By Lori Vizza
5:30 pm - Sunday Good Night - This concludes our live coverage of the Pennzoil 400 weekend here at LVMS. The Truck teams will take a couple weeks off before resuming their season schedule at Martinsville Speedway on March 24. The Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup teams will head down to Phoenix for the second leg of their West Coast Swing.
As always, thanks for joining us. We'll meet back up at the end of summer and do it all again with another exciting tripleheader weekend September 13-16. See you then!
5:30 pm – Sunday Good Night – This concludes our live coverage of the Pennzoil 400 weekend here at LVMS. The Truck teams will take a couple weeks off before resuming their season schedule at Martinsville Speedway on March 24. The Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup teams will head down to Phoenix for the second leg of their West Coast Swing.
As always, thanks for joining us. We'll meet back up at the end of summer and do it all again with another exciting tripleheader weekend September 13-16. See you then!
4:35 pm - Kyle Busch Rallies Late, Settles for Second - Kyle Busch gave it everything he had in the third stage of today's Pennzoil 400 but settled for second behind Kevin Harvick, who proved to be unbeatable in his second consecutive victory of 2018.
Busch started the race 13th and led twice during green flag pit stops. Busch's car was strongest during the third segment, but by that time, Harvick was well on his way to victory lane.
I had a decent day, I guess," said Busch. "Certainly would have liked to have been able to run down the 4 (Harvick) and catch the 4 and put on a race but they were just so far out there and so far the class of the field all day long, I don't think anybody was really keeping up with them."
4:20 pm - Harvick Scores Second Consecutive Victory - It took Harvick just a single circuit around Las Vegas Motor Speedway to take the lead for the first time in the Pennzoil 400 and from there on, the rest of the field was just racing for second. Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing team were completely dominant, as they led five times for a record-high 214 of 267 laps and recorded their second consecutive victory.
"These last two weeks we've just hit on what we needed to," said Harvick. "I'm really proud of everyone for just doing a great job with the racecars. Really, this stems back to last year when our mile-and-a-half program got so much better at the end of the year."
Harvick became just the fourth driver in NASCAR history to win a combined 100 races in NASCAR’s national touring series.
"Winning 100 races is something I never thought I’d do," said Harvick. "They’re hard to win, I can tell you that, and I’ve been fortunate to sit in a lot of good racecars."
With the victory, Harvick takes over the early points lead by three points over Joey Logano, who finished seventh.
3:40 pm - Harvick Wins Pennzoil 400 - Kevin Harvick dominated the Cup race at LVMS to post his second consecutive victory. The win is Harvick's 39th career Cup victory and gives him 100 combined victories in NASCAR's three national touring divisions. Harvick led 209 of 267 laps.
Kyle Busch tried his best to score the victory in front of his hometown fans but settled for second. Kyle Larson, Martin Truex, Jr., and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five.
3:38 pm - Pennzoil 400 Checkered Flag - We have 14 laps to go and Harvick is about 2.5 seconds ahead of Busch.
Busch is closing in on Harvick but may be running out of laps as we have 12 to go this time by.
Lap 258, Truex gets around Keselowski for 5th place. Keselowski is running on older tires, so he's just hanging on for the finish.
Lap 260, Johnson loses a lap. There are 11 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 260, Harvick has stretched his lead to 3.4 seconds.
Lap 263, Suarez was trying to stretch his fuel but he won't make it. He sputters to pit road.
White flag! Harvick is all by himself and he wins the Pennzoil 400!
2nd-5th - Kyle Busch, Larson, Truex, Blaney
3:30 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 239, Ky Busch gets inside Larson and takes the 4th spot.
Lap 241, Harvick's lead is 3.7 seconds over Keselowski.
Lap 246, Ky Busch moves into 3rd.
There are 22 laps to go and Busch is almost 4 seconds behind Harvick.
Lap 248, Busch tracks down Keselowski and gets by him for the 2nd position.
Lap 250, Harvick's lead is now 3.1 seconds
Lap 252, Hamlin makes a pit stop
3:22 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 217, Keselowski starts a round of green flag pit stops.
Lap 224, Larson, Logano and Harvick are in for their stops
Lap 225, Ky Busch is in the lead but still needs to make a stop. Truex is still on the track and running 2nd.
Lap 229, Truex makes his stop
Lap 230, Ky Busch gives up the lead to make his stop.
A handful of other drivers have yet to make a stop. Hamlin is one of them and he's running 3rd.
Running order on Lap 235: Harvick, Keselowski, Blaney, Hamlin, Larson, Ky Busch, Logano, Bowman Truex, Menard
Harvick has led 179 laps so far.
3:10 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Harvick wastes little time in getting back to the front. Blaney follows him to take 2nd and bumps Logano back to 3rd.
Running order on Lap 200, Harvick, Blaney, Logano, Larson, Truex, Ky Busch, Keselowski, Menard, Jones, Dillon
Lap 205, There is no change in top 10. Harvick's lead over Blaney is 2.2 seconds.
Lap 208, Almirola passes Dillon for 10th
Lap 212, Larson passes Logano and takes over 3rd.
