Joey Logano became the first driver to secure a berth in the championship-deciding final race in Phoenix when he won