This weekend NASCAR will begin their short west coast trip when they head to Las Vegas for the Penzoil 400. This will be the first of two trips to Las Vegas in the 2021 season. This race will also begin the short 2 race west coast trip when they head just south to Phoenix next weekend. Las Vegas will be an important part of the playoffs and this race will be a good learning experience for all drivers.
The Last Las Vegas Race
The last time the NASCAR Cup Series was at Las Vegas the hometown kid Kurt Busch won this race. This win punched Kurt Busch’s ticket to the Round of 8. This was a huge win for Kurt because of two reasons. He moved on to the Round of 8 but more importantly it was his first-ever win at his hometown racetrack in Sin City,
Key Starting Positions
Kevin Harvick will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow as he has earned the Busch Pole. Starting second will be last week’s winner William Byron. In the third position will be Kyle Larson who is still searching for his first win since his return. Starting fourth will be veteran Martin Truex Jr. Rounding out the top five will be Michael McDowell who has performed really well following his surprising win at the Daytona 500.
The Odds For The Penzoil 400
Currently, Martin Truex Jr leads the odds to win at +600. Coming in at second is Kevin Harvick at +650 and following him in the odds are Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano at +700. Coming in at fourth will be Denny Hamlin at a +900 odds to win. Rounding out the top five will be the defending champion Chase Elliott at +1,000 odds to win. The biggest underdogs going into Sunday’s race will be the Busch brothers. Kurt Busch is the defending race winner and Kyle Busch always has a strong run at Las Vegas. Obviously, both drivers are from Sin City so this race will be huge for both.
Race Information
The green flag is set to drop at 3:49 eastern standard time and 12:49 local time. The weather is looking good for the race as it will be 78 degrees with sunny skies. For Las Vegas Raiders fans, their quarterback Derek Carr will give the command to start the engine for tomorrow’s race. The race will be 267 laps and 400.5 miles. Stage One will be 80 laps, Stage Two will end at lap 160 and Stage Three will take them to the end of the Penzoil 400. The pit road speed at Las Vegas will be 45 miles per hour for Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The race will be televised on Fox tomorrow. The race can be heard for the first time this year will be heard on the Performance Racing Network.
