The NASCAR Cup Series Chase reaches its halfway point on Sunday, October 4, with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is race 31 of 36 on the season and the fifth of the 10 Chase races, and it arrives with Kyle Larson in control of the championship after two wins in the four Chase races so far and Denny Hamlin returning to a track where he has won the last two Cup races.
Below is everything bettors need for the weekend: the schedule, the Chase picture, the drivers with the strongest Las Vegas records and our best bets. Race-winner prices for the South Point 400 were not available in our odds feeds at the time of writing, so the picks below come without specific numbers. Compare the board at online sportsbooks such as FanDuel, Fanatics, BetRivers and LetsBetMD and take the best price on each selection.
South Point 400: Race DetailsRaceSouth Point 400 (race 31 of 36, Chase race 5 of 10)Date and Start TimeSunday, October 4, 5:30 p.m. ETTrackLas Vegas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile asphalt ovalDistance267 laps, 400.5 milesStagesStage 1 ends on lap 80, Stage 2 on lap 165, final stage on lap 267TV and RadioUSA Network; PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Las Vegas is a 1.5-mile oval with 20 degrees of banking in the turns and 9 degrees on the straights. The Cup Series already raced here in March, when Hamlin won the Pennzoil 400 over the same 267-lap distance. Full standings and results are on NASCAR.com.
Chase Standings After Kansas
The top 16 drivers in points after the 26-race regular season qualified for the Chase, a 10-race championship battle with no win-and-you’re-in shortcut. Four races in, Larson leads by 26 points.
PosDriverGap to Leader1Kyle Larson2,282 points2Denny Hamlin-263Christopher Bell-504Joey Logano-675Ryan Blaney-916Ty Gibbs-947Tyler Reddick-1118Chase Briscoe-1239Austin Cindric-14010Bubba Wallace-14011Carson Hocevar-15012William Byron-15813Chase Elliott-16114Ryan Preece-17315Chris Buescher-18616Daniel Suarez-187Kyle Larson: The Chase Leader Arrives in Form
Larson has won two of the four Chase races so far, at Gateway and last Sunday at Kansas. The Kansas win was as dominant as it gets: he led 235 of 267 laps and collected a maximum 76 points, stretching his lead over Hamlin to 26.
Kansas and Las Vegas are both 1.5-mile ovals, and Larson’s Las Vegas record is the best in the field. He has three wins here, the most recent in 2024, along with nine top-five finishes, 15 top-10s and five runner-up results. His 8.9 average finish is the best among active drivers. He finished seventh in the March race.
Denny Hamlin: Winner of the Last Two Las Vegas Races
Hamlin won the 2025 South Point 400 from the pole and then won the Pennzoil 400 on March 15 this year, leading 134 laps for his 61st career Cup victory. That makes him the winner of the last two Cup races at Las Vegas and gives him three wins at the track overall, to go with eight top-fives and 16 top-10s.
He has four wins this season and sits second in the Chase. A third straight Las Vegas win would cut directly into Larson’s cushion at the midpoint of the title fight.
Christopher Bell, Joey Logano and the Rest of the Contenders
Christopher Bell opened the Chase with a win at Darlington and is third, 50 points back. He has never won at Las Vegas but has five top-five finishes and two runner-up results here. In March he won the pole, won the first stage and finished fourth.
Joey Logano is fourth in the standings and has more Las Vegas wins than any other active driver: four, all since 2019, the most recent in 2024. His average finish at the track is 9.8.
Ryan Blaney is fifth, 91 points behind, after a fifth-place run at Kansas. He has nine stage wins this season and six top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks this year.
Tyler Reddick piled up five wins early in the season, including two on 1.5-mile ovals, but has slipped to seventh in the Chase, 111 points off the lead.
William Byron is 12th, 158 points back, and needs a big day. Las Vegas is a good place to find one: he won here in 2023, has led 370 laps at the track, and finished third in March after winning the second stage. He was seventh at Kansas.
Chase Elliott, 13th in the Chase, was the runner-up to Hamlin in the March race.
South Point 400 Best BetsKyle Larson to win. Two wins in four Chase races, 235 laps led on a 1.5-mile track last weekend and the best average finish of any active driver at Las Vegas. He is the driver to beat.Denny Hamlin top-three finish. Hamlin has won the last two Las Vegas races and led 134 laps here in March. If the outright price on him is short, a podium bet still pays for a driver who keeps finishing at the front of this field at this track.Christopher Bell top-five finish. Bell has five career top-fives at Las Vegas, won the pole and a stage here in March and finished fourth that day. He is third in the Chase and has every reason to bank points.William Byron top-10 finish. A past Las Vegas winner who ran third here in March and seventh at Kansas last week. Byron’s Chase position forces him to be aggressive, and his record on this track supports a top-10 play.
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