Las Vegas Motor Speedway was the site for the first race in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. There are ten races in the playoffs, but it is a tough road to make it to Homestead-Miami as a contender for the championship title. Sunday night’s first race was a prime example of how competitive it is throughout the playoffs.
Clint Bowyer kicked off the playoffs from the pole position, but Daniel Suarez stole the show in the early going. Suarez continued to lead the way while Aric Almirola made the pass on Bowyer to take second-place. Almirola was able to catch Suarez and make a pass for the lead on lap 33. Joey Logano came from a 22nd starting position and also able to follow Almirola around Suarez. Logano quickly passed Almirola into the lead. Green flag pit stops began to cycle on lap 41, and Logano was able to cycle into the lead once the cycled finished on lap 61. Logano was able to cruise to victory in stage one.
Joey Logano continued to lead into stage two after battling with William Byron on the restart. Erik Jones had a mechanical failure with his car. He was not able to shift out of second gear and had to bring his car to the garage on the restart. Meanwhile, Logano continued the march out front. Logano was able to cycle back into the lead once green-flag pit stops ended. Martin Truex Jr. moved into second after having a great pitting sequence. With two laps remaining in the stage, Truex Jr. was able to take the lead from Logano after, Matt DiBenedetto laid a block on Logano. Truex Jr. was able to make an easy pass on the outside; setting himself up with a stage two win.
Martin Truex Jr. fought with Logano on the next restart, but was able to seal him off into the lead on the second lap of the stage. On lap 181, William Byron cut a tire and spun around coming out of turn four. This was the first race caution of the night. Denny Hamlin won the race off pit road after taking two tires instead of four. Kevin Harvick came from the second row, to pass Hamlin and Ryan Blaney for the lead. Another caution came out on lap 188 when Kurt Busch cut a tire and collided with the outside wall. Harvick continued to lead after the restart and pulled away from the lead. Harvick came down pit road with 37 laps remaining. Harvick and Truex Jr. both came off pit road close to one another. Before the two were able to cycle back into the front, Truex Jr. was able to pass Harvick and take the lead. Truex Jr. ran away from the field and won the playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
It was a tough opener for many teams. Kyle Busch struggled all night after having early contact with the wall. He was a lap off the pace throughout the night. Once he battled back into the top-ten, he continued to struggle. He ran into the back of lapped traffic and could not catch a break. Erik Jones was taken out of contention with his mechanical failure. He now sits in the 16th position below the cut line for the next round. Jones is now a must-win situation if he wants to advance into the next round. Kurt Busch was also taken out of the race with his collision with the wall early in the final stage. These are all drivers who need to perform well next weekend to get back on track for the next round of the competition.
Next week the Cup Series race is on Saturday night at Richmond Raceway for the Federated Auto Parts 400. This short track will be another tough race as it will take skill at every type of race track for those wanting to win the championship. Next weeks race at Richmond is the first challenge, especially for those wanting to bounce back after Las Vegas.