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As NASCAR continues its West Coast swing, the haulers head to Las Vegas for the Pennzoil 400. The Daily Downforce takes a look back at the Top 5 races at the desert track.
In front of empty stands, the 2020 edition of the South Point 400 featured a thrilling overtime where Kurt Busch held off late charges from Denny Hamlin and Matt DiBenedetto to take his first hometown victory.
After the race, he received congratulatory donuts from his brother Kyle. “Rowdy” won the race in Vegas 10 years earlier.
Team Penske dominated the race and Brad Keselowski dominated the final restart, pulling well clear of teammate Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and Martin Truex Jr. It was Brad K’s 3rd win in a row and his 3rd win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Just two weeks after the death of NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt, the Cup Series traveled to Vegas. Jeff Gordon reached victory lane and won a lucky fan $1Million from Winston.
After the Earnhardt-Gordon rivalry that elevated NASCAR’s popularity, many fans saw the respect they had for each other shine through Gordon’s win. The race also marked Teresa Earnhardt’s first public comments since the tragic Daytona day.
Martin Truex Jr. swept all three stages, but required a late pass on Keselowski to take the checkered. It was a big win for Truex and team, but the dramatics came from the final lap between Logano and Kyle Busch.
Logano washed up the track from being loose in the middle of turns 3 and 4, making contact with the 18. KFB took it personally and attacked Logano and his team on pit road.
When asked if any punches connected, Logano said, “none to me,” while Busch walked away from the action bleeding.
In the closest finish in the history of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson edged out Matt Kenseth by a bumper. The official margin of victory was .045 seconds. Kenseth was searching for his second win in a row, but Johnson got his second of three in a row at the Vegas track.
