NASCAR Las Vegas Sunday, February 28, 2021
LAS VEGAS NASCAR CUP SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS
2nd of 9 races on 1.5-mile tracks this season – 2 of next 3 races on 1.5-mile tracks (Las Vegas & Atlanta)
267 Laps – Stages 80 / 160 / 267
Las Vegas 9/20:
Winner: Kurt Busch (6 Stops) 27, 83, 118, 163, 192, 237
Longest green flag run: 75 Laps (87-161)
Top 5 Stage 1 & 2: Denny Hamlin (1st & 2nd), Chase Elliott (4th & 1st)
Speeding: 3 – Jimmie Johnson (11th), Christopher Bell, William Byron
Rear of field: None – Only race last season
Best Hendrick Motorsports: Alex Bowman 5th
Best Joe Gibbs Racing: Denny Hamlin 3rd
Best Stewart-Haas Racing: Kevin Harvick 10th
Best Team Penske: Ryan Blaney 7th
1-Kurt Busch: Las Vegas 9/20 winner – First took lead on lap 235 of 268 (29 of final 34 laps led)
1-Kurt Busch: Las Vegas 9/20 winner – Finished 16th in Stage 1 & 17th in Stage 2
1-Kurt Busch: 1 Las Vegas win (9/20) – First Las Vegas win in 22nd try
2-Brad Keselowski: 3 Wins last 10 Las Vegas races – Passed for final lead change 3 of last 9 Las Vegas races
4-Kevin Harvick 2 wins last 9 Las Vegas races – 1 in SHR Chevrolet & 1 in SHR Ford
4-Kevin Harvick: 1 of 2 to finish top 10 in both Las Vegas races last season (Matt DiBenedetto) – Finished 8th & 10th
4-Kevin Harvick: 4 Straight Las Vegas top 10 finishes – Longest current streak
4-Kevin Harvick led most laps 3 of last 6 Las Vegas races – 1 Win (3/18)
9-Chase Elliott:
Finished 26th at Las Vegas 2/20 – Started 10th, Stage 1 & 2 winner, 70 laps led (2nd most), lap 221 tire down & crash
Finished 22nd at Las Vegas 9/20 – Started 3rd, finished 4th in Stage 1 & Stage 2 winner, 73 laps led (2nd most), 9th on final restart
9-Chase Elliott: 173 Las Vegas laps led last season (70 in 1st race & 73 in 2nd race) – Finished 26th & 22nd
9-Chase Elliott: Only driver to finish top 5 in Stage 1 & 2 both Las Vegas races last season – Finished 26th & 22nd
9-Chase Elliott: 3 Top 10 finishes in 8 Las Vegas races – Finished 22nd or worse 5 Las Vegas races (Crashed out 3 times)
11-Denny Hamlin led most laps 2020 Las Vegas Playoff race (121) – Finished 3rd
14-Chase Briscoe led most laps each Las Vegas NXS race last season (Won both) – 253 of 400 laps led (63%)
19-Martin Truex Jr. won 2 of last 7 Las Vegas races – 1 in Furniture Row Racing Toyota & 1 in Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21-Matt DiBenedetto: Only driver to finish top 5 in both Las Vegas races last season – Finished 2nd each race
21-Matt DiBenedetto: Finished 2nd in each Las Vegas races last season – Finished 21st or worse previous 6 Las Vegas races
21-Matt DiBenedetto passed for final lead change 2020 Las Vegas Playoff race – Finished 2nd
22-Joey Logano: 2 Wins last 4 Las Vegas races
22-Joey Logano: Las Vegas 2/20 winner – Started 5th, finished 5th in Stage 1 & 2, 54 laps led, avg. running pos.: 4th
42-Ross Chastain first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win: Las Vegas 9/18
14 Different winners in 26 NASCAR Cup Series Las Vegas races (10 Champions)
Champions won last 12 Las Vegas races – 7 Drivers
10 Different winners in 17 NASCAR Cup Series Las Vegas races on reconfigured track
Brad Keselowski leads all with 3 wins on reconfigured Las Vegas track
Only 1 Las Vegas winner after winning pole – Kyle Busch (2009) – Started from the rear (Engine change)
Kyle Busch (2009), Jeff Gordon (2015) & Kyle Busch (2/20) started rear of field after rolling off grid first
Defending series champion won Las Vegas 6 times – Chase Elliott winless at Las Vegas
Stage 1 winner failed to win last 5 Las Vegas races
Leader of most laps failed to win last 5 Las Vegas races
Roush Fenway Racing leads all teams with 7 Las Vegas wins – Winless last 12 races
Team Penske won 3 of last 5 Las Vegas races – Brad Keselowski 9/18 and Joey Logano 3/19 & 2/20
Paul Wolfe won 4 of last 10 Las Vegas races as crew chief (3 Keselowski & 1 Logano)
Last to win back-to-back Las Vegas races: Jimmie Johnson (2005-’07) – Kurt Busch won last Las Vegas race
Worst official starting position of winner: 25th – Matt Kenseth (2004)
*Kyle Busch won in 2009 after starting from rear of field
Most consecutive laps led from start at Las Vegas: 52 – Jeff Gordon (2010)
No driver leading 1st lap won Las Vegas NASCAR Cup Series race
Most consecutive laps led in a Las Vegas race: 72 – Kevin Harvick (3/18)
Kevin Harvick led most consecutive laps 4 of last 6 Las Vegas races
2 Las Vegas NASCAR Cup Series races settled by last lap pass
Closest Las Vegas margin-of-victory: .045 Seconds Jimmie Johnson over Matt Kenseth (2006)
Best Las Vegas finish by Rookie of the Year contender: 2nd – Kasey Kahne (2004) & Kyle Busch (2005)
13 of top 14 Las Vegas finishers in 1998 were Fords – Dale Earnhardt finished 8th in Chevrolet
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers finished 15th or worse at Las Vegas 2/20 – Only 1 lap led
LAS VEGAS NASCAR XFINITY SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS
3 Finished top 5 both Las Vegas races last season –
Chase Briscoe (1st & 1st), Noah Gragson (4th & 2nd), Ryan Sieg (3rd & 5th)
19 Different winners in 27 NASCAR Xfinity Series Las Vegas races
14 Different winners in 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series Las Vegas races on reconfigured track
Chase Briscoe only repeat winner last 7 Las Vegas races (2 Wins) – 5 Others 1 win each
5 of 27 Las Vegas races won from pole
Worst start position of Las Vegas winner: 29th – Joe Nemechek (2003)
2 Won first career race at Las Vegas – Jeff Green (1997) & Ross Chastain (9/18)
Most laps led in a Las Vegas race: 199 – Kyle Busch (2016)
Most consecutive Las Vegas laps led: 145 – Kyle Busch (2016)
Most laps led in Las Vegas race by non-winner: 154 – Christopher Bell (9/19)
Most consecutive Las Vegas laps led from start: 89 – Kevin Harvick (2003)
Winner first took lead at lap 146 or later in 6 Las Vegas races
2 Las Vegas Xfinity Series races settled by last lap pass
2 Won Las Vegas & championship in same season – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2012 & Tyler Reddick 9/19
Best Las Vegas finish by Rookie of the Year contender:
2nd – Greg Biffle (2001), Christopher Bell (3/18) & John Hunter Nemechek (3/19)
4 Las Vegas NXS Overtime finishes – Longest race: 213 laps (3/19)
2 Swept Las Vegas NXS & NCS races in same weekend – Jeff Burton (2000) & Brad Keselowski (2014)