NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series Fans Reply To Joey Logano’s Risky Move, Securing South Point 400 At Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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Jeff Hawkins
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Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  

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Published3 hours ago on October 20, 2024

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cup joey logano racing at lv for w2in (1)

NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano’s team decided to gamble at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

It paid big dividends. 

During the final 69 laps of Sunday’s South Point 400, Logano’s team decided against pitting for fresh tires. Logano held off pole-sitter Christopher Bell by 0.0662 seconds, securing his sixth trip to the Championship 4 race. 

Logano initially did not qualify for the Round of 8, but advanced after Alex Bowman’s disqualification. 

After Las Vegas, Bell ranks second in the playoff standings, followed by Kyle Larson and William Byron. No. 5-ranked Denny Hamlin sits 27 points below the cutoff line.

X (Twitter) users responded to the 2022 circuit champion lifting the No. 22 Ford team to the Championship 4 … 

Sunday’s soaring emotions of the Round of 8 opener … 

True to form, Larson, the 2021 Cup titleholder, helped create a personal experience for a young admirer … 

Pit crew members know how to hang loose with a little pre-race entertainment … 

Ryan Blaney endured a practice lap crash Saturday and started P37 in a backup machine. The defending circuit champion started the third playoff series four points below the elimination line and departed 47 points behind Byron … 

Paying homage to a PRN legend … 

Getting started in Sin City … 

For the third time this season, Bell paced the field at the start/finish line and remained out front for the opening 35 rotations. He relinquished his P1 post on the first green-flag stop … 

Hamlin’s pit-crew executed a slow Stage 1 Pit stop. He placed P8 … 

Austin Dillon found Lap 64 trouble after Daniel Hemric contacted the rear of Dillon’s machine, leading to the No. 3 Chevrolet striking hard the outside wall … 

Playoff pilot Tyler Reddick claimed big bonus points at the end of the first stage. Reddick’s race highlight was yet to come … 

Racing along Turn 4 on Lap 90, two playoff drivers, Reddick and Chase Elliott, collided, sending the No. 45 Toyota flipping out of competition. Reddick remains 30 points behind Byron … 

Tough outing. Larson’s pit crew experienced Lap 125 problems while changing the left-rear tire, forcing the No. 5 Chevrolet to make two pit stops in three laps and, 18 laps later, remained P31. Twenty-two laps earlier, Larson worked his way up to P12 after being forced into another unscheduled pit stop to clear debris from the grill …

With several playoff drivers running into trouble Sunday, Bell received 10 bonus points for a Stage 2 win. Bell’s 11 stage wins rank No. 2 in Cup racing behind Larson’s 12 … 

Larson started a Stage 3 rally and received a free pass to the lead lap on Ty Gibbs’ spin on Lap 194. Within 19 laps, the postseason’s top-ranked driver entering Sunday was up to P15 … 

Logano, who passed Daniel Suarez on worn tires with six laps remaining, cruised to his third win of the season, plus the All-Star Race …