Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have controlled the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas for the past three years, continuing their dominance into the first four races of the current season.
However, Sunday’s race highlighted the talent of drivers outside of these powerhouse teams, with Josh Berry, Daniel Suárez, and Ryan Preece making their presence felt at the front of the field.
Numerous pit road mistakes by top drivers, along with sheer bad luck for others, contributed to an unpredictable and chaotic race weekend.
Among the top storylines, Josh Berry was an easy pick for a winner, securing his first Cup Series victory in his 53rd start.
What made this win even more special was the team he won for—Wood Brothers Racing, NASCAR’s oldest team, which has struggled to remain competitive in recent years.
After briefly scaling back to part-time racing to stay afloat, Wood Brothers Racing has now made the Cup Series playoffs for the second consecutive year.
While Harrison Burton’s shocking 2024 Daytona win was unexpected, Berry’s triumph was even more impressive because it came on a traditional intermediate track where he showed strong speed.
This was the team’s first non-drafting track victory since 2017, and the last driver to achieve that for them, Ryan Blaney, later went on to win a Cup Series championship.
Joey Logano expressed frustration over his season before the race, saying he has left every race weekend upset about something.
That feeling likely didn’t change after Las Vegas, where despite leading the most laps this year, he still hasn’t recorded a top-ten finish.
Whether it was a wreck at Daytona, a penalty at Phoenix, or a pit road mistake at Vegas, Logano has faced repeated setbacks.
He was leading when the final caution came out, but a costly pit stop error left him finishing a disappointing 15th.
Trackhouse Racing has had a rough start to the season, with most of their cars involved in crashes during the first four races.
While Shane van Gisbergen struggled again, Daniel Suárez and Ross Chastain had strong performances, using speed and smart strategy to contend for the win.
Suárez led the final restart with a push from Chastain, briefly clearing Berry, but couldn’t hold on for the victory.
Still, both drivers finished in the top five, collecting valuable points, with Chastain expressing excitement about improving after placing second (Suárez) and fifth (Chastain).
Loose wheels were a major problem throughout Sunday’s race, resulting in suspensions for multiple crew members.
Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch both lost wheels on track, leading to automatic suspensions for two crew members from each team.
Briscoe spent the entire race recovering from the penalty, while Busch’s race ended early after his car suffered severe damage from the incident.
Others also struggled with loose wheels, including Christopher Bell, whose hopes of a fourth consecutive win ended due to an unsecured tire.
Although Bell made a clever move by stopping in his teammate’s pit stall to fix the issue before rejoining the race, he still lost crucial track position and never recovered.
As a result, Jimmie Johnson remains the last driver to achieve a four-race win streak, which he did in 2007.
Ryan Preece has been making the most of his opportunities, especially after his dramatic crash at Daytona.
At Circuit of the Americas (COTA), he used an alternate strategy to win a stage, nearly repeating the move at Phoenix.
In Las Vegas, he ran mid-pack most of the race before climbing into the top ten by saving fuel.
Though he likely wouldn’t have made it to the end without stopping, a late caution helped his strategy play out in his favor.
On fresh tires, he advanced even further, overtaking Chastain and William Byron to finish a career-best third in the Cup Series.
His No. 60 team, which only formed in November and hired a crew chief in January, is quickly proving to be competitive.
Ty Gibbs’ season continues to be a struggle, as he sits near the bottom of the standings.
He started the weekend with a dramatic Sprint car crash and ended it with another finish outside the top 20—his fourth in a row.
Currently ranked 34th, he is far behind his closest teammate, raising concerns about his performance after making last year’s playoffs on points.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a successful weekend as a team owner, celebrating Justin Allgaier’s Xfinity Series win, but he was even more thrilled by Josh Berry’s victory.
Earnhardt has been a strong supporter of Berry since discovering him through online sim racing, eventually giving him his first NASCAR opportunity over a decade ago.
Berry’s win at Las Vegas proved Earnhardt right about his talent, marking a remarkable journey from sim racer to Cup Series winner.
23XI Racing had two of its three cars running at the front for much of the race, but the final results didn’t reflect their strong performances.
Tyler Reddick led 34 laps but finished 24th, while Bubba Wallace led 20 laps before a late-race incident dropped him to 28th.
Wallace’s race took a turn for the worse on Lap 196 when he was caught in a four-wide situation, causing Ryan Blaney to crash across his nose while he was also hit from behind, damaging his car.
Reddick remained in contention longer, but an early pit stop during the final run backfired when a caution soon after trapped him at the back of the field.