3:00 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 183, Truex and Logano are side-by-side for first into Turn 1. Logano takes the spot on the backstretch.
Crash on the frontstrech - It's Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott who get together and bring out the fourth caution of the race on Lap 184.
Johnson is the beneficiary and FINALLY gets back on the lad lap.
Running order under caution - Logano, Harvick, Blaney, Ky Busch, Larson, Truex, Menard, Keselowski, Jones, Dillon, Truex, Almirola, Newman, Johnson
The only drivers that made a pit stop during this caution: Truex, Almirola, Newman, Johnson
We go back racing on Lap 195.
2:40 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Under caution on Lap 176 after Jamie McMurray scrapes the wall. This is the third caution of the race
The leaders head for pit road.
Ryan Blaney has a bit of a slow stop. His rear tire changer fell down during the stop.
Truex stays out and inherits the lead.
Logano's team is fastest for the second stop in a row and gets him out in front of the others that came in for service. They changed 2 tires only.
Suarez is penalized for an uncontrolled tire.
Running order under caution: Truex, Logano, Ky Busch, Harvick, Keselowski, Blaney, Elliott, Menard, KuBusch, Almirola
Back to green on Lap 183.
2:30 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 163, the leaders hit pit road for service.
Logano gets back on the track first. He's followed by Ky Busch, Blaney, Harvick, Elliott, Keselowski, Ku Busch, Larson, Menard, Jones
Lap 167, Green flag! Logano jumps out front. Further back, Elliott gets around Harvick to take fourth. Harvick is now running the furthest back he's been all day.
Running order on Lap 170, Logano, Blaney, Ky Busch, Elliott, Harvick, Ku Busch, Keselowski, Larson, Menard, Truex
Lap 172, Harvick takes 4th back from Elliott
2:20 pm - Harvick Wins Pennzoil 400 Stage 2 - Harvick won that stage by more than 4 seconds and leaves just 13 cars on the lead lap for the final stage.
We're under caution for the second time.
2nd-10th: Blaney, Larson, Logano, Ky Busch, Keselowski, Truex, Ku Busch, Elliott, Menard
2:15 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 135, Blaney passes Logano for 2nd.
Lap 141, Ky Busch look outside Truex and takes over the 6th position.
Harvick has led 127 of 143 laps.
Lap 148, there are just 14 cars left on the lead lap
Lap 149, Bowyer makes an unscheduled stop for a possible loose wheel.
Running order on Lap 150: Harvick, Blaney, Logano, Larson, Keselowski, Ky Busch, Truex, Ku Busch, Elliott, Menard
2:05 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 117, Allmendinger makes a green flag stop and collects a speeding ticket. He'll have to serve a pass through penalty.
Lap 120, Logano makes a stop. And here comes Keselowski and Larson down pit road.
Lap 121, Truex pits. So does Menard, and Harvick
Lap 122, Kyle Busch inherits the lead with Harvick's stop.
Hamlin is too fast entering - pass-through penalty
Lap 124, Ky Busch gives up the lead to make his stop.
Running order on Lap 126 after green-flag stops: Harvick, Logano, Blaney, Keselowski, Larson, Truex, Kr Busch, Elliott, Menard
1:55 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 100 - Harvick continues to run away with rave. He has a one-second lead over Blaney. Behind them it's Larson, Logano, Truex, Keselowski, Ky Busch, Ku Busch, Elliott, Jones.
Johnson is still mired back in 23rd place, one lap behind the leaders.
Lap 103 - After leading some laps earlier, Michael McDowell pulls behind the wall with a mechanical problem.
Lap 110 - There are 16 cars still running on the lead lap.
1:43 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - We're caution for the end of stage one. The leaders pit on Lap 82.
Harvick's team wins the race on pit road, so he'll retake the lead. Behind him it's Larson, Blaney, Logano, Ky Busch, Truex, Keselowski, Ku Busch, Elliott, Menard.
Back to green on Lap 89.
1:30 pm - Harvick Wins Pennzoil 400 Stage 1 - Harvick wins that first stage. He passed pole winner Ryan Blaney on the second lap of the race and nobody has challenged him since. This is Harvick's second stage win of 2018.
Lap 90, Top 10 - Harvick, Truex, Larson, Blaney, Logano, Keselowski, Ku Busch, Elliott, Ky Busch, Menard
We're under caution for the first time today.
1:25 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 62, Larson passes Blaney for 3rd
Lap 66, Top 5: Harvick, Truex, Larson, Blaney, Keselowski
10 laps to go in the first stage and Johnson is in danger of losing a second lap.
1:15 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 38, Harvick gives up the lead to pit. And a whole bunch of other drivers takes this opportunity to come in for fresh tires and fuel.
Lap 42, Seven drivers have yet to make a stop, including Johnson (in 4th) and leader Michael McDowell.
