#SrigleyStats Weekend Recap: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Let's take a look back at a relatively calm weekend for NASCAR's National Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Parks, HHP, Courtesy of Team Chevy
This past weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway provided some solid racing throughout the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events, as well as two awesome finishes that came down to the last lap.
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NASCAR Cup Series: Top-5 (Pennzoil 400 at Vegas):
#24 William Byron - Hendrick Motorsports
#5 Kyle Larson - Hendrick Motorsports
#48 Alex Bowman - Hendrick Motorsports
#23 Bubba Wallace - 23XI Racing
#20 Christopher Bell - 23XI Racing
#2 Austin Cindric - Team Penske
#19 Martin Truex, Jr. - Joe Gibbs Racing
#31 Justin Haley - Kaulig Racing
#4 Kevin Harvick - Stewart-Haas Racing
#99 Daniel Suarez - Trackhouse Racing
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Top-5 (Alsco Uniforms 300 at Vegas):
#21 Austin Hill - Richard Childress Racing
#7 Justin Allgaier - JR Motorsports
#16 Chandler Smith - Kaulig Racing
#10 Kyle Busch - Kaulig Racing
#8 Josh Berry - JR Motorsports
#20 John Hunter Nemechek - Joe Gibbs Racing
#1 Sam Mayer - JR Motorsports
#98 Riley Herbst - Stewart-Haas Racing
#2 Sheldon Creed - Richard Childress Racing
#11 Daniel Hemric - Kaulig Racing
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Top-5 (Victoria’s Voice 200 at Vegas):
#51 Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch Motorsports
#38 Zane Smith - Front Row Motorsports
#99 Ben Rhodes - ThorSport Racing
#11 Corey Heim - TRICON Garage
#98 Ty Majeski - ThorSport Racing
#19 Christian Eckes - McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
#42 Carson Hocevar - Niece Motorsports
#4 Chase Purdy - Kyle Busch Motorsports
#23 Grant Enfinger - GMS Racing
#35 Jake Garcia - McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
#SrigleyStats Spotlight Driver: Chandler Smith
PHOTO CREDIT: Craig White, TobyChristie.com
If Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway had just been two laps shorter, we wouldn’t be discussing Chandler Smith’s heartbreaking loss, but rather an impressive maiden victory in the second-tier series.
A native of Talking Rock, Georgia, Smith was making just his third start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing on Saturday, when he led a race-high 118 of 200 laps, setting an organization record for most laps led in a single race.
The 20-year-old driver has now scored back-to-back top-five finishes for Kaulig Racing, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to a track that Smith has had previous success on, Phoenix Raceway.
Racking up 119 laps led in his three-race stint with Kaulig Racing, Smith is already the fourth-highest lap leader in the history of the organization, behind only AJ Allmendinger (1,067), Ross Chastain (661), and Justin Haley (190).
Additionally, Smith continued a three-race streak of NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of The Year contenders finishing inside the top five. Parker Retzlaff finished fourth at Daytona, while Smith has claimed back-to-back top-five finishes at Auto Club and Las Vegas.
IT WASN’T MEANT TO BE, YET…:
If Chandler Smith could have finished the deal and captured his first career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he would have become the first driver born after the turn of the century to score victories in multiple of NASCAR’s National Series.
THE NO. 16 IS MAGIC FOR KAULIG RACING:
Despite being the last number to be brought into circulation in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Kaulig Racing’s #16 Chevrolet Camaro has been the organization’s most successful number, across both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the #16 has captured 13 of the team’s 19 victories, as well as seven of the organization’s pole positions. In the NASCAR Cup Series, the number is responsible for the team’s only win, as well as five top-fives out of eight, and 14 top-10s out of 19.
I imagine that’s a good sign for AJ Allmendinger and Chandler Smith for this year, right?