Logano Wins at Vegas and Punxches His Ticket to the Final Four

LAS VEGAS, NV – RIS – Just on week ago, Joey Logano was eliminated from the NASCAR Cup championship race.  Then, Alex Bowan , the driver that led to Logano not making the next round, was disqualified in after race tech, and Logano was in.  Today, Logano persevered to the Championship Four with a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Logano passed Daniel Suarez with five laps to go and held on to win the South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series playoff race Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Logano held off a charge from Christopher Bell in the final laps. Bell finished second after leading a race-high 156 laps, and Logano led the final six laps.

Christopher Bell led a race-high 155 laps and wound up second, 0.662 seconds behind in the N0. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Daniel Suárez placed third with William Byron fourth and Alex Bowman completing the top five.

A multicar crash at the start of Stage 2 snared playoff-eligible competitors Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. Elliott and Blaney were able to continue with damage, but Reddick was sidelined to a 35th-place finish when his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota rolled over in a wild slide through the infield on the front straightaway. Reddick, the Cup Series’ Regular Season Champion, had led nine laps and won Stage 1.

Both Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson endured issues on pit road. Hamlin had a pair of sluggish stops, including a major issue at the Stage 2 break when he was forced to reverse back into his pit stall after his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crew needed to tighten his left-rear tire. He finished eighth.

Larson, who entered as the Cup Series points leader, fell back after a miscue forced him to make an additional green-flag stop during Stage 2. He brought his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to pit road for a lengthy stop on Lap 125, then pitted again three laps later to change the left-rear tire. He fell from the lead to 31st place, two laps down, then rallied to finish 11th on the lead lap.

To be continued

Unofficial Results: South Point 400, October 20, 2024 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Team, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
 1) 10, Joey Logano (P), 22, Pennzoil Ford, 267, 8, 5, 1, 6, 5, 49, Running
 2) 1, Christopher Bell (P), 20, Rheem Toyota, 267, 2, 1, 4, 155, 1, 54, Running
 3) 23, Daniel Suarez, 99, Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet, 267, , 8, 2, 57, , 37, Running
 4) 9, William Byron (P), 24, RaptorTough.com Chevrolet, 267, 4, 3, 1, 1, , 48, Running
 5) 3, Alex Bowman, 48, Ally Chevrolet, 267, , 6, , , , 37, Running
 6) 12, Martin Truex Jr., 19, Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 267, 3, 2, 1, 7, , 48, Running
 7) 7, Ross Chastain, 1, Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 30, Running
 8) 4, Denny Hamlin (P), 11, Yahoo! Toyota, 267, , , 1, 4, , 29, Running
 9) 26, John Hunter Nemechek, 42, Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, 267, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 22, Chris Buescher, 17, Castrol Edge Ford, 267, 7, 4, , , , 38, Running
11) 5, Kyle Larson (P), 5, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 267, 10, , 1, 1, , 27, Running
12) 19, Bubba Wallace, 23, Leidos/U.S. Air Force Toyota, 267, , 9, , , , 27, Running
13) 20, Kyle Busch, 8, FICO Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 35, Corey LaJoie, 51, Mighty Fire Breaker Ford, 267, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 31, Harrison Burton, 21, DEX Imaging Ford, 267, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 14, Zane Smith #, 71, Focused Health Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 16, Justin Haley, 7, Gainbridge Chevrolet, 267, , 7, , , , 24, Running
18) 21, Noah Gragson, 10, Fanttik Ford, 267, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 33, Daniel Hemric, 31, South Point Hotel and Casino Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 15, Michael McDowell, 34, Love's Travel Stops Ford, 267, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 36, Cody Ware, 15, Evel Knievel-Parts Plus/Pronto Ford, 267, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 32, Ryan Preece, 41, Bonanza Cabernet Ford, 266, , 10, , , , 16, Running
23) 6, Carson Hocevar #, 77, Delaware Life Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 28, Josh Berry #, 4, Mobil 1 Take 5 Ford, 266, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 27, Erik Jones, 43, Massey Motor Freight Toyota, 266, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 24, Chase Briscoe, 14, Texas A&M University Ford, 266, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 25, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, Scott Brand Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 29, * Jimmie Johnson, 84, Dollar Tree/Family Dollar Toyota, 265, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 34, Shane Van Gisbergen(i), 16, Wendy's Spicy Chicken Chevrolet, 265, , , , , , 0, Running
30) 8, Ty Gibbs, 54, Monster Energy Toyota, 264, 6, , 1, 23, , 12, Running
31) 30, Todd Gilliland, 38, gener8tor Ford, 263, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 37, Ryan Blaney (P), 12, Menards/Great Stuff Ford, 259, , , 1, 4, , 5, Running
33) 18, Chase Elliott (P), 9, NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 230, , , , , , 4, Suspension
34) 11, Austin Cindric, 2, Autotrader Ford, 96, 9, , , , , 5, DVP
35) 2, Tyler Reddick (P), 45, Jordan Brand Toyota, 89, 1, , 1, 9, 1, 12, Accident
36) 17, Brad Keselowski, 6, King's Hawaiian Ford, 89, 5, , , , , 7, Accident
37) 13, Austin Dillon, 3, Boot Barn Chevrolet, 61, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points, *#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Race Length: 267 Laps, 400.5 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 52 Mins, 24 Secs.
Average Speed: 139.385 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.662 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 45, 20, 19, 24, 6, 54, 17, 22, 2, 5
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 19, 24, 17, 22, 48, 7, 99, 23, 41

Comments: Joey Logano won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his 35th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Prior to the start, the No. 12 dropped to the rear (backup car).

