Last weekend’s WISE Power 400 winner Kyle Larson fell just short of a victory in a dramatic overtime finish Sunday at the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He lost to Alex Bowman at the finish line by 0.178 seconds.
Driver of the car, No. 5 Kyle Larson, tops the points table with 113 points, one win, and two top-5.
The runner-up led three times for 27 laps throughout the race, which was good enough to move him into the championship lead for the first time this season.
Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing team driver Martin Truex Jr. stands in second place in the points table. He finished eighth in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, and ranks in second place with 107 points, zero wins and zero top-5.
Clash at LA Coliseum winner Joey Logano takes third position with 104 points, zero wins and one top-5. Despite winning the exhibition race at the LA Coliseum, he has yet to win a NASCAR race this season.
Alex Bowman, who won Sunday's Pennzoil 400, received a huge points boost as he placed in eighth position with 80 points, one win and one top-5.
Three races have seen three different winners in the 2022 Cup Series season so far.
The 1.5 D-shaped oval track featuring the debut of the Next Gen cars produced 23 lead changes among 15 different drivers. Bowman and Ross Chastain won stage 1 and stage 2, respectively.
Kyle Larson failed to defend his Pennzoil 400 title at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Kyle Larson, the defending Cup Series champion, raced on Sunday to defend his Pennzoil 400 title. But over the final two laps, he missed the checkered flag to his teammate Bowman by just a few seconds.
Apart from that, the 29-year-old has shown great performances in the 2022 season so far, with the exception of the Daytona 500 and the WISE Power 400 qualifying race.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns next week with the Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 13. Coverage will start at 3:30 pm EST on FOX and MRN.