5:00 pm - Good Night - That will do it for today's coverage from the track. Please join us tomorrow for the Cup Series Pennzoil 400 and Kyle Busch's attempt for the hometown weekend sweep.
4:30 pm - Christopher Bell Leads Points - Christopher Bell takes an 18-point lead over Cole Custer into next weekend's race in Phoenix. Bell led two times for three laps and finished 13th after being collected in the crash that brought out the final caution.
3:54 pm - Kyle Busch Wins Boyd Gaming 300 - Kyle Busch hung on through a pair of overtime restarts to record career Xfinity series win #93 and complete the 2nd leg of the Las Vegas weekend tripleheader.
John Hunter Nemechek finished second with Noah Gragson, Austin Dillon, and Michael Annett rounding out the top five.
The results show that Busch led 98 of 213 laps but that hardly tells the story. An unscheduled pit stop under green for a loose wheel put Busch a lap behind the leaders before 15 laps were in the books. Unfortunately for the competition, it was only a minor setback for the series' most successful driver.
A well-timed caution on Lap 60 helped Busch make up the lap, and it was just a matter of time before he was leading the way. Crashes in the closing laps sent the race into double-overtime but Busch was able to hold off Tyler Reddick and then John Hunter Nemechek to record his second series victory at his home track.
"I just knew to keep fighting and keep working," said Busch. "We got lucky with that caution and we were able to get back on the lead lap. It's cool to come out here and have the opportunity to race in front of my hometown."
John Hunter Nemechek gave it all he had on the final restart. For a split second, it looked like he was going to clear Busch on the backstretch.
"I was hoping Austin Dillon was going to be able to come back and give me a little bit of a push there," said Nemechek. "But the 1 (Michael Annett) got to his (Busch's corner) and the 18 and I were side-by-side, stalling out. The the 1 car gave him a huge push, that's for sure. I gave him a run for his money."
3:45 pm - Under Caution on Lap 207 - Restart on Lap 206: Reddick was racing Busch side by side in Turn 4 for the lead when Reddick got loose and spun out, collecting Smith and Bell in the process. Busch drove away but the caution flies before he can get to the white flag. So we'll do it all again.
Running order for restart: Busch, Nemechek, Dillon, Annett, Sieg, Gragson, Brisco, Custer, Chastain
3:35 pm - Under Caution on Lap 199 - We were within one lap of finishing the race when Jones crashed hard to bring out the caution and send the event to over time. Jones was running fifth at the time.
Up front: Busch, Reddick, Nemechek, Bell, Custer, Annett, Gragson, Sieg, Cindric, Briscoe
3:28 pm - Under Caution on Lap 189 - McLeod loses control of his car and we're under caution in the closing laps of this race. The teams will take this opportunity to service their cars.
Annett is the beneficiary.
Busch keeps the lead and chooses to restart in the outside lane. Behind him for the restart it will be Bell, Jones, Reddick, Nemechek, Custer, Annett, Dillon, Cindric, Gragson
Back to green with six laps to go.
3:15 pm - Lap 180 Update - Bell pulls to within striking distance of Busch. With just under 20 laps to go, Busch is doing everything possible to stay out front.
Lap 181 - Busch wiggles ever so slightly coming off Turn 4 and give the lead to bell.
One lap later, Bell hits the wall and gives the lead back to Busch.
Busch starts to pull around as Reddick and Bell get together as they race for second.
We have 15 laps to go.
3:05 pm - Lap 155 Update - Busch retains the lead after a round of green-flag pit stops.
Chastain and Brown were penalized for speeding on entry to pit road.
Running order after stops: Busch, Reddick, Bell, Custer, Nemechek, Annett, Jones, Dillon, Cindric, Smith
Busch is running 1.6 seconds out front.
3:00 pm - Lap 145 Update - Busch enjoys a 1.2-second lead over Bell with almost three-quarters of this race in the books.
Behind them it's Reddick, Jones, Custer, Nemechek, Annett, Cindric
The drivers will need to execute at least one more pit stop to make it to the end.
There are 14 cars on the lead lap.
2:45 pm - Busch Takes the Lead - Busch uses the outside lane to take the lead from Reddick on Lap 112.
Running order - Lap 113: Busch, Reddick, Bell, Jones, Allgaier, Nemechek, Custer, Gragson, Annett, Cindric
Lap 116 - Bell gets past Reddick to take the runner-up spot
Lap 118 - Justin Allgaier has fallen back to 9th. He thinks he has lost a cylinder.
2:33 pm - Stage 3, Green Flag - After pit stops, this is how they line up for the restart: Reddick, Bell, Busch, Custer, Annett, Jones, Nemechek
Sieg was penalized for speeding on pit road.
Miller was penalized for crew member over the wall too soon.
We're back to green on Lap 98
2:22 pm - Reddick Wins Stage 2 - Reddick dominated that stage.
2nd - 10th: Bell, Busch, Nemechek, Custer, Allgaier, Jones, Annett, Sieg, Haley
Busch managed to put himself back into contention to keep the possibility of the weekend sweep alive.
Pit stops coming next
2:10 pm - Lap 64, Back to Green - Reddick continues to lead with Nemechek running 2nd.
