Byron in good spot as NASCAR round of 8 playoffs start
William Byron returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the betting favorite to win the Cup title as the round of eight of NASCAR's playoffs opens.
He's certainly in great shape with a series-high six victories this season, and his first win of the year came at Las Vegas back in March. A win today would lock him into the title-deciding championship finale and give him the next two weeks to prepare — the same model Joey Logano used a year ago by winning at Las Vegas and then winning the title at Phoenix.
Byron doesn't care what the oddsmakers say about his chances of hoisting his first Cup championship trophy and on Saturday wouldn't declare himself the favorite.
“I don't know, that's for you guys to decide,” Byron said. “I just go out there and drive. For me, it's one step at a time, it really is. Take it one step at a time in each race of this round. I'm not looking too far ahead, honestly.
It's a tough field to evaluate, with only two former champions among the final eight, and only half the field has even made it to the championship round. Kyle Larson is seeking a second Cup title in three years, while Martin Truex Jr. is looking to add to his 2017 title.
Truex was the regular-season champion but has had a horrible playoffs. He doesn't have a finish higher than 17th through the first six playoff races, and Truex goes into Las Vegas with seven consecutive finishes outside the top 15, his worst streak since 2009.
He made it to the round of eight based only on all the bonus points he earned in the regular season.
“I didn't create the system. We used it to our advantage,” Truex said. “That won't get us through the next (round). The next one, you've got to be running up front. Need to turn it up and we need to figure it out quickly.”
His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell have been far better in the postseason, and both have been to the championship round before. Hamlin has lost five championships and is considered the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a Cup title.
But Hamlin says he believes this is his year and his swagger has hit a new high. Hamlin attended a Travis Scott concert in North Carolina this week wearing a Michael Jordan and singer J Balvin-logoed firesuit that belonged to Tyler Reddick.
Bell takes pole
Bell put his Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing on the pole for today's race by bumping Larson from the top starting spot.
Bell turned a lap at 186.335 mph to better the Chevrolet of Larson, which went 186.271. It is the sixth pole of the season for Bell.
Larson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron qualified third and was followed by Truex of Joe Gibbs Racing and Buescher of RFK Racing, as playoff contenders took the top five spots.
Xfinity Series
Riley Herbst scored the first NASCAR national series win of his career in dominating fashion at his home track.
Herbst led 103 of 201 laps to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the home track for the thirdgeneration racer. His grandfather, father and uncles are considered the first family of desert racing and inductees into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.
The family also owns a large chain of convenience stores and service stations dating to 1937.
Herbst, 24, has ventured beyond the desert into asphalt and has been plugging away in NASCAR since 2018. His Xfinity win was Herbst's first NASCAR national series win in 154 starts across the three series.
He beat Xfinity Series championship leader John Hunter Nemechek by nearly 15 seconds.
NHRA
Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Gaige Herrera made the quickest run in class history at the Texas Motorplex, setting the national record and also breaking the category mark for the most No. 1 qualifiers (12) in a single season at the Texas NHRA FallNationals.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also qualified No. 1 in their respective divisions.
Herrera rocketed to a run of 6.627 seconds at 204.16 mph, shattering the previous national record. It was the second-fastest run in Pro Stock Motorcycle history.