NASCAR is shifting from the D-shaped oval superspeedway Auto Club Speedway to the asphalt intermediate Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for Pennzoil 400.
The weekend will be full of thrilling racing action as the 1.5-mile-long track will host Next Gen cars for the third time since hosting last year’s playoff race. Fresh off the weekend in Fontana, it will be interesting to see how drivers cope with the unknown challenges in Nevada at the eventful Pennzoil 400.
A total of 36 Cup Series cars are set to start the race on Sunday to compete over 267 laps and 400 miles of bumper-to-bumper racing. Ahead of Sunday’s race, there will be a qualifying race for the main event to determine the starting grid for the third race of the season.
The Cup Series cars with the fastest qualifying speed will win the pole for Sunday's Cup race. The rest of the grid for the third race of the season will be determined according to their qualifying speed.
Alex Bowman, the driver of the #48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, won last year’s Pennzoil 400 and will be looking to make it back-to-back wins this Sunday.
Where to watch the 2023 NASCAR Pennzoil 400 qualifying race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?
Saturday, March 4, 2023
1:35 pm ET: Pennzoil 400 practice race
2:20 pm ET: Pennzoil 400 qualifying race
Both sessions will be broadcast live on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Who is in the top-5 in the points table after the Pala Casino 400?
Just like in every NASCAR Cup Series race, drivers are awarded points based on their finishes in all three stages of the race. These points are crucial for drivers to qualify for the playoffs at the end of the regular race.
After concluding last weekend’s Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway, Ross Chastain, who posted a P3 finish, gained the top spot in the points table with 92 points. The defending champion Joey Logano stands second with 91 points in the championship standings. He finished P10 last week.
Logano was followed by defending winner of the event Alex Bowman with 80 points, Kevin Harvick with 79 points, and Daniel Suarez with 77 points to complete the top five.