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2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs South Point 400 at Las Vegas

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2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs South Point 400 at Las Vegas 6 photos
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2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs South Point 400 at Las Vegas2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs South Point 400 at Las Vegas2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs South Point 400 at Las Vegas2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs South Point 400 at Las Vegas2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs South Point 400 at Las Vegas
The NASCAR Cup Series family it's going to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The track from Nevada opens the Round of 8 of the 2022 NASCAR playoffs with the South Point 400 event.
The task for the remaining drivers battling for the championship it's simple. If one of them wins this race, they will be guaranteed an automatic berth into Championship 4 and, of course, the right to compete for the title in Phoenix.

Tyler Reddick took the pole yesterday, followed by Austin Cindric. After that, we have William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Joey Logano to complete the top five.

Chase Elliott, it's the points leader after the Round of 8 resets. But, on the other hand, Christopher Bell earned a new lease on his playoff life with a dramatic win-and-in last weekend at the Charlotte Roval.
Live updates (ended):

22:05 UTC  What a crazy end here in Las Vegas!

22:05 UTC 

22:04 UTC  The top ten at the end of the South Point 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

  • 1 - #22 - Joey Logano
  • 2 - #1 - Ross Chastain
  • 3 - #18 - Kyle Busch
  • 4 - #14 - Chase Briscoe
  • 5 - #11 - Denny Hamlin
  • 6 - #8 - Tyler Reddick
  • 7 - #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
  • 8 - #43 - Erik Jones
  • 9 - #16 - A.J. Allmendinger
  • 10 - #3 - Austin Dillon

22:03 UTC  Logano will race for the title in Phoenix!!!

22:03 UTC 

22:02 UTC  Joey Logano wins in Las Vegas and he will advance to the Championship 4!!!

22:02 UTC  Logano puts two more tenths on Ross Chastain. He's got a half second lead with one lap to go!

22:02 UTC  Logano drives away instantly from Ross Chastain.

22:01 UTC  Logano clears Chastain off Turn 2 and takes the lead!

22:00 UTC  Logano takes the lead from Chastain!!! Three laps to go.

22:00 UTC  Chastain got in Logano's lane and made Logano get out of the gas on corner exit.

22:00 UTC  Less than five to go and it's a crazy battle between Chastain and Logano for the win!!

21:59 UTC 

21:59 UTC  Chastain adjusts and goes up high. Logano goes low. The lead is under half a second and Logano is so much faster than Chastain.

21:58 UTC  Eight laps to go.

21:58 UTC  Logano running the wall to get momentum down the straightaway as he tries to get past Briscoe.

21:58 UTC  Less than ten laps to go and Chastain has more than a second over Chase Briscoe.

21:57 UTC  Truex slid up on the exit of Turn 4 and he ever so slightly doored Haley.

21:56 UTC  Logano made the pass on Haley for P3.

21:56 UTC  Briscoe and Haley side-by-side for second.

21:56 UTC  Ross Chastain made it three wide for the lead. He comes out as the leader of the race.

21:55 UTC 

21:54 UTC  Restart with 16 laps to go.

21:50 UTC  We have less than 20 laps remaining.

21:50 UTC  William Byron comes to pit road from 11th for four fresh tires as Landon Cassill goes to the garage.

21:49 UTC  Looks like a piece of debris came through Cassill's car and punctured something.

21:49 UTC  Looks like Landon Cassill might have blown a tire before his spin.

21:49 UTC  Chase Briscoe takes the lead as caution comes out for a spin by Landon Cassill in Turn 4.

21:48 UTC  The top 12 cars stayed out, while Joey Logano is the first car on new tires in 13th.

21:48 UTC  Green flag with 22 laps to go.

21:43 UTC 

21:42 UTC  Four tire stops for everyone to give them a little fresher rubber.

21:40 UTC  Reddick went into Suarez left front making him slide through the infield.

21:39 UTC  Caution is out again with 27 laps to go!

21:39 UTC  Justin Haley is starting to build a bit of a gap over Chase Briscoe with less than 30 laps to go.

21:38 UTC  As things are standing right now, Blaney is 14 points below the Championship 4 cut line.

21:38 UTC  Ryan Blaney is re-joining the race and will try to make minimum speed.

21:38 UTC  Briscoe tried but without success to overtake Haley for the lead. Now he needs to defend from Suarez and Chastain.

21:37 UTC  Contact between Erik Jones and Tyler Reddick!

21:37 UTC  Green flag is out with 35 laps to go.

21:33 UTC 

21:32 UTC  The wheel on Busch's car was loose.

21:32 UTC  Meanwhile, there's a problem with Kyle Busch's car and there's smoke trailing from the left front.

21:32 UTC  Justin Healey takes the lead with a two-tire stop.

21:31 UTC  Sounds like something broke on Blaney's car to cause that crash.

21:30 UTC  Check out the crash of the Stage 2 winner.

21:29 UTC  Caution is out!

21:29 UTC  Blaney loses it in Turn 2 and he spins and pounds the inside wall!

