Usa new news

NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 – Storylines to Follow in Sin City

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:

  1. Ross Chastain
  2. Bubba Wallace
  3. William Byron
  4. Kyle Larson
  5. Austin Dillon
  6. Noah Gragson
  7. Chase Elliott
  8. Christopher Bell
  9. Michael McDowell
  10. Chris Buescher

13. Tyler Reddick

20. Joey Logano

25. Ty Gibbs

28. Ryan Blaney

29. Denny Hamlin

Pennzoil 400 starting lineup:

  1. Michael McDowell
  2. Joey Logano
  3. Austin Cindric
  4. Kyle Busch
  5. Erik Jones
  6. Alex Bowman
  7. Josh Berry
  8. William Byron
  9. Zane Smith
  10. Kyle Larson
  11. Chris Buescher
  12. Ryan Preece
  13. Christopher Bell (to the rear)
  14. Tyler Reddick
  15. Denny Hamlin
  16. Chase Elliott
  17. Ty Dillon
  18. AJ Allmendinger
  19. Ross Chastain
  20. Bubba Wallace
  21. Noah Gragson
  22. Austin Dillon
  23. Daniel Suarez
  24. Chase Briscoe
  25. Carson Hocevar
  26. Cole Custer
  27. Brad Keselowski
  28. Shane van Gisbergen
  29. Ty Gibbs
  30. John Hunter Nemechek (to the rear)
  31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  32. Todd Gilliland
  33. Justin Haley
  34. Riley Herbst
  35. Cody Ware
  36. 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

Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.

This article was originally published on Heavy Sports

The post NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 – Storylines to Follow in Sin City appeared first on Heavy Sports.

Exit mobile version