The NASCAR Cup Series is making its first of two appearances this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
This 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Las Vegas, Nevada, will also host a playoff race in the Round of 8, making Sunday’s 267-lap Pennzoil 400 a key event in the regular season.
Since it’s the first traditional race of the year on an intermediate 1.5-mile track, it carries extra significance.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell enters the race with momentum, having won three straight events at different types of tracks: a superspeedway in Atlanta, a road course at Circuit of the Americas, and a short/intermediate oval in Phoenix.
Following Saturday’s qualifying, Michael McDowell of Spire Motorsports secured the pole position, marking the first pole in the team’s history.
He will start alongside Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who won at the track last October.
