Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was the first ‘West Coast Swing’ race of the season for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. After an exciting start to the season, drivers are beginning to settle down and go to work for another long season. The series will race two more weeks on the west coast before returning home for some short track racing.
The race kicked off with Kevin Harvick jumping out to a commanding lead. Despite the new full aero-package, there was not much action on the track. The field formed into single file quickly. Around lap 40 was when the field began to cycle through green-flag pit stops. Harvick ended up cycling back into the lead and led the remaining laps of the stage to win the first stage.
Brad Keselowski took a gamble on pit road during the stage break. The crew gave him a two-tire stop while everyone else came in for four tires. This allowed Keselowski to restart the second stage with the lead. This is when the aero-package kicked in with the top-five drivers in a constant battle with one another.
Brad Keselowski led the first thirteen laps of the stage until Joey Logano claimed the top spot. Kyle Busch began to battle with Logano – a battle that went on until lap forty when Busch finally passed up Logano. The field began to cycle through pit stops again around lap 46. Kyle Busch would have cycled back into the lead, but he was penalized after entering pit road too fast. This set back caused Busch to lose several positions and a lap. Joey Logano took over the lead again and closed out stage two for the win.
Joey Logano won the race off pit road, but Kurt Busch stayed out between stages to take the race lead. He led for a few laps until Logano and Keselowski passed him up. Logano took over the lead again, but Keselowski never let Logano’s lead increase by too much. With 27 laps left in the race, Keselowski passed Logano for the race lead. Using the aero-package to his advantage, Logano was able to stay right behind Keselowski and pass him back after four laps. The two teammates raced each other hard for the remainder of the race. On the last lap, Brad Keselowski pushed hard down the backstretch and pulled in close to Logano. It was not enough, however. Logano threw up a block and was able to edge off his teammate for the Pennzoil 400 victory.
Despite Logano’s solid win yesterday, the attention of most fans was drawn to the outcome of the new aero package. A lot of fans thought that this package would race well at Las Vegas. Before the season started, NASCAR held a testing session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This session involved multiple 25 lap sessions. After watching these racing sessions, it did not seem as if drivers could get away from one another. In the final testing session, drivers found double-file drafting lines like what is seen at Daytona or Talladega. After this testing day, a lot of hype was put on yesterday’s race.
Well, the race did not really live up to that hype and left a lot to be desired. The race ran single file for most of its entirety. After the first stage, the race to the front became more exciting to watch, but green-flag pit stops disrupted the momentum for drivers in second or third place. The Pennzoil 400 left a lot of unanswered questions. It will take a few races to see how well this new package will run or if more changes are needed.
Coming this Sunday the Cup Series race is at ISM Raceway for the Ticket Guardian 500. ISM Raceway is a unique track that offers exciting racing. Fans will get a taste of some short track racing before the series heads to Martinsville in a few weeks. The next best opportunity for the aero-package to show its potential will be at Texas Motor Speedway. A lot can change in these early weeks.