Ho-hum, nothing to see here.
Just all of the playoff drivers tossed into an officially licensed cap, shaken violently, then tossed out to determine a new running order that’ll eventually determine the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
It’s not like plenty of best-laid plans have never gone bust in Sin City.
NASCAR began its Round of 8 Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and it wasn’t dull.
Here are three takeaways from the South Point 400, where a two-time champ leaned heavily on fuel strategy to take home the trophy.
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1. Joey Logano makes the most of a NASCAR mulligan at Las Vegas
A week after getting a lifeline at the Charlotte Roval, Joey Logano has clinched his spot in the championship final with his Sunday victory at Vegas.
Sound familiar?
In his two previous championships, in 2018 and 2022, he won the opening race in the Round of 8.
Sunday’s win came a week after Alex Bowman’s DQ at Charlotte moved Logano from ninth to eighth in the standings. Sunday’s win moves him into the final four at Phoenix, regardless of what happens next week at Homestead-Miami and the following week at Martinsville.
“Holy crap, what an incredible turn of events here in the last week,” Logano said.
2. Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick have bad days
In a rarity, nearly half of the remaining playoff field rolled craps at Vegas: Ryan Blaney was 32nd, Chase Elliott 33rd and Tyler Reddick 35th due to an accident that sent Reddick into a one-flip tumble.
Kyle Larson was looking like he might suffer a similar fate due to a pit miscue, but he rallied for an 11th-place finish. The other four playoff drivers finished in good shape: Christopher Bell was second though he dominated much of the day and was disappointed at missing a win and the automatic Phoenix berth.
William Byron finished fourth and Denny Hamlin got a workmanlike eighth.
3. Next up, Homestead, and it’ll be a busy NASCAR weekend
NASCAR’s three biggest touring divisions will all be turning laps next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Cup and Xfinity Series will continue their Round of 8 playoff segment, while the Truck Series returns after two weeks off.
Trucks and Xfinity race Saturday at Homestead, the Cup Series on Sunday.
In fact, all three series will be together for each of the final three NASCAR weekends of 2024. Martinsville and Phoenix follow Homestead.
Updated NASCAR Playoffs standings
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Las Vegas: 3 takeaways from playoff race. Updated standings
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