The playoff drivers will have to outrace each other right from the start of the inaugural South Point 400.
Viva Las Vegas? We’re not sure if every Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver will be singing that tune come Monday, but one still in the hunt for the championship just might be. The NASCAR Playoffs get under way at the brand spanking new South Point 400, which could lock someone into the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs.
That will only happen if the winner is one of the 16 playoff drivers, but that seems likely for two reasons: No other driver has won a Cup Series race in 2018, and they all did good to great in qualifying. Erik Jones won the pole by the narrowest of margins over Joey Logano, and the first 11 starting spots are held by championship contenders. In fact, only Jamie McMurray (12th) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (14th) break up the playoff field, all of whom will start Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 18th or better.
Still, a statement could be made if one of the drivers who made the postseason on points to automatically advance to the Round of 12. Though the reset points standings are pretty tight at the bottom of the playoff grid, bottom four seeds Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman all figure to be the drivers who would benefit most from a win. It’s just that getting it won’t be easy with all their rivals also looking like they have plenty of speed.
Coverage of the South Point 400 is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with the green flag scheduled to wave at 3:16 p.m. We’ll have full coverage of the first of 10 races to decide the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion before, during and after the action in Las Vegas right here on FanSided.com.
2018 South Point 400 starting grid for Las Vegas Motor Speedway
(Playoff race 1 of 10, ‘p’ indicates driver still alive in NASCAR Playoffs)
- Erik Jones (p) – No. 20 DeWalt Toyota
- Joey Logano (p) – No. 22 Pennzoil Ford
- Denny Hamlin (p) – No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota
- Kyle Busch (p) – No. 18 M&M’S Toyota
- Kevin Harvick (p) – No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford
- Ryan Blaney (p) – No. 12 PPG Ford
- Chase Elliott (p) – No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- Kurt Busch (p) – No. 41 Haas Automation Ford
- Alex Bowman (p) – No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet
- Martin Truex Jr. (p) – No. 78 5-hour Energy Toyota
- Kyle Larson (p) – No. 42 DC Solar Vegas Strong Chevrolet
- Jamie McMurray – No. 1 Gearwrench Chevrolet
- Brad Keselowski (p) – No. 2 Autotrader Ford
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 17 SunnyD Ford
- Clint Bowyer (p) – No. 14 One Cure Ford
- Aric Almirola (p) – No. 10 Smithfield Ford
- Jimmie Johnson (p) – No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
- Austin Dillon (p) – No. 3 Dowfrost Chevrolet
- Daniel Suarez – No. 19 ARRIS Toyota
- Paul Menard – No. 21 Menards/Aquafina Ford
- William Byron – No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet
- Ryan Nemwan – No. 31 Liberty National Chevrolet
- Trevor Bayne – No. 6 AdvoCare Rehydrate Ford
- Michael McDowell – No. 34 Speedco/Rotella Ford
- Regan Smith – No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet
- Matt DiBenedetto – No. 32 Can-Am/Wholey Ford
- David Ragan – No. 38 MDS Transport Ford
- Chris Buescher – No. 37 Natural Light Race Day Resume Chevrolet
- AJ Allmendinger – No. 47 Kroger Click List Chevrolet
- Ty Dillon – No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet
- Bubba Wallace – No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet
- Corey LaJoie – No. 72 Dragonchain Chevrolet
- Kyle Weatherman – No. 99 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
- Ross Chastain – No. 15 Xchange of America Chevrolet
- Jeffrey Earnhardt – No. 96 American Soldier Network/Xtreme Concepts Toyota
- JJ Yeley – No. 23 Steakhouse Elite Toyota
- Landon Cassill – No. 00 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
- BJ McLeod – No. 51 Jacob Companies Ford
- Timmy Hill – No. 66 Rewards.com Toyota
- Reed Sorensen – No. 7 TBA Chevrolet