Cindric was penalized after that pit stop for crew members over the wall too soon. That means he restarted at the tail end of the line.
On Lap 68: Busch is moving forward quickly. He's now up to seventh.
2:05 pm - Lap 60, Under Caution - We're under caution for a crash involving Smith and Cindric. Smith got a little loose underneath Cindric and clipped the corner of the No. 22 Ford. Cindric barely taps the outside wall and then is lucky to avoid traffic as he sweeps back across the track.
Cindric was running in the top-10 at the time.
Kyle Busch and others come down pit road.
2:00 pm - Lap 53, Back to Green - Reddick took the lead after the pit stops.
Running order for the restart: Reddick, Jones, Nemechek, Custer, Bell, Annett, Gragson
Busch takes the wave around and stays out gambling on a quick caution after the restart. He'll take the green flag from 15th place. His crew chief says he has 30 laps of fuel left.
Jeff Green - penalized for crew member over the wall too soon
Timmy Hill and Josh Williams - penalized for uncontrolled tire
1:50 pm - Custer Wins Stage 1 - Custer had no problem winning that first stage after leading 44 of 45 laps. This is Custer 9th career stage win and his first of the season.
Behind Custer: Jones, Reddick, Bell, Nemechek, Annett, Allgaier, Cindric, Haley, Gragson,
Pit stops are coming up.
1:40 pm - Lap 30 Update - Busch's team confirms that it was a loose wheel that forced the green-flag stop.
Custer continues to lead. He's now 3.5 seconds ahead of Nemechek, with Reddick, Jones and Allgaier rounding out the top 5.
While Busch struggles to come up with a plan to get back in this race, his teammate Christopher Bell is flying through the field. He's come all the way from the rear to 7th.
1:35 pm - Lap 15 Update - Kyle Busch makes an unscheduled pit stop under green for a vibration. Could be a wheel bearing issue or a loose wheel. He was running third when ran into trouble. After the stop, he rejoins the field in 33rd, 1 lap behind the leaders with about 180 laps to go.
1:30 pm - Back to Green on Lap 8 - We're back to racing and there's extra close racing on the restart but we stay green this time. Cindric takes the lead for a lap before Custer sweeps around the outside and takes it back.
Lap 11: Custer, Nemechek, Busch, Cindric, Allagaier, Jones, Reddick
1:20 pm - Boyd Gaming 300 Green Flag - Pole sitter Cole Custer starts on the inside lane. He's got Noah Gragson to his left and Austin Cindric and Zane Smith lined up in the second row.
Christopher Bell will give up third on the grid to start at the rear for an unapproved body adjustment.
Chad Finchum elected to give up second on the starting grid to start at the rear.
Green flag!
Custer takes the lead and just as we complete Lap 1, wee're under caution for the first time. Joey Gase and Donald Theetge crash hard in Turns 3 & 4. The entire front end of Gase's car is demolished. Gase must be OK because he's asking his spotter for guidance since he can't see past the pushed up hood blocking his windshield.
Running order under caution: Custer, Cendric, Allgaier, Jones, Busch
1:10 pm- Boyd Gaming 300 Pre-Race - The driver's have been introduced, the sun is peeking through the clouds, and we are about ready to go racing in today's Boyd Gaming 300.
This is the 24th Xfinity Series race at LVMS. We have seen 11 different winners in the last 11 races. Three former winners in today's field are anxious to break that streak they are Kyle Busch (2016 winner), Ross Chastain (2018 winner) and Austin Dillon (2015 winner).
Jeff Green is the only other former winner in the field. Green is the man who christened Victory Lane for the series back in 1997.
We'll go racing for 200 laps (300 miles) with Stage 1 ending on Lap 45 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 90.
12:30 pm - Dillon Leads Final Practice - Austin Dillon and Dale Hemric laid own their quickest laps in the opening minutes of the session and no one else could catch them. Rick Stenhouse, Jr. was third quickest and ran 61 laps, which was more than any other driver. Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski were fourth and fifth fastest respectively. The Busch Brothers ended the session in the top 10 with Kurt 7th quickest and younger brother Kyle 9th overall.
11:30 am - Cup Final Practice Underway - We're back on track with the final Cup practice of the weekend. Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon and Dale Hemric are the early leaders.
9:45 am - Xfinity Qualifying Cancelled - The rain has stopped for now, but in the interest of time, NASCAR officials have cancelled Xfinity qualifying. We're gonna line up the grid based on owner points and that puts Cole Custer on the pole and Chad Finchum starting second. Kyle Busch's quest for the weekend tripleheader begins eighth in (hopefully) this afternoon's race.
When the track is ready, we'll get the Cup drivers on track for their final practice.
9:00 am - Cup Practice Cancelled - Good morning from a slightly soggy speedway. On-track activities are on hold for showers in the area, although track-drying efforts have begun.
NASCAR officials have already scrubbed this morning's Cup Series second practice, which was scheduled for 55 minutes beginning at 8:30 am.
The forecast looks promising with Weather Channel predicting the winds to pick up and the rain to move out entirely by 3:00 pm. But the weather in Southern Nevada is notoriously unpredictable, and let's not forget it was snowing on the Strip just last week.
The good news is we do have lights, and we're not afraid to use 'em. So stay tuned and we'll keep you updated throughout the day.
