Who … should you be talking about after the race?
After a dominant first half of the Pennzoil 400, it seemed as though William Byron might have to settle for finishing behind teammate Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as Larson sailed away from the field in the final laps. However, Aric Almirola made contact with the wall with just five laps to go, bringing most of the field to pit road for fresh tires, and Larson saw his chances to win evaporate.
Byron beat Larson off pit road after the pair made two-tire stops, but Martin Truex Jr. stayed on track while the rest of the field pitted, lining up in front of Larson on the restart. Truex couldn’t hold off Byron on old tires but he did hold up both Larson and Alex Bowman long enough that neither had a chance to make a last-ditch run at Byron on overtime.
As a multi-car crash broke out behind him while AJ Allmendinger spun through the field, Byron crossed the line for his fifth career Cup Series win.
And don’t forget Justin Haley. Haley made the most of the final pit stop, pitting from midpack and taking four tires while the leaders took two. He restarted 16th, but in the final two laps, Haley climbed through the field and avoided the crash, finishing an impressive eighth.
After toiling as a backmarker with Spire Motorsports, Haley joined Kaulig Racing in the Cup Series last year and has shown steady improvement. With the addition of Allmendinger full-time in 2023, the team looks like they’re ready to take the next step in their growth in NASCAR’s top series despite a rough start to the year.
What … is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?
After news broke of a snowboarding accident and subsequent surgery for a broken tibia for 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott, the questions began to rack up. Josh Berry answered the most immediate one of who would drive the No. 9 on Sunday. The biggest question now is when Elliott will be able to return to the driver’s seat.
There’s no timetable for that yet; Elliott will begin physical therapy this week and will do all he can to be ready as soon as possible, but it’s likely to be at least several weeks. It’s likely Elliott will get a playoff waiver no matter how many races he misses (Kyle Busch missed 11…
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