Las Vegas 101: History, tire info, story lines and more

After 32 races, the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Las Vegas with just eight drivers left contending for the 2022 championship.
Sunday’s South Point 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway makes the opening race of the Round of 8 with all sights ahead on the title.
A busy round awaits. Prepare for the penultimate postseason round with all the info you need here:
RELATED: Weekend schedule | Cup Series standings
LINING THEM UP
Teams will be broken into Groups A and B for 20 minutes of practice (12:05 p.m. ET, NBC Sports App; USA Network at 12:30 p.m.) for each group, respectively. Following practice, the series will roll into two rounds of single-car, single-lap qualifying set to begin at 12:50 p.m. to set the starting lineup.
With the postseason underway, playoff drivers and teams will be ordered by their previous race metrics and assigned to Group A or B by the usual odd/even metric procedures. Playoff teams will be the final cars to qualify in their respective groups.
Each driver will post one lap during their time trial. The fastest five drivers from each group will advance to the final round of qualifying, where those 10 drivers will set one more circuit to fight for the Busch Light Pole Award. The driver who sets the quickest lap in the session will start first on Sunday.
MORE: Paint Scheme Preview | Qualifying order
LAS VEGAS STORYLINES
— The 2022 Round of 8 field is the youngest in playoff history while also combining for the fewest wins of all postseason fields.
— Joey Logano (2018) and Chase Elliott (2020) are the only remaining past champions in the playoffs. They have the two worst average finishes in playoff races among the eight remaining drivers in the 2022 postseason at 15.8 and 17.0, respectively, but rank first and second in points after the reset due to playoff points.
— Nineteen different drivers have won this year, tied for the most all time.
— The last nine races have each been won by different drivers — Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell.
— Denny Hamlin (610) and Joey Logano (503) have more Cup starts than the four drivers making their first Round of 8 appearances combined (Christopher Bell, William Byron, Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe with a combined 495).
— William Byron won the last race at two of the three tracks in the Round of 8 (Martinsville Speedway in April and Homestead-Miami Speedway in February 2021).
Source: Racing Insights
GOODYEAR TIRES
Cup teams return to Las Vegas with a different tire than what they utilized in March, but that doesn’t mean they are unfamiliar with this tire compound. Goodyear will provide the same tire setup that was used at recent mile-and-a-half facilities, Kansas Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.
Air pressure became a key topic of discussion after numerous issues in the Sept. 25 race at Texas, but Goodyear notes discussions with teams and manufacturers in the weeks since have produced fruitful feedback.
“This has been an exciting year of change for NASCAR as we all work with the Next Gen car,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “We understood very early on the balance of this car was directed much more to the rear than previous, and as setups have continued to evolve over the season, the benefits of maximizing the effectiveness of the rear diffuser have become apparent, particularly on the speedways.
“These setups, obviously, can have a significant impact on tires, so integrating the latest information from the teams and OEMs into our predictive simulations is critical. Those simulations enable us to provide the teams with the key tire information each week to make informed decisions and responsibly get maximum performance out of the tires at Las Vegas this week and moving forward.”
Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior VP of Competition, said in a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that no resin or traction compound would be applied to the asphalt surface. “We haven’t gone the track-treatment route at all at Las Vegas over the years, and it’s provided some great racing,” Miller said. “So no, that’s business as usual.”
LAS VEGAS HISTORY
— Construction of Las Vegas Motor Speedway was completed in June 1996 on a 1,600-acre site near Nellis Air Force Base that holds rich racing history, dating back to a drag strip built in 1958. The site currently houses the 1.5-mile speedway, an industrial park, a drag strip, a 1/2-mile dirt track, a 3/8-mile paved oval and two road courses.
— The track’s original layout featured 12-degree banking in the corners, 3 degrees of banking on the backstretch and 9 degrees on the frontstretch. But a reconfiguration in 2006 changed the racing significantly, the result of 20-degree banking in the corners and 9-degree banking on each of the straightaways.
— Sunday marks the 30th race at Las Vegas.
— Bruton Smith launched a multimillion-dollar renovation project at the beginning of 2006 to include the Neon Garage, track changes, relocated pit road and a state-of-the-art media center. The centerpiece of the project was the new garage area for the Cup teams and an interactive fan area. The two-level, four-building garage area encompasses 32,000 square feet. A 52,000-square-foot roof deck allows fans to look directly down into the individual garage stalls. Windows on the lower level allow fans to watch the teams work. In addition to the close proximity, the Neon Garage has concession stands and an entertainment area.
— Christopher Bell won the pole at Vegas in the spring race, his first of four poles so far in 2022. Bell advances to the Round of 8 with a walk-off win last week at the Charlotte Roval.
— Each of the last six Vegas races have been won by different drivers, but Chevrolet has won three of the last four.
— The average green-flag stretch was 16 laps in March, tied for the second-shortest at the 1.5-mile track.
Source: Racing Insights
GAMBLING IN SIN CITY
Denny Hamlin may not be on everyone’s radar, but he certainly should be. Oddsmakers have a keen eye on the No. 11 Toyota as Hamlin enters as the favorite this weekend with 11-2 odds, according to BetMGM.
Hamlin’s lone Vegas victory came in the playoffs one season ago and Toyotas proved fast in the Next Gen debut in March. But perhaps the bigger focal point should be what Hamlin is achieving in this postseason run. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a 6.8 average finish over the past six races, best of the remaining Round of 8 contenders.
Kyle Busch, a Las Vegas native, is listed at 10-1 odds and has just one home win on his resume. But the two-time Cup champion was one late caution away from scoring the victory back in spring before a green-white-checkered restart saw Alex Bowman storm to the checkers.
A longer shot at 16-1 odds is Joey Logano, but he’s worth keeping an eye on. He won back-to-back spring races in 2020-21 and Team Penske is usually quick at the Las Vegas tri-oval.
MORE: Complete list of odds for Sunday
FANTASY LIVE
Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which reset for the playoffs. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $10,000 prize for the playoff winner.
The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Chase Elliott (1,094), Ryan Blaney (981) and Joey Logano (972).
In addition to Fantasy Live, NASCAR.com is offering the Playoffs Grid Challenge presented by Ruoff Mortgage during the playoffs.
How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!
ALSO ON NASCAR.COM
Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week the full field of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.
NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.