.
The crop of eight Playoff drivers also hail from seven different states across the country – Georgia (Chase Elliott), Connecticut (Joey Logano), Florida (Ross Chastain), Oklahoma (Christopher Bell), North Carolina (Ryan Blaney and William Byron), Virginia (Denny Hamlin) and Indiana (Chase Briscoe).
| NASCAR Cup Series Driver Playoff Outlook Following Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL | ||||||
| Rank | Driver | Points | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | +/- Cutoff |
| 1 | Chase Elliott | 4,046 | 5 | 6 | 46 | 31 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 4,026 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 11 |
| 3 | Ross Chastain | 4,021 | 2 | 6 | 21 | 6 |
| 4 | Christopher Bell | 4,018 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 3 |
| 5 | Ryan Blaney | 4,015 | 0 | 7 | 15 | -3 |
| 6 | William Byron | 4,015 | 2 | 4 | 15 | -3 |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | 4,013 | 2 | 3 | 13 | -5 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe | 4,009 | 1 | 4 | 9 | -9 |
| 9 | Kyle Larson | 2,200 | 2 | 4 | 20 | Eliminated From The Playoffs |
| 10 | Daniel Suarez | 2,162 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 11 | Austin Cindric | 2,154 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 12 | Tyler Reddick | 2,153 | 3 | 2 | 17 | |
| 13 | Austin Dillon | 2,134 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 14 | Kyle Busch | 2,123 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |
| 15 | Alex Bowman | 2,104 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 16 | Kevin Harvick | 2,006 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
Round of 8: Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a gem in the desert
Las Vegas is a great city with tons to do, but nothing on the ‘The Strip’ this weekend will compare to the drama that Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be dishing-up as the 1.5-mile track serves as the jump starter of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 with the South Point 400 on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Eight Playoff contenders will begin their hunt for one of the four spots in the Championship 4 Round and a shot at this season’s title this weekend at Las Vegas – the second-to-last 1.5-mile track on the schedule.
The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was held on March 1, 1998. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett won the pole for the inaugural event and NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin won the race driving a Ford for RFK Racing. In total there have been 29 NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1998-2022). The 1.5-mile track has hosted one race per season from 1998 to 2017. The 2018 season marked the first time Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted two Cup Series events in a single season (2018-2022).
A total of 18 different drivers have won the pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kasey Kahne leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Las Vegas with three (2004, 2007, 2012). Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with two (2008, 2009). Of the 18 NASCAR Cup Series pole winners at Las Vegas seven at active this weekend.
| Las Vegas Active Pole Winners | Poles | Seasons |
| Kyle Busch | 2 | 2009, ’08 |
| Christopher Bell | 1 | 2022 |
| Kevin Harvick | 1 | 2019 |
| Erik Jones | 1 | 2018 Playoffs |
| Ryan Blaney | 1 | 2018 |
| Brad Keselowski | 1 | 2017 |
| Joey Logano | 1 | 2014 |
A total of 17 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and eight different drivers have won more than once at the 1.5-mile track. Jimmie Johnson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with four victories (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010). Brad Keselowski leads all active drivers in NASCAR Cup Series wins at Las Vegas with three (2014, 2016, 2018). Of the 17 NASCAR Cup Series race winners at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, eight of them are active this weekend and two are current Playoff contenders – Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.
| Las Vegas Active Race Winners | Wins | Seasons |
| Brad Keselowski | 3 | 2018, ’16, ’14 |
| Joey Logano | 2 | 2020, ’19 |
| Kevin Harvick | 2 | 2018, ’15 |
| Martin Truex Jr | 2 | 2019, ’17 |
| Alex Bowman | 1 | 2022 |
| Denny Hamlin | 1 | 2021 |
| Kyle Larson | 1 | 2021 |
| Kyle Busch | 1 | 2009 |
