5 things to watch for during NASCAR South Point 400 weekend at LVMS

The battle for the NASCAR Cup Series title will take center stage in Las Vegas this weekend.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host the South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

NASCAR is in the first year of its new playoff format. Gone are the three rounds of elimination and a winner-take-all title race. The series has gone back to a 10-race battle for the Cup Series title.

Las Vegas marks the fifth race in the Chase, and the title hopes of some of the 16 playoff drivers could vanish after Sunday.

Here are five things to watch during this weekend’s NASCAR action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

1. Surging Kyle Larson

No driver is having a better start to the Chase than Kyle Larson. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver is coming off a win at Kansas last week for his second win of the Chase.

Along with his win at Gateway, Larson leads the Cup Series points standings by 26 points over Denny Hamlin. Larson is the 2025 Cup Series champion and has an average finish of 2.25 through the four Chase races.

Before his win at Gateway, Larson had not won a Cup Series race since Kansas on May 11, 2025. Kansas is a similar-style track to Las Vegas as a 1 ½-mile track with a similar shape, so it’s likely Larson will be one of the favorites to battle for the win at Las Vegas.

Larson is a three-time winner at LVMS with his most recent win coming in March of 2024.

At Las Vegas, Larson will be driving a Kyle Busch tribute car with a similar paint scheme and design to the No. 5 car Busch drove at Hendrick Motorsports from 2005-2007.

2. Toyota looks to rebound

Hamlin won at LVMS in March and the victory continued a trend of Toyota teams – Joe Gibbs Racing (which Hamlin drives for) and 23XI Racing (which Hamlin co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan) — at 1 ½-mile tracks.

But at Kansas last week, the Toyota teams were a step behind Larson, who led 235 of 267 laps and scored the maximum of 76 points towards the standings.

Kansas was the first true 1 ½-mile track the Cup Series raced at since Charlotte in May. Hamlin, who won the South Point 400 last year, was the highest-finishing Toyota at Kansas in third.

Las Vegas marks the second of three consecutive 1 ½-mile tracks on the Chase that the Toyota drivers are looking at to maximize their strengths.

3. Chase standings outlook

The list of contenders for the Cup Series title is slowly dwindling with each Chase race.

Larson and Hamlin are the two top contenders. Christopher Bell is in third place at 50 points behind and three-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano is the only other driver within a race’s worth of points of the leader at 67 points behind in fourth.

Fifth-place Ryan Blaney is fifth at 91 points back and Ty Gibbs is sixth (-94 points). The 10 other Chase drivers are more than 100 points behind Larson.

Las Vegas might be the last gasp for Blaney and Gibbs – and other drivers outside the top six, such as Tyler Reddick (seventh, -11 points) — to try and climb their way up the standings.

It won’t only take a win or strong points day, but also Larson and Hamlin, and others near the top of the standings to struggle.

4. O’Reilly Series title battle

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will be the focus on Saturday’s Focused Healthy 302.

Sheldon Creed of Haas Factory Team leads the standings by 11 points over Justin Allgaier. Creed has won two Chase races – at Darlington and Bristol – to jump into the points lead.

Carson Kvapil is third at 37 points back and 2025 series champion Jesse Love is fourth (-41 points).

Allgaier dominated the regular season with six wins but has two finishes outside of the top 10 in the first three Chase races.

5. Kyle Busch Classic

There’s no on-track action at the 1 ½-mile LVMS on Friday, but The Bullring will host racing to kick off the weekend.

The 3/8-mile short track will feature racing from the ARCA Menards Series West, SPEARS CARS Tour West Pro Late Models, Frank’s Radio USLCI Legends race, Spears CARS Tour West Limited Late Models, NASCAR Modifieds race and more.

Brexton Busch, Kyle’s son, is expected to compete in the CARS Tour West event. Gates open at The Bullring at 4 p.m. and prerace festivities begin at 5:30 p.m.

According to LVMS, Brexton, his sister Lennix and mother Samantha will be at the event. Brexton and Lennix will give the command to start the Cars Tour West Pro Late Model race and Brexton will wave the green flag.

The family will also be present at the official dedication of the Kyle Busch Memorial Rock at The Bullring’s Park.

Up next

What: South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Race

When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

TV: USA Network

Betting favorite: Kyle Larson (+375)