Cautions: 5 for 32 laps;
Laps: 64-71 (No. 3, 31 incident turn 3 [43]);
82-87 (Stage 1 Conclusion [14]);
90-96 (No. 45, 9, 6, 12 incident frontstretch [43]);
167-172 (Stage 2 Conclusion [4]);
194-198 (No. 54 spin backstretch [5]).

Lead Changes: 13 among 10 drivers;
C. Bell (P) 1-36;
R. Blaney (P) 37-40;
C. Bell (P) 41-67;
M. Truex Jr. 68-74;
T. Reddick (P) 75-83;
D. Hamlin (P) 84-87;
T. Gibbs 88-110;
C. Bell (P) 111-123;
K. Larson (P) 124;
D. Suarez 125-150;
C. Bell (P) 151-229;
W. Byron (P) 230;
D. Suarez 231-261;
J. Logano (P) 262-267.

Unofficial Points: South Point 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Rank  Driver     Car  Starts     GL   Points     Ldr  Nxt  Race Wins  Stage Wins Playoff Pts
 1)  Christopher Bell (P)   20   33   -1   4086  0    0    3    11   32
 2)  Kyle Larson (P)  5    32   1    4079  -7   7    6    12   52
 3)  William Byron (P) 24   33   -1   4071  -15  8    3    2    23
 4)  Joey Logano (P)  22   33   -4   4061  -25  10   3    2    12
 5)  Denny Hamlin (P) 11   33   -1   4044  -42  17   3    6    15
 6)  Tyler Reddick (P) 45   33   3    4041  -45  3    2    5    29
 7)  Ryan Blaney (P)  12   33   2    4024  -62  17   2    4    19
 8)  Chase Elliott (P) 9    33   1    4018  -68  6    1    1    14
 9)  Alex Bowman 48   33   0    2232  -1854 1786  1    1    0
10)  Martin Truex Jr  19   33   -2   2194  -1892 38   0    4    0
11)  Austin Cindric   2    33   1    2179  -1907 15   1    4    0
12)  Daniel Suarez    99   33   -1   2164  -1922 15   1    1    0
13)  Ty Gibbs   54   33   2    2162  -1924 2    0    2    0
14)  Brad Keselowski  6    33   0    2127  -1959 35   1    0    0
15)  Chase Briscoe    14   33   0    2121  -1965 6    1    0    0
16)  Harrison Burton  21   33   0    2087  -1999 34   1    0    0
17)  Chris Buescher   17   33   0    868  -3218 1219  1    3    0
18)  Ross Chastain    1    33   -1   851  -3235 17   1    2    0
19)  Bubba Wallace    23   33   1    851  -3235 0    0    1    0
20)  Kyle Busch 8    33   0    735  -3351 116  0    1    0
21)  Carson Hocevar # 77   33   0    618  -3468 117  0    0    0
22)  Michael McDowell 34   33   -1   591  -3495 27   0    1    0
23)  Todd Gilliland   38   33   1    585  -3501 6    0    0    0
24)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr    47   33   0    553  -3533 32   1    0    0
25)  Noah Gragson     10   33   0    541  -3545 12   0    0    0
26)  Ryan Preece 41   33   0    523  -3563 18   0    0    0
27)  Josh Berry #     4    33   0    519  -3567 4    0    1    0
28)  Austin Dillon    3    33   0    484  -3602 35   1    0    0
29)  Justin Haley     7    33   -1   483  -3603 1    0    0    0
30)  Zane Smith #     71   33   1    481  -3605 2    0    0    0
31)  Corey LaJoie     51   33   0    480  -3606 1    0    0    0
32)  Daniel Hemric    31   33   -1   473  -3613 7    0    0    0
33)  Erik Jones 43   31   1    468  -3618 5    0    0    0
34)  John Hunter Nemechek   42   33   0    423  -3663 45   0    0    0
35)  Kaz Grala       21   0    188  -3898 235  0    0    0
36)  Cody Ware  15   9    0    146  -3940 42   0    0    0
37)  * Jimmie Johnson 84   8    -1   49   -4037 97   0    0    0
38)  Joey Hand       1    1    43   -4043 6    0    1    0
39)  Derek Kraus      5    0    32   -4054 11   0    0    0
40)  David Ragan      1    0    17   -4069 15   0    0    0
41)  Kamui Kobayashi       1    0    8    -4078 9    0    0    0
42)  Will Brown      1    0    6    -4080 2    0    0    0
43)  Juan Montoya          1    0    5    -4081 1    0    0    0
44)  Cam Waters      1    0    2    -4084 3    0    0    0
45)  Shane Van Gisbergen(i) 16   11   0    0    -4086 2    0    1    0
46)  Aj Allmendinger(i)          15   0    0    -4086 0    0    1    0
47)  Anthony Alfredo(i)          3    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
48)  Parker Retzlaff(i)          2    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
49)  Justin Allgaier(i)          1    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
50)  Ty Dillon(i)          7    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
51)  Bj Mcleod(i)          7    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
52)  Joey Gase(i)          1    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
53)  Corey Heim(i)         3    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
54)  JJ Yeley(i)      6    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
55)  Riley Herbst(i)       4    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
56)  Austin Hill(i)        4    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
57)  Josh Williams(i)      2    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
58)  Josh Bilicki(i)       3    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
59)  Timmy Hill(i)         2    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
60)  David Starr(i)        1    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
61)  Chad Finchum(i)       1    0    0    -4086 0    0    0    0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series