Winners: Denny Hamlin (Cup); Josh Berry (Xfinity); Christian Eckes (Trucks) Plus Taylor Gray (ARCA)
NASCAR Cup
Denny Hamlin with the Winning Hand at Las Vegas
The NASCAR Cup Series hit the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Denny Hamlin held off a charging Chase Elliott to win the jackpot.
As he crossed the Las Vegas Motor Speedway finish line to claim the South Point 400 trophy, Denny Hamlin screamed into his team radio, “Viva Las Vegas.” And indeed, it was that kind of night for the perennial championship contender, who led a race-best 137 of the 267 laps to earn his first Las Vegas victory in 20 starts and take an automatic bid into the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs.
“It feels so good to win in Vegas, last couple times I‘ve been so close but just didn‘t have the right breaks, but they got the car great and great to hold those guys off,” said Hamlin, who earned his 46th career victory and becomes the first driver to officially earn a shot into the Round of 8. “I‘m so happy to not have to worry about the next two weeks, but I am a professional and I will work just as hard each and every week to win.”
Inspection is clear from @LVMotorSpeedway.@dennyhamlin is your winner and is officially in the #NASCARPlayoffs Round of 8! pic.twitter.com/E3zd9JWVIC
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 27, 2021
NASCAR Xfinity
Josh Berry Rolls at Las Vegas, Speeds to Second Xfinity Series Win
Josh Berry seized opportunity and drove away from the competition Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tabbed to substitute for injured JR Motorsports driver Michael Annett, the Tennessee late-model champion Berry earned his second win of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, claiming an impressive 4.396-second victory in the playoff opener.
Berry, 30, led a 1-2-3 JR Motorsports team sweep in the Alsco Uniforms 302 — besting teammates Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson, whose second- and third-place finishes were tops among the 12 playoff-eligible drivers.
“Oh my gosh, that thing was so fast, it just took me a while to figure out,” Berry said. “I just had to stay disciplined and keep working on it and the guys made the right adjustments. And it was fast, man. Finally got a long run and got it all together.”
NEWS: @joshberry's No. 1 car clears post-race inspection at @LVMotorSpeedway.
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) September 26, 2021
Tonight's victory is official! pic.twitter.com/WOOh5IGzzL
NASCAR Trucks
Christian Eckes Earns First Career Camping World Truck Series Win
For the second consecutive week, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series crowned a first-time winner. Christian Eckes, a 20-year-old New York native, took the lead on a final restart with four laps remaining to claim his first trophy and lead a historic 1-2-3-4 finish for the ThorSport Racing team.
Eckes teammate Ben Rhodes finished .272-seconds back, followed by playoff driver Matt Crafton and veteran Johnny Sauter who completed the ThorSport four-of-a-kind at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Todd Gilliland finished fifth after leading a race-best 66 laps.
“Man, this is big,” said Eckes, formerly a Kyle Busch Motorsports driver, who was making only his ninth start in a part-time campaign with ThorSport this season.
“It‘s been a tough year. That‘s all I got to say, it‘s been a tough year since last November. Hopefully I proved I can still do this.
“I‘m speechless. It‘s been a rough year, been a rough year.”
Never give up. Thank you @ThorSportRacing, @CurbRecords, @ToyotaRacing. pic.twitter.com/MFSCc3j8xn
— Christian Eckes (@christianeckes) September 25, 2021
ARCA West
Taylor Gray Takes Checkered at Las Vegas Bullring for Second Win of 2021
A couple weeks after he picked up his first win of the 2021 ARCA Menards Series West season at Portland International Raceway, Taylor Gray dominated much of the race on the 0.375-mile paved oval, leading 123 of 150 laps.
Including Gray’s victory in last season’s event at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California, Thursday night’s triumph marks Gray’s third West Series win.
“It’s easy to get worked up at these short tracks, overdriving the entry and stuff like that,” Gray said. “I didn’t do that great of a job tonight honestly, just making mistakes. I should have had better restarts. In my opinion, I should have won this race by a lot more, but just got to work on myself and keep studying and get better.”
BURN IT DOWN, @TaylorGray17_ !#StarNursery150 | @ARCA_Racing pic.twitter.com/496MF0CFsJ
— Las Vegas Motor Speedway (@LVMotorSpeedway) September 24, 2021
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