NASCAR at Las Vegas results: Joey Logano punches ticket to Championship 4 with late rally

David Suggs

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NASCAR at Las Vegas results: Joey Logano punches ticket to Championship 4 with late rally image

Viva Las Vegas.

The NASCAR Cup Series rolled into Sin City for the South Point 400 on Sunday. And like anything that goes on at the Strip, the race was filled with highlights and lowlights.

Come the end of the day, it was Joey Logano who proved the fastest. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske car staged a late comeback to shock Ross Chastain and seal a spot in the Championship 4.

It didn't always seem likely that Logano would enter victory lane. His team had a bad last pit stop with around 30 laps to go. It cost him six places on the track and seemingly affixed him to a less-than-ideal finish.

MORE: Watch NASCAR Cup Series races live with fuboTV (free trial)

But, as is often the case in Vegas, things went left. Caution flags were waved after Daniel Suarez and Landon Cassill's cars spun out in separate incidents.

It was the sort of chaos Logano needed. He was driving on newer tires, which meant Chastain never had a chance. Chastain tried to block but he just couldn't contend with Logano's speed. Once Logano took the lead with four laps to go, that was all she wrote.

For all the good stuff that happened Sunday, there also was plenty of ugly. Early in Stage 2, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson got into a heated altercation after the two collided. Larson thought that Wallace made a dangerous retaliatory move after taking exception with Larson's lift job. Wallace vehemently denied the allegations.

All in all, Vegas put on a barnburner of a race — in more ways than one.

The Sporting News tracked live updates from the South Point 400, the first race of the Round of 8 in this year's playoffs. Below are the highlights and results from Sunday's drama-filled showcase.

NASCAR at Las Vegas updates, results, highlights

(All times Eastern)

6:01 p.m.: The gap is too great. Joey Logano is going to get the win and secure his spot in the Championship Round of 4!

6:00 p.m.: Logano takes the lead! He slid past him and got the lead from the No. 1 car. Just two laps to go, but it appears like Logano has the fastest car on the day.

5:59 p.m.: Logano has pulled right behind Chastain. Logano pushing hard, but Chastain doing a fantastic job blocking. Just four laps to go!

5:55 p.m.: Logano has overtaken Briscoe for second place. However, Chastain has a nearly second-long lead over Logano.

Logano's car looks like he's got some serious speed, though. He just cut down a couple tenths of a second on his last lap.

5:53 p.m.: Chastain takes the lead! There's 16 laps to go and it's getting testy out in Vegas. Haley and Briscoe fighting for second place, with Logano trying to break into the party.

5:48 p.m.: Byron headed to pit road. Looks like he's ceding 11th place and banking on another caution flag being waved at some point in the race. Risky choice, but you can't fault him for taking the gamble.

5:46 p.m.: CAUTION! Landon Cassill's right front tire starts smoking, at which point the No. 77 car swerves into the wall. Looks like he's got a hole in the car's grill, which may have taken away some of his grip.

5:45 p.m.: 22 laps to go and the green flag is waved! It's Briscoe and Haley competing for first once again.

5:39 p.m.: CAUTION! Suarez spins into the infield after getting tight with Reddick. That will be another caution flag.

Still uncertain whether Reddick and Suarez made contact. Either way, that will be frustrating for Suarez, who was gunning for third before skidding into the grass.

5:37 p.m.: Logano had a rough pit stop a few laps to go. He lost six spots, falling to tenth, and has only been able to gain one spot. It's going to be tough for Logano to get himself back with so few laps to go.

5:36 p.m.: Blaney attempting to reach minimum speed. 31 laps to go but it's Haley who has the edge at the front of the pack. For all of Briscoe's exploits, it doesn't seem like his car quite has the speed to get going.

5:35 p.m.: Justin Haley and Briscoe competing for first place on the race restart. What a comeback this would be for Briscoe, who was sitting in 28th place at one point during today's race!

5:30 p.m.: Busch's left front tire came off. It's rolling into the inside wall, meaning that penalties will be incurred by the pit crew.

5:28 p.m.: CAUTION! It's Blaney, whose car appeared get loose before he collided into the wall. Not ideal for the playoff driver, who ran in second prior to his collision.

5:18 p.m.: Byron with an impressive save to keep himself out in front of Ryan Blaney. That was a close one from the No. 24 driver.

3:55 p.m.: CAUTION! Kyle Larson ran Wallace into the wall, after which Wallace ran into Larson in a seemingly retaliatory move. 

3:53 p.m.: Through the first 13 laps of Stage 2, it's Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain up at the front. Logano and Wallace not too far behind in third- and fifth-place, respectively.

3:42 p.m.: Stage 1 finishes under caution and the green flag goes to...Bubba Wallace. Solid run by the 23XI driver, who led for 24 laps en route to yet another stage victory. He could be on pace for another top-10 finish, his 10th of the season.

3:40 p.m.: Busch's caution flag could really help a number of playoff drivers out. Byron, for example, was running just outside the top-ten. Now, he's got a chance at stage points.

3:38 p.m.: CAUTION! Kyle Busch spun out into the infield with three laps to go! Looks like he suffered a flat back right tire. Pretty gnarly slide, but looks like he's headed to pit road.

3:37 p.m.: Logano making a real play for first with six laps left. He's keeping things tight on the turns, but Wallace is doing a good job of fending Logano off on the straightaways. Wallace has a .5 second lead over the Team Penske driver at the moment.

