Hello. I have compiled information for you regarding this evening’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.
Trucks, Xfinity
Firstly, the Trucks and the Xfinities raced on Friday and yesterday. There were a few accidents, like this one:
There were also winners, like this one:
Christian Eckes won the Truck race, but neither he nor Xfinity winner Josh Berry is in the playoffs, so most of the championship happenings were behind them at the finish line.
Where It Is
Now, the Cup race. It’s in Las Vegas! Las Vegas Speedway, or something like that. There might be a “Motor” or an “International” in there. It’s a mile and a half, which tends to be boring, but I haven’t heard people complain as actively about boring races happening at Las Vegas as I have heard them compain about boring races happening at, say, Texas or Kansas, so maybe it’ll be fun.
When It Is
The green flag is at 7:19 PM EDT.
How to Watch
The race will be broadcast on NBCSN, which stands for NBC Sports Network (I don’t know what NBC itself stands for and I don’t care to find out).
Whom to Watch
Playoff drivers, their place in the standings, their odds to win the race (we’re in the first race of the Round of 12, and there are three races in the Round of 12, and after the Round of 12 guys in the bottom four spots in the standings are eliminated UNLESS they win a race, in which case they’re vaulted out of the bottom four and not eliminated and someone else takes their place, and oh also just to avoid confusion being eliminated in NASCAR doesn’t mean you can’t race anymore it just means you can’t win the championship anymore):
1. Kyle Larson (46 points ahead of first driver out, 33-to-10 to win)
2. Martin Truex, Jr (16 points ahead of first driver out, 9-to-1 to win)
3. Denny Hamlin (11 points ahead of first driver out, 7-to-1 to win)
4. Ryan Blaney (11 points ahead of first driver out, 14-to-1 to win)
5. Kyle Busch (9 points ahead of first driver out, 6-to-1 to win)
6. Chase Elliott (8 points ahead of first driver out, 8-to-1 to win)
7. Alex Bowman (2 points ahead of first driver out, 18-to-1 to win)
8. William Byron (last driver in, 1 point ahead of first driver out, 12-to-1 to win)
9. Joey Logano (first driver out, 1 point behind last driver in, 11-to-1 to win)
10. Brad Keselowski (6 points behind last driver in, 15-to-1 to win)
11. Christopher Bell (9 points behind last driver in, 20-to-1 to win)
12. Kevin Harvick (12 points behind last driver in, 10-to-1 to win)
No non-playoff driver is at better than 25-to-1 odds.
How NASCAR Should Script It
If I had my dithers, NASCAR would play upon the Kevin Harvick/Chase Elliott feud that seemed to blossom last week, with Harvick wrecking Elliott to grab a much-needed victory and Elliott abandoning his cool and trying to fight Harvick. That is how I believe NASCAR should script this race if they wish to provoke maximum fan engagement.
