Winners: Alex Bowman (Cup); Ty-Gibbs (Xfinity); & Chandler Smith (Trucks)
NASCAR Cup
Alex Bowman Holds Off Larson with Overtime Surge for a Win
Alex Bowman won in a dramatic overtime ending Sunday in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – gambling on a two-tire final pit stop for his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and holding off the field in a two-lap sprint to decide the NASCAR Cup Series race.
Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson made up the front row on the restart – the pair along with teammate William Byron took two tires on the final pit stop while Kyle Busch, who had led 40 of the previous 45 laps, opted to get four tires and start just behind on the second row.
“This thing was so fast all day,’’ said Bowman, who led 16 of the 274 laps. “Just never really had the track position to show it. But man, what a call by (crew chief) Greg Ives and the guys to take two (tires) there and obviously it paid off.
“Racing Kyle (Larson) is always fun and I’ve got to race him for a couple wins and we always race each other super clean and super respectively. Just can’t say enough about these guys.
“It’s been a pretty awful start to the year so to come out here and get a win on a last restart, I feel like that’s pretty special.’’
Never a doubt! 😎 Congrats to @Alex_Bowman and the entire @allyracing team on their @LVMotorSpeedway victory! pic.twitter.com/ACIsbkfDTJ
— Ally (@Ally) March 7, 2022
NASCAR Xfinity
Late Vegas Vroom Lifts Ty Gibbs to First Xfinity Series 2022 Win
Ty Gibbs pulled away from the field on a restart with six laps remaining and held off hometown favorite Noah Gragson to claim his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
It was the first win of the year for Gibbs, 19, the grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner and three-time Super Bowl champion head coach Joe Gibbs. He had an eventful day from the drop of the green flag. His No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota got just the nudge he needed from JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier on that final restart then pulled away from Allgaier’s teammate Gragson to take the lead for the first time on the day and ultimately score his fifth career series victory.
It was awesome. I want to say thank you to Justin Allgaier for my push too. That helped me a lot. You know, I had a fun time racing with the JR cars. Hopefully we can keep it going and go out and win some more races. I want to say thank you to Monster Energy, Toyota, my GR Supra was so fast. This is awesome. And let's go Vegas. - Ty Gibbs
Let’s go! All glory to God. 🎰💯 pic.twitter.com/ySWev76vxg
— Ty Gibbs (@TyGibbs_) March 6, 2022
NASCAR Trucks
Chandler Smith Powers to the Win with Last-Lap Crossover
Nineteen-year-old Chandler Smith took the lead with two laps remaining and held off 2021 championship contender Zane Smith and the winningest driver in NASCAR national series history, his team owner Kyle Busch, to win the Victoria’s Voice 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
It was a deservedly dramatic ending for a hugely competitive race at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas track — marking the ninth consecutive Truck Series race won by a driver 23 years of age or younger. Smith’s 0.289-second win over Zane Smith was his first of the season and third of his career and good enough to propel him to the championship points lead.
“When you guys tune into me halfway through the race, ‘how did he get up there?”’ Chandler Smith said motioning toward the sky. “It’s the good Lord man, he performs miracles all day. He’s given me this talent, this opportunity to drive this truck for Kyle Busch Motorsports and for (sponsor) Safelite.
“I’m just beyond thankful for this whole opportunity. All the glory goes to Him, my guys, my wife, all the guys part of this deal. I’m just super thankful right now.”
All glory to God!!
— Chandler Smith (@CSmithDrive) March 5, 2022
What a win last night in Vegas. Amazing job by everyone on the 18 team 👏 pic.twitter.com/X6OJoXkgQi
ARCA
The ARCA Menards Series / West (also part of the Sioux Chief Showdown) returns to the track on March 11, 2022 in the ‘General Tire 150’ at Phoenix Raceway.
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