Drivers begin title chase
Ten-race playoffs open in Las Vegas amid tight battle among Big Three
Seven months into the NASCAR Cup series season, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are dead-even atop the standings. Defending champion Martin Truex Jr. is right behind them, and the other 13 drivers in the playoff field are desperate just to keep up.
Even after the occasional predictability of a regular season dominated by the Big Three drivers, the stage is set for an intriguing playoff push. It all starts Sunday in the 98-degree heat of Las Vegas, where every event just seems bigger.
“You can feel the energy from the teams and the drivers before this playoff, even more so than you have in years past,” said
Kurt Busch, a Las Vegas native. “There’s so much energy and so much attention with it being in Vegas for the first time. It just makes everything more exciting.”
NASCAR’S playoff stretch is kicking off for the first time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which also got a second race for the first time this season after years of strong public support for the sport. While the temperatures on the slick track will bear constant monitoring, most drivers aren’t as worried about the heat as the stakes when this season hits the home stretch.
The playoffs add another element to the season-long rivalry among Harvick, Truex and Kyle Busch. Those three drivers’ joint dominance — they’ve combined for 17 victories and 51 top-five finishes while leading more than 42 percent of the laps over the entire season — has been the overriding theme of the season.
With 10 races to go, the frontrunners are eyeing each other warily. Nothing will be decided in Vegas, but a major mistake — particularly by Truex, whose playoff points cushion isn’t as big as his fellow leaders — could change the championship chase.
“My favorite part about where we’re at is that I feel we’ve been in championship form all year,” said Harvick, who won on this track in March. “I don’t feel like thereisaswitchwehavetogo f lip. We’ve been in the middle of the headlines and noise and all the things that come with the success we’ve had this year. The
moment is not going to surprise anybody on my team. It should be business as usual as you start this weekend, and the goal is to win. Win the race in Las Vegas and go from there.”
Xfinity: Ross Chastain held off Justin Allgaier for his first series victory, pulling away on the final restart. Chastain led 180 of the 200 laps, but had to dig in on several restarts to stay in front of Allgaier, the regular-season champion. Cole Custer was third, followed by Christopher Bell and Elliott Sadler.
Indycar: Ryan Hunter-reay snatched the pole from title contender Scott Dixon in the final seconds of qualifying at Sonoma Raceway. Hunter-reay earned his first pole of the season to deny Dixon the top starting spot. Dixon, who is vying for a fifth Indycar title, was atop the leader board until the very end.
Formula One: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took a brilliant pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. It’s his record-extending 79th pole in Formula One and the 200th for a British driver.