NASCAR heads to Las Vegas this week with three separate Playoff races to go about and a development run to kick things off on Thursday night at the Bullring.
Connor Ferguson previews all the storylines you can look for below, with a big Sunday night finale planned for the Cup Series event.
Harvick vs. Elliott
I had to knock this one out of the way right off of the bat. By now, everyone has seen what transpired at Bristol last weekend between the two popular drivers and it was nothing short of fireworks.
Well, there’s no telling what will happen between the two in the final seven races of the season, but know that means seven opportunities for either driver to race each other harder.
It is going to feel like a when rather than an ‘if,’ especially if NASCAR drives up the post-race discussion like it should in pre-race advertisements. I’d pay more attention if they’re around each other this weekend, and if not, looking at the two when one is eliminated from the playoffs.
Larson’s big lead
Kyle Larson has put together six wins this year and 59 playoff points going into the Round of 12 this weekend. It’s equated to him being the favorite and perhaps punching a ticket to the title race early here.
Obviously, we all saw what happened to Kevin Harvick last season, but I don’t see that being an issue for Larson.
No matter what he’s racing, finishing outside of the top 10 isn’t something that Larson does twice in a row. I think he’ll have it locked down throughout the semifinal round and is one of the four drivers racing for a title at Phoenix.
The Big Three (Teams) & Horsepower
With 12 drivers remaining in the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs, four teams make up the entirety of the field.
Harvick is the lone driver representing Stewart-Haas Racing, who’s had an otherwise down year.
Aside from him, Hendrick Motorsports has all four of its drivers in. Joe Gibbs Racing got all four of its drivers in. And, Team Penske ran all three of their drivers to the second round.
With a new car coming in 2022, this will be a sort of last hurrah on which team could stand at the top of the food chain at the end of an era.
Now, it comes down to which teams hone the package well. Joe Gibbs Racing has been instrumental with the 750HP package as of late – which is what they’ll use at the championship race at Phoenix. Meanwhile, Hendrick has had the upper hand at the 550 tracks.
Don’t be surprised to see the trends keep it up, and pay attention to how many JGR cars are competing in the Championship 4.
Remaining Cup Series Horsepower Package Schedule
Las Vegas | 550HP
Talladega | Superspeedway
Charlotte Roval | 750HP
Texas | 550HP
Kansas | 550HP
Martinsville | 750HP
Phoenix | 750HP
| 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Grid | ||||||
| Prior to Round of 12 – Next Race Sunday @ Las Vegas 6pm CT NBCSN |
||||||
| Position | Driver | Wins | PP | Points | Cutoff | |
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 6 | 59 | 3059 | +46 | |
| 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 4 | 29 | 3029 | +16 | |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | 3 | 24 | 3024 | +11 | |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | 1 | 24 | 3024 | +11 | |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | 2 | 22 | 3022 | +9 | |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 2 | 21 | 3021 | +8 | |
| 7 | Alex Bowman | 3 | 15 | 3015 | +2 | |
| 8 | William Byron | 1 | 14 | 3014 | +1 | |
| Playoff Cutoff | ||||||
| 9 | Joey Logano | 1 | 13 | 3013 | -1 | |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 1 | 8 | 3008 | -6 | |
| 11 | Christopher Bell | 1 | 5 | 3005 | -9 | |
| 12 | Kevin Harvick | 0 | 2 | 3002 | -12 | |
Allmendinger rides Regular Season title to first seed
We all saw A.J. Allmendinger’s dramatic win at Bristol on Friday night, which in turn landed him a plethora of extra points and the No. 1 seed going into the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Now, he’ll try and complete the re-breakout season that has transpired for the fan favorite and road course ace.
