Denny Hamlin\u2019s NASCAR Cup Series results at Las Vegas Motor Speedway don\u2019t jump off the page, but it\u2019s been one of his better tracks.<\/p>\n
His stats at the track: one win, six top-fives and an average finish of 12.7 in 27 starts. Hamlin called Las Vegas \u201chit or miss\u201d and said his results lately have been \u201cmediocre,\u201d compared to how he runs at other tracks.<\/p>\n
Nothing was mediocre about Hamlin\u2019s qualifying run Saturday. Hamlin posted a time of 29.213 seconds (184.849 mph) to win the pole for Sunday\u2019s South Point 400 on a gusty day at LVMS.<\/p>\n
The green flag is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the first race in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one of the more finicky racetracks where no matter when you practice, early in the morning or in the afternoon, it\u2019s just a different racetrack on Sunday,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of factors you got to factor in. We plan for Sunday and knew were going to put some patches on things to make it go on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a clean sweep of the top three starting spots for Joe Gibbs Racing, who has all three of its cars still in the playoffs. Chase Briscoe qualified second (29.249 seconds, 184.622 mph) and Christopher Bell was third (29.255, 184.584).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the first pole for Hamlin at Las Vegas. A win Sunday would lock Hamlin into the Championship 4 race at Phoenix, as he seeks his first Cup Series title in his 20th full-time season in the Cup Series. He is also at 59 career Cup Series wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the benefits of keeping (the good starting track position) is you look at stage points,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cI\u2019m not really focused too much on the (end) result, just the execution of making sure I do my part and I don\u2019t make any mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Optimistic outlook<\/p>\n
There are some similarities between the 1\u00bd-mile LVMS track and Kansas Speedway, a track in the Round of 12 where Hamlin finished second on Sept. 28.<\/p>\n
At Kansas, Hamlin and his Toyota teammates were fast. There were five Toyota drivers in the top five in the final laps, but Hamlin made contact with Bubba Wallace, who drives for 23XI Racing that Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan, and that gave the win to Chase Elliott.<\/p>\n
Hamlin said with some of Las Vegas\u2019 characteristics, that race history at the track matters more than success at other 1\u00bd-mile tracks.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, this is one of those weeks where we figure it out,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cI\u2019ve been very encouraged by our speeds on these types of track. At this track, more than others, race history because it\u2019s so unique because of those bumps (in Turns 1 and 2) and this surface.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toyota dominates qualifying <\/p>\n
Hamlin is atop the playoff points standings. He\u2019s eight points above the cutline. Hamlin is tied for the series lead this season with five wins.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s qualifying weather conditions were windy with temperatures in the mid-80s. Temperatures for Sunday are forecasted to be at 76 degrees near green flag time.<\/p>\n
Hamlin said that with the different weather conditions, it could take a handful of laps to figure out where his car is at.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that our setup is not optimized for (Saturday\u2019s) conditions because we know that we only have small things we can tune for tomorrow before the race in the garage,\u201d Hamlin said.<\/p>\n
His Joe Gibbs teammates will also be a factor. Bell has finished second in the last two South Point 400 races. Bell is fifth in points (four points below the cutline) and Briscoe is seventh (14 below).<\/p>\n
\u201cVegas, I would say, is a place that qualifying doesn\u2019t really have an impact on who wins the race, but it certainly has an impact on Stage 1 points, especially if it goes green,\u201d Bell said. \u201cIf there (are cautions) in the first stage, then qualifying becomes a lot less important. \u2026 (Qualifying is) something that we focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playoff drivers show speed<\/p>\n
After the three Joe Gibbs Racing cars were the three Hendrick Motorsports playoff drivers: Elliott (fourth), William Byron (fifth) and Kyle Larson (fifth). Byron and Larson are tied for third in points, four points above the cutline and Elliott is sixth in points (14 below).<\/p>\n
Ryan Blaney, second in points (six points above the cutline), qualified 14th and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano (eighth in points, 24 below) qualified ninth.<\/p>\n
A win by any of the eight playoff drivers would lock them into the Championship 4, and that driver would not have to sweat out a wild card race at Talladega\u2019s Superspeedway and a 500-lap race around the short track at Martinsville.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt says a lot about the depth of the teams,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cThe top teams of each manufacturer have cars represented. The best drivers are going to find their way to the top. It\u2019s very, very tight from top to bottom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got really two races to make it. Talladega is going to be a coin flip for all of us. We have two races to try to execute the best we can and hopefully speed wins out and we don\u2019t get unlucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are three drivers from Las Vegas in Sunday\u2019s race: Noah Gragson (qualified 28th), Kyle Busch (32nd) and Riley Herbst (33rd).<\/p>\n
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com<\/a>. Follow @AlexWright1028<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n Up next<\/p>\n \u25a0 What: NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400<\/p>\n \u25a0 When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday<\/p>\n \u25a0 Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway<\/p>\n \u25a0 TV: USA<\/p>\n \u25a0 Radio: KDWN-FM (101.5)<\/p>\n \u25a0 Favorites: Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson (+450)<\/p>\n \t\t\t