3:35 p.m.: Wallace still holding firm in first place. There are eight laps to go in Stage 1 and the 23XI Racing driver is looking quite comfortable. You never know what can happen, though. Especially when Joey Logano is gunning for you.

3:30 p.m.: Logano into second place! Looks like he's making his rundown for Wallace now. However, the 23XI Racing driver still holds a .275-second lead over Logano's No. 22 car.

3:27 p.m.: Wallace and Suarez going back and forth for first place. It's Wallace who has the edge now.

A little further down the track, looks like Christopher Bell has just overtaken Busch for fifth. Solid stuff by the Round of 8 participant.

20 laps to go before the end of Stage 1. Should be an exciting finish.

3:25 p.m.: Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace setting the pace at the top of the pack as we finish Lap 54. Playoff driver Joey Logano not too far behind in third place.

3:21 p.m.: Reddick and Busch putting up the fastest lap speeds amongst the top-five. Looks like those pit stops are paying off.

3:20 p.m.: Kyle Busch currently in fourth place. Busch opted to go to pit road early and it seems the move is paying dividends through 45 laps.

3:17 p.m.: They are all on pit road. We're 40 laps in, halfway through Stage 1. We'll see how the deck gets reshuffled after these adjustments.

3:16 p.m.: Briscoe also having some real trouble on the track. He's down to 28th, a very difficult position to be in as a playoff driver.

3:15 p.m.: Looks like Byron is having a little trouble on the tracks. He's now fallen to eighth place, a little more than half a second behind seventh-place Bubba Wallace.

3:13 p.m.: Reddick still holding firm in first. We're approaching Lap 30.

3:10 p.m.: Blaney doing everything in his power to overtake Byron and on Lap 25, it looks like it finally worked. Blaney slid on the inside and pumped himself past Byron for third place. Enthralling stuff between the No. 12 and No. 24 drivers.

3:06 p.m.: It's been a solid start for Blaney, all things considered. However, according to Bob Pockrass, things could be getting a bit nervy for the No. 12 car.

3:04 p.m.: Things aren't going too well for Chase Briscoe early. The No. 14 car is moving backwards and just got passed by fellow playoff driver Denny Hamlin, who has made an incredible run to get up to 24th after starting in 31st.

3:02 p.m.: Byron and Blaney jostling back and forth for third place. Through 10 laps, it's Byron who holds the slight edge.

3:00 p.m.: Lots of speed early. Per the race broadcast, drivers are driving faster than they did on their qualifying laps.

2:58 p.m.: Reddick and Austin Cindric battling for first place through three laps. Playoff racers William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano not far behind.

2:56 p.m.: The green flag is waved and we're off in Las Vegas! Tyler Reddick leading the pack for the South Point 400!

2:35 p.m.: Racers are headed to the track! We're about 15 minutes away from the start of the South Point 400!

2:15 p.m.: A special guest will be driving the pace car at the South Point 400!

2:05 p.m.: A lot of reshuffling due to go on with Richard Childress Racing in the next year. And it seems they might not be done yet.

Via Bob Pockrass:

What time does the NASCAR race start?

  • Race: South Point 400
  • Date: Sunday, Oct. 16
  • Start time: 2:30 p.m. ET

Sunday's race, the South Point 400, is listed to start at 2:30 p.m. ET, but the green flag is scheduled to wave at 2:52 p.m. ET.

What channel is NASCAR on today?

  • TV channel: NBC (U.S.) | TSN3 (Canada)
  • Live stream: NBCSports.com, Peacock, fuboTV
  • Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

The South Point 400 will be broadcast on NBC in the United States. Canadian viewers can follow the action on TSN3.

Rick Allen will lead Sunday's broadcast, serving as the race's lap-by-lap announcer. He'll be joined by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., former Cup Series driver Jeff Burton and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte. All three will offer analysis.

Cord-cutters can stream Sunday's race on Peacock or fuboTV, which offers a free trial.

MORE: Round of 8 drivers after the Charlotte cutoff race

Lineup, starting order for Las Vegas playoff race

Pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
2 Austin Cindric 2 Team Penske
3 William Byron (P) 24 Hendrick Motorsports
4 Ryan Blaney (P) 12 Team Penske
5 Joey Logano (P) 22 Team Penske
6 Daniel Suarez 99 Trackhouse Racing
7 Christopher Bell (P) 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Harrison Burton 21 Wood Brothers Racing
9 Bubba Wallace 45 23XI Racing
10 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
11 Ross Chastain (P) 1 Trackhouse Racing
12 Chris Buescher 17 RFK Racing
13 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
14 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
15 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
16 Chase Briscoe (P) 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
17 Noah Gragson* 48 Hendrick Motorsports
18 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
19 Ty Gibbs 23 23XI Racing
20 Chase Elliott (P) 9 Hendrick Motorsports
21 AJ Allmendinger 16 Kaulig Racing
22 Erik Jones 43 Petty GMS Motorsports
23 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
24 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
25 Brad Keselowski 6 RFK Racing
26 JJ Yeley 15 Rick Ware Racing
27 Marin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
28 Justin Haley 31 Kaulig Racing
29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
30 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
31 Denny Hamlin (P) 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
32 Landon Cassill 77 Spire Motorsports
33 Ty Dillon 42 Petty GMS Motorsports
34 Cody Ware 51 Rick Ware Racing
35 Todd Gilliland 38 Front Row Motorsports
36 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports

(P) Playoff driver
* Replacement for playoff driver Alex Bowman  

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.