The Series will follow the same course that the Cup Series will round out its season with, so look for Dinger to go hard for the win at the Roval and try to score more points for the last round before Phoenix.
| 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Grid | ||||||
| Prior to Round of 12 – Next Race Saturday @ Las Vegas 6:30pm CT NBCSN |
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| Position | Driver | Wins | PP | Points | Cutoff | |
| 1 | AJ Allmendinger | 4 | 44 | 2044 | +39 | |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | 5 | 44 | 2044 | +39 | |
| 3 | Justin Allgaier | 2 | 20 | 2020 | +15 | |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | 2 | 17 | 2017 | +12 | |
| 5 | Justin Haley | 1 | 15 | 2015 | +10 | |
| 6 | Daniel Hemric | 0 | 14 | 2014 | +9 | |
| 7 | Jeb Burton | 1 | 9 | 2009 | +4 | |
| 8 | Harrison Burton | 0 | 8 | 2008 | +3 | |
| Playoff Cutoff | ||||||
| 9 | Myatt Snider | 1 | 5 | 2005 | -3 | |
| 10 | Brandon Jones | 0 | 3 | 2003 | -5 | |
| 11 | Riley Herbst | 0 | 1 | 2001 | -7 | |
| 12 | Jeremy Clements | 0 | 0 | 2000 | -8 | |
Down to 8 in the Truck Series
With one round remaining in the NASCAR Truck Series and just four races left in the playoffs, eight drivers will be competing to secure a win and a ticket to the championship with it.
John Hunter Nemechek won at Las Vegas in the spring and carries a massive lead in the playoff standings into this one. Ben Rhodes also boasted a win at the track with the series in 2017.
Sheldon Creed opened the playoffs with back-to-back wins and closed in a bit on Nemechek’s points lead on the field. This could be important if neither of the two get a win in the Round of 8.
| 2021 NASCAR Truck Series Playoff Grid | ||||||
| Prior to Round of 8 – Next Race Friday @ Las Vegas 8pm CT FS1 |
||||||
| Position | Driver | Wins | PP | Points | Cutoff | |
| 1 | John H. Nemechek | 5 | 50 | 3050 | +44 | |
| 2 | Sheldon Creed | 3 | 26 | 3026 | +20 | |
| 3 | Ben Rhodes | 2 | 19 | 3019 | +13 | |
| 4 | Zane Smith | 0 | 9 | 3009 | +3 | |
| Playoff Cutoff | ||||||
| 5 | Chandler Smith | 1 | 6 | 3006 | -3 | |
| 6 | Matt Crafton | 0 | 4 | 3004 | -5 | |
| 7 | Carson Hocevar | 0 | 2 | 3002 | -7 | |
| 8 | Stewart Friesen | 0 | 1 | 3001 | -8 | |
ARCA West opens the weekend
The ARCA West Series kicks off the weekend in Vegas, racing at “The Bullring” that sits at the speedway.
Defending series champion Jesse Love is looking to extend on his current points lead in the series, carrying a four-race podium streak (that included two wins) into Vegas. The young gun is just 16 years old and turns 17 in January.
His competitors have their work cut out for them to try and figure out how to dethrone Love, but Jake Drew might have the best shot. He’s tied with Love securing five top 10 finishes in the first six races of the year. However, with just three events to go, it will take a lot.
| ARCA West Points Standings | ||||
| Position | Driver | Points | Behind | |
| 1 | Jesse Love | 293 | – | |
| 2 | Jake Drew | 274 | -19 | |
| 3 | P. Pedroncelli Jr. | 273 | -20 | |
| 4 | Cole Moore | 273 | -20 | |
| 5 | Joey Iest | 270 | -23 | |
| 6 | Todd Souza | 264 | -29 | |
| 7 | Trevor Huddleston | 261 | -32 | |
| 8 | Takuma Koga | 236 | -57 | |
| 9 | Bridget Burgess | 232 | -61 | |
| 10 | Bobby Hillis Jr. | 226 | -67 | |
ARCA West Remaining Schedule: 9/23 – The Bullring (10:30 p.m. CT TrackPass), 10/9 – All American Speedway, 11/6 – Phoenix