Lap 44, Johnson makes his stop
Lap 50 Harvick catches McDowell, who is still out there on old tires and give the lead to the 4 car
Lap 51, Top 5: Harvick, Truex, McDowell, Blaney, Keselowski
1:10 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 26, Allmendinger thinks he might have a tire going down after scraping the wall. His crew will stand by intently in case he needs to make an unscheduled stop.
Lap 32, Harvick's lead has grown to 2.2 seconds over Truex.
Lap 34, Harvick laps Johnson, leaving 26 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 35, Unscheduled stop for Suarez
Lap 37, Logano and Truex make pit stops
1:00 pm - Pennzoil 400 Race Update - Lap 12, Harvick continues to lead, while Blaney runs 1.6 seconds behind in the runner-up spot. Behind him it's Truex, Ku Busch and Larson.
Lap 15, Johnson has made up some ground to 28th.
Lap 17, Truex passes Blaney for 2nd.
Running order, Lap 20: Harvick, Truex, Blaney, Ku Busch, Larson, Elliott, Keselowski, Logano, Ky Busch, Stenhouse
12:50 pm - Pennzoil 400 Green Flag - We are getting set for 400 miles of Cup racing action. Dylan McDermott has just given the command to start engines, the field will take a couple warm-up laps and then we'll get down to it.
Stage 1 ends on Lap 80 and Stage 2 ends on Lap 160, leaving 107 laps for Stage 3.
Two drivers will drop to the rear of the field for multiple inspection infractions. They are Jimmie Johnson, who is seeking to snap a 25-race winless streak, and Ross Chastain. Johnson will give us his 14th place starting position. Chastain qualified 33rd, so he'll only lose four positions on the start.
Pit road speed is 45 mph. Caution speed is 55 mph. And I think that takes care of the pre-race housekeeping so let's go racing.
Pole winner Ryan Blaney chooses the outside lane for the start.
Green Flag! Blaney jumps out front before he gets to Turn 1 and it's 2-by-2 behind him. They
Blaney leads his first lap ever at LVMS
Top 5 on the Lap 1: Blaney, Harvick, Kurt Busch, Truex, Larson
Harvick loses no time taking a peek for the lead and he takes it.
Lap 2: Harvick, Blaney, Ku Busch, Truex, Larson
10:36 pm - Storylines for the Pennzoil 400 - Today's event is the third of the 2018 season. Reigning Cup Series champion Martin Truex, Jr. is the defending race winner. Truex swept all three stages here in 2017 to win the race. He is the only driver to do that since NASCAR introduced the stage-racing format to the series and he's done it twice (most recently at Kentucky Speedway last July.) Truex qualified fourth for the race despite a minor tire issue during Friday's qualifying session.
Kevin Harvick's next trip to Victory Lane in the Truck, Xfinity or Cup Series will be his 100th in combined NASCAR National Series. That will put him in an elite group of four with Richard Petty (200 Cup victories), Kyle Busch (183, over all three series) and David Pearson (106 in Cup and Xfinity). Harvick starts today's race fourth on the grid.
"I think that for me, it is just a reminder that you have been here for a long time and fortunate to have a fair amount of success in all three series," said Harvick. "It is a fun stat. I think obviously for me, coming to Stewart-Haas Racing, it re-energized me and enthused me about everything that is going on. It is definitely not a bad stat. Definitely something that is kind of fun to see."
Cole Custer qualified 30th for his Cup Series debut. Custer is behind the wheel of the Rick Ware Racing Ford for this afternoon's race. Custer’s full-time ride is the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in the Xfinity Series. Custer has two Truck Series victories and one Xfinity Series victory on his racing resume. He finished 9th in yesterday’s Boyd Gaming 300.
8:00 am - Special Guests in the House - LVMS welcomes the following special guests who will be in attendance for today's race festivities.
The Jabbawockeez will perform on the frontstretch prior to driver introductions.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman will present the Mayor Pole Trophy to Ryan Blaney at driver introductions.
Three-time NHRA World Champion Antron Brown will prove he can turn left when he serves as today’s Honorary Pace Car Driver.
Golden Globe winner and star of "LA to Vegas," Dylan McDermott will give the command to start engines.
The band .38 Special will sing the National Anthem.
And last but far from least, several of our military heroes will be on hand today. There will be a USAF Enlistment ceremony on the frontstretch before the race. The Nellis Air Force Base Honor Guard will present the colors, DEP Ceremony Cadets from Nellis AFB will unfurl a giant American Flag during the National Anthem, and 4 F-16 pilots from the 57th OG Nellis AFB will perform today’s fly-by.
7:10 am - Race Day Good Morning- Good morning and welcome to our final day of coverage from the NASCAR Pennzoil 400 weekend. We've seen some fantastic racing so far with Kyle Busch winning Friday night's Truck race and Kyle Larson claiming the trophy for yesterday's Xfinity Series event. Both drivers will go for two in this afternoon's race.
The weather looks to be spectacular, if a bit on the chilly side. The winds have died down, the sun is shining brightly and the forecast calls for a high of about 57 degrees.
The field is scheduled to get the green flat at 12:45 and tickets are still available for today's race. So if you love the smell of Sunoco in the morning, bundle up and come on out and join us!
