On Sunday, Sin City will welcome the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series for the fifth race of the 2025 season. Here are the storylines you need to be aware of ahead of Sunday’s Pennzoil 400.
Bell’s quest for a four-peat will start from the back
Christopher Bell is on a quest for history this weekend as he attempts to become the first driver to win four consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races since Jimmie Johnson did so in 2007. Unfortunately, a 13th-place qualifying effort from Bell on Saturday was nullified by an issue with the throttle body that was found by both Bell’s No. 2o team and the No. 42 team of John Hunter Nemechek. If Bell wants to win his fourth consecutive race, he’ll have to claw his way through the field in a hurry.
Blaney’s lack turned bad in a hurry
Ryan Blaney’s weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. A crash in practice forced the No. 12 team to repair his car during qualifying, meaning Blaney didn’t get the opportunity to turn a qualifying lap. He’ll start last (36th) on Sunday, and like Bell, he’ll need to carve his way through the field quickly in order to get himself into the mix for the win.
Chrevrolet, Hendrick flex muscle in practice
Ross Chastain paced the Cup Series field in practice on Saturday afternoon – a welcome sign for a No. 1 team that has struggled to find raw speed as of late. Pole winner Michael McDowell proved that his qualifying run wasn’t simply a qualifying trim fluke by placing ninth on the practice chart. Hendrick Motorsports made their presence known by placing three cars in the top-seven and all four in the top-14. William Byron – who won at Las Vegas in March of 2023 – and Kyle Larson – who has won three of the last eight races at Las Vegas with only one finish worse than 11th at Las Vegas during that time span – were third and fourth on the speed chart, with Chase Elliott ending up seventh. The Bowtie Brigade has an excellent shot to get to victory lane on Sunday, and it may very well be a Hendrick Motorsports Chevy leading the way.
Notable practice results:
- Ross Chastain
- Bubba Wallace
- William Byron
- Kyle Larson
- Austin Dillon
- Noah Gragson
- Chase Elliott
- Christopher Bell
- Michael McDowell
- Chris Buescher
13. Tyler Reddick
20. Joey Logano
25. Ty Gibbs
28. Ryan Blaney
29. Denny Hamlin
Pennzoil 400 starting lineup:
- Michael McDowell
- Joey Logano
- Austin Cindric
- Kyle Busch
- Erik Jones
- Alex Bowman
- Josh Berry
- William Byron
- Zane Smith
- Kyle Larson
- Chris Buescher
- Ryan Preece
- Christopher Bell (to the rear)
- Tyler Reddick
- Denny Hamlin
- Chase Elliott
- Ty Dillon
- AJ Allmendinger
- Ross Chastain
- Bubba Wallace
- Noah Gragson
- Austin Dillon
- Daniel Suarez
- Chase Briscoe
- Carson Hocevar
- Cole Custer
- Brad Keselowski
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Ty Gibbs
- John Hunter Nemechek (to the rear)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Todd Gilliland
- Justin Haley
- Riley Herbst
- Cody Ware
- Ryan Blaney (did not attempt a qualifying lap)
Raceday Schedule:
2 p.m. ET: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
2:30 p.m. ET: Pre-Race Coverage, PRN
3:30 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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