The South Point 400 had comers and goers, blown tires and tempers and one driver in the NASCAR Playoffs that clinched a spot in the Championship Four.
The track and tire combination for the first race in the Round of Eight provided for some exciting action for fans to enjoy Sunday afternoon (10/16). The speeds were up from the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier in the 2022 season. That meant more cars were racing on the edge of out of control. Kyle Busch was the first car to go over that edge and spin just as the race was approaching the end of the first stage. Bubba Wallace scored the Stage One win under caution.
Stage two began with drama. Kyle Larson was racing Bubba Wallace hard. Kyle forced Bubba up the track where he made contact with the outside wall. Bubba came down the track and hit Kyle’s back quarter panel in what appeared to be retaliation. That sent both cars sliding out of control. It collected Playoff Driver Christopher Bell. The crash took all three cars out of the race. Bubba got into a physical confrontation with Larson on the track following the incident.
Playoff Driver Ryan Blaney was able to win stage two of the race. He led the second most laps in the race at 39. Ross Chastain led the most laps with 68 circuits out front. It appeared that Ross would be the driver to punch his ticket to the Championship Four. He was able to take the lead with 16 laps remaining following the final re-start after the final caution of the race.
However, Joey Logano got everything working right on his car at the right time. He was able to race forward and take the lead from Ross with three laps remaining in the race. He held the lead through the final three laps to capture the win. This was Joey’s first win in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. It was his second win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is his third win of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. The win clinches his spot in the Championship Four at Phoenix Raceway with a chance to win the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship November 6th.
Ross Chastain held on to finish in the runner-up position. Kyle Busch came back from his early race issues to claim third-place. Chase Briscoe was able to capture fourth-place with Denny Hamlin in fifth. See the complete race results for the South Point 400 race here.
Joey Logano sits at the top of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series point standings as the only driver locked in the Championship Four following the race at Las Vegas. Ross Chastain moves up to be in second-place in the standings. Chase Elliott slips back to third-place. Denny Hamlin sits moves up to fourth place. These are the only four places the really mean anything at this point in the season. The top four places will be the ones that get a chance to race for the championship in Phoenix. See the complete 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings here.
The next chance for another Playoff Driver to win to get in the Championship Four takes place this Sunday, October 23rd in the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
By: Buck Stevens
