LAS VEGAS – The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series begins its 10-race Playoff run with this Sunday’s South Point Hotel and Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – the first time the 1.5-mile oval has hosted the Playoff opener.
All members of the Cup Series’ “Big 3” have strong resumes at the track. Kevin Harvick won here in March – part of a three-race winning streak. Martin Truex Jr. won here in 2017, the same year he also claimed the 2017 Playoff opener (then at Chicago). And Busch, who has led the standings for the last 21 weeks, won at his hometown track in 2009.
The threesome come to the first round – which also includes races at the 3/4-mile Richmond, Va. oval and the debut of the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield road course – ranked first through third in the standings.
Busch, who has six wins and 21 top-10 finishes through the season’s first 26 races won the regular season trophy on Monday following the rain-delayed race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Harvick, who has a series-best seven wins, is tied in points with Busch heading into Vegas. And Truex, who crashed out at Indy, is third in the standings with four wins. It’s been a season-long three-race “winning drought” for those three drivers with Kurt Busch (Bristol, Tenn.) and Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski (at Darlington, S.C. and Indy) claiming the wins on the eve of the Playoffs.
The final four members of the 16 drivers to advance to the playoffs include Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, seven-time Cup champion – and four-time Las Vegas winner – Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. All of them are looking for their first victory of the season. The bottom four drivers in the rankings following the Charlotte race will be eliminated from the playoffs.
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
