LAS VEGAS RACE REVIEW

Date: 3-6-2022.
Name of the race: Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube.
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Laps: 267.
Pole winner: Christopher Bell.
Outside pole: Kyle Larson.
Stage 1 winner: Alex Bowman.
Stage 2 winner: Ross Chastain.
Stage 3 winner (won the race): Alex Bowman.
Top 5: Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, and William Byron.
FYI: The third race of the year marked the NASCAR cup series return the Las Vegas Nevada, making it the 4th different track (counting the LA Clash) that the NextGen has raced at, this time being at the 1.5 Mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The mile and half-tracks have always been accused of being "boring" and "cookie-cutter" in the past, especially during the gen 6 era of the sport, however with the many new challenges that this brand-new car brought, the racing was quite exciting and gave us all a little bit of insight as to what racing at these intermediate tracks will look like in the near future. All throughout the day, all three manufacturers had their fair share of time towards the front, however, the Chevrolet teams shows some exponential strength throughout the day, with Alex Bowman leading the bowtie charge during the first stage of the race. During stage 2, Ross Chastain in the number 1 Team Trackhouse Chevy charged hard to the front and ended up winning the stage, with the Toyotas of Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. following behind the Hendrick Motorsports Chevys of Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and William Byron. Throughout the race, drivers continued to face the challenges of the new car's symmetrical body and low-profile tires, causing some single-car spins throughout the day, and getting some feathers ruffled. During the final stage, the 18 of Kyle Busch, who fought long and hard to catch up to the front after crashing his primary car in practice, looked like the car to beat, while JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. slowly reeled him in, however, this would all come crashing down as yet another single-car incident (Erik Jones in the #43) would bring out the yellow for the final time of the day, giving the Chevrolets of Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and William Byron the advantage after they had all taken two tires in the pits, getting them out on the track before the 18. In the end, after an intense two-lap shootout between "Bowman the Showman" and "Yung Money" Kyle Larson took place, Alex Bowman would walk away with the dub, winning his first race of the year, and the 7th of his entire career, carrying on Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports strong performance.
Next race: Phoenix Raceway on Sunday (3-13-2022).