21:29 UTC  INCREDIBLE! RYAN BLANEY HAS CRASHED1

21:28 UTC  Blaney is hunting Chastain now but he is going to be four laps short on fuel if the race goes green to the end.

21:27 UTC  However, Ryan Blaney came like a storm and took second from Aric.

21:27 UTC  The difference between the Chastain and Almirola is under a second.

21:26 UTC  Aric Almirola (P2) is starting to close the gap on Ross Chastain.

21:23 UTC  We now have less than 50 laps to go.

21:23 UTC  Briscoe makes the pass on Byron for eighth.

21:23 UTC  Chase Briscoe is back up in the top ten after being a lap down earlier.

21:22 UTC  Blaney tried to clear Busch on the Exit of Turn 4 and he almost got turned by the No. 18.

21:22 UTC  Contact between Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch.

21:18 UTC  Austin Cindric coming to pit road with a right rear tire flat. He hit the wall in Turn 2 while running the high line.

21:17 UTC  Byron hangs on right in front of Ryan Blaney!

21:17 UTC 

21:17 UTC  Solid jump by Ross Chastain gives him the lead without much issue.

21:14 UTC  Green flag with 68 laps to go.

21:14 UTC  Tyler Reddick as well stopped for fuel.

21:13 UTC  A couple cars came to pit road to top off on fuel.

21:10 UTC  Ross Chastain had maybe his best pit stop of the year! He takes the lead while Joey Logano waited on fuel.

21:09 UTC  Yeley goes for a loop with what looks like a left rear tire down and he'll come to a stop in the infield grass.

21:08 UTC  Caution is out for JJ Yeley with 73 laps to go.

21:01 UTC  Logano and Blaney are side-by-side for the lead.

20:58 UTC  Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe almost had a huge moment!

20:56 UTC 

20:56 UTC  Logano now leads Blaney, who made it three-wide on the bottom to get past Hamlin and Chastain.

20:55 UTC  Green flag is back out with 96 laps to go.

20:54 UTC 

20:52 UTC  Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney loses three places. He is now in third.

20:51 UTC  Chastain had to check up hard for Logano, who wins the race off pit road while Denny Hamlin gains three to move up to second.

20:51 UTC  Ross Chastain and Joey Logano almost collided on the pit road.

20:50 UTC  Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott have not scored stage points.

20:50 UTC  Joey Logano has now gained the most stage points of all playoff drivers today with 18.

20:48 UTC  The top ten after Stage 2 in Las Vegas:

  • 1 - #12 - Ryan Blaney
  • 2 - #22 - Joey Logano
  • 3 - #99 - Daniel Suarez
  • 4 - #1 - Ross Chastain
  • 5 - #11 - Denny Hamlin
  • 6 - #24 - William Byron
  • 7 - #4 - Kevin Harvick
  • 8 - #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
  • 9 - #2 - Austin Cindric (R)
  • 10 - #18 - Kyle Busch

20:44 UTC 

20:44 UTC  Ryan Blaney wins Stage 2!!!

20:43 UTC  After his spin earlier, Kyle Busch has made it back up into the Top 10.

20:42 UTC  With five laps to go in Stage 2 Ryan Blaney lead is comfortable enough.

20:39 UTC  Blaney's lead over Logano is growing. It's now 2.6 seconds.

20:36 UTC  Ross Chastain has fallen back from the leaders.

20:36 UTC  Under 20 laps to go in Stage 2. Ryan Blaney leads Joey Logano by almost two seconds.

20:35 UTC  Gibbs got into Dillon off Turn 2, and it looked like Dillon ran hm down the track a bit just to let him know he didn't like that.

20:32 UTC  Bell's day is over!

20:31 UTC  The DVP clocked expired for Christopher Bell.

20:30 UTC  This is the 24th time Blaney leads a race!

20:28 UTC 

20:28 UTC  Blaney is able to hold off Chastain, who is now under attack from Logano for second.

20:27 UTC  He takes the lead from Chastain.

20:27 UTC  Ryan Blaney is on the inside line!

20:27 UTC 

20:25 UTC  Now we are over the halfway length of the race.

20:25 UTC  Ross Chastain leads by just three tenths over Ryan Blaney.

20:22 UTC  However, Ross Chastain overtakes him!

20:22 UTC  Daniel Suarez starts first off the restart.

20:20 UTC 

20:20 UTC  Christopher Bell, who was caught in the middle of the crash between Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace, is out of the race.

20:01 UTC  Denny Hamlin wins the race off pit road, beating Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.

20:00 UTC  Both cars spunned back into traffic where they tagged Christopher Bell. His car has a lot of damage on the right side.

19:59 UTC 

19:59 UTC 

19:59 UTC  Bubba Wallace is very angry with Kyle Larson. Bubba is pushing and shoving him but Kyle wanted no part of it.

19:57 UTC  Kyle Larsson runs Bubba Wallace into the wall, spinning him into traffic.

19:56 UTC  HUGE CRASH ON THE FRONTSTRETCH!

