By Zach Akers – Sports Writer
The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series took a trip out west to the Nevada desert and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We saw two great races this weekend, with Denny Hamlin bringing home a Cup Series win and Aric Almirola taking the Xfinity win.
We’ll start things off with the Xfinity Series, where part-time driver and former Cup Series driver Aric Almirola took his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Toyota to victory lane. Almirola, who is not playoff-eligible, made a late-race pass on Connor Zilisch. The race left playoff driver Jesse Love in a heated argument with non-playoff contender Nick Sanchez, which ended with the two having words on pit road. We’ll see how that plays out, as both drivers came home inside the top six.
Leaving Phoenix, we see Zilisch 82 points above the cutline, Justin Allgaier +44, Jesse Love +20 and Sam Mayer +8. Brandon Jones, Sheldon Creed, Carson Kvapil and Sammy Smith are on the outside looking in with two races left to punch their ticket to the Championship 4. The series heads to Talladega next weekend, where anyone in the field could find themselves in victory lane with a little luck.
The Cup Series saw Denny Hamlin make a late-race pass on Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe for the win. Hamlin punched his ticket to Phoenix with a chance to race for his first Cup Series title. Hamlin, who has been vocal recently about the declining health of his father, was visibly emotional following the win and was quick to give his father a shout-out after the race.
The race saw multiple playoff drivers find themselves in trouble, including William Byron and Ryan Blaney. Blaney now finds himself in a near must-win situation at either Talladega or Martinsville, as he and teammate Joey Logano sit 31 and 24 points below the cutline heading to Talladega. Chase Elliott is 23 points outside the top four, and William Byron, following his trouble today, is 15 points outside the cut.
Kyle Larson has a comfortable 35-point cushion, Christopher Bell is +20, while a late-race strategy call helped Chase Briscoe to a fourth-place finish and now 15 points ahead of fifth-place William Byron.
Up next for all three series is possibly the most unpredictable track on the circuit — Talladega Superspeedway — and we’ll be sure to bring you the action as it happens this week. Be sure to tune in! Until next time!