19:53 UTC  Joey Logano has made the pass for third to move Wallace back to P4.

19:52 UTC  Ross Chastain overtakes Wallace as well and for the moment we have a one-two for Trackhouse Racing.

19:52 UTC  Daniel Suarez overtakes Bubba Wallace on the outside.

19:51 UTC  Green flag is back out on Lap 85.

19:47 UTC  Ross Chastain gains a full six spots to move from 11th all the way up into the top five.

19:47 UTC  Bubba Wallace holds the lead off pit road.

19:47 UTC  The top ten drivers after Stage 1:

  • 1 - #45 - Bubba Wallace
  • 2 - #22 - Joey Logano
  • 3 - #99 - Daniel Suarez
  • 4 - #20 - Christopher Bell
  • 5 - #12 - Ryan Blaney
  • 6 - #2 - Austin Cindric (R)
  • 7 - #5 - Kyle Larson
  • 8 - #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
  • 9 - #8 - Tyler Reddick
  • 10 - #24 - William Byron

19:46 UTC 

19:45 UTC 

19:39 UTC  That means that the Stage 1 is going to end under caution so Bubba Wallace is the winner of Stage 1.

19:39 UTC  Trouble off Turn 4! Kyle Busch has spun out of sixth to bring out the first caution of the day!

19:38 UTC  Joey Logano Suarez and Bell are closing in on Wallace.

19:36 UTC  Battle for third shaping up between Suarez and Christopher Bell.

19:36 UTC  Less than ten laps to go in Stage 1 and Bubba Wallace has more than half a second over Logano.

19:33 UTC 

19:31 UTC  Wallace has driven away to over half a second. Logano now side-by-side with Suarez for P2.

19:31 UTC 

19:30 UTC  Suarez is not giving up yet.

19:30 UTC  Bubba Wallace is in the lead now after going on the inside line.

19:30 UTC  Busch and Blaney aren't far behind. Suarez came to pit road four laps earlier than Cindric when Cindric was leading.

19:28 UTC  Meanwhile, Wallace and Logano have caught up with Suarez and a three way battle for the lead is about to start.

19:28 UTC  Chase Briscoe might be down a cylinder.

19:24 UTC  Bubba Wallace got held up by the lapped car of Corey LaJoie. This incident allowed Logano to overtake him for P2.

19:24 UTC  Joey Logano is reporting a weird vibration to his car.

19:24 UTC  Daniel Suarez now leads followed by Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace.

19:23 UTC  Ryan Blaney came to pit road a lap before Austin Cindric did and with that move he overtakes Cindric on-track as green flag stops continue.

19:19 UTC  Reddick is starting to fall back through the top five as the first round of green flag pit stops begin.

19:19 UTC  Blaney stalls just a bit leaving his box.

19:19 UTC 

19:18 UTC  The caution is up because Chase Briscoe is struggling with his #14 car.

19:18 UTC  Austin Cindric took the lead from Tyler Reddick under caution.

19:15 UTC  Side-by-side for the lead now between Reddick and Cindric.

19:15 UTC  Team Penske is now In P2, P3 and P4.

19:15 UTC  Ryan Blaney has made it to third, and Wlliam Byron now loses fourth to Joey Logano.

19:10 UTC  Austin Cindric has been closing the gap from Reddick in the last few laps.

19:08 UTC  William Byron has now taken third from Blaney.

19:08 UTC  Denny Hamlin had an incredible start and he moved up to 25th after starting in 31st.

19:08 UTC  Tyler Reddick was able to clear Cindric off in Lap 4.

19:07 UTC 

19:07 UTC  Nice jump by Austin Cindric from the outside of the front row.

19:07 UTC  Green flag is out and we're racing in Vegas!

18:56 UTC 

18:48 UTC 

18:47 UTC  Mark Martin is driving the No. 6 Valvoline Ford Taurus that he drove to victory in the inaugural race at this track in 1998.

18:47 UTC  Also taking an honorary pace lap: NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin!

18:41 UTC 

18:40 UTC  Davante Adams is the wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders.

18:39 UTC  Today's honorary pace car driver is Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams.

18:39 UTC  Richard Childress was asked if a third Cup car is still a possibility if they were working on it and he said he might be able to say something in a few weeks. Indicated still is working on something but still TBD.

18:38 UTC  So good to hear that Kurt Busch doesn't want to stop racing.

18:37 UTC  Pre-race ceremonies are underway at Las Vegas.

18:36 UTC  The top ten drivers from qualifying:

  • 1 - #8 – Tyler Reddick
  • 2 - #2 – Austin Cindric
  • 3 - #24 – William Byron
  • 4 - #20 – Christopher Bell
  • 5 - #22 – Joey Logano
  • 6 - #99 – Daniel Suarez
  • 7 - #20 – Christopher Bell
  • 8 - #21 – Harrison Burton
  • 9 - #45 – Bubba Wallace
  • 10 - #3 – Austin Dillon

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About the author: Silvian Irimia
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Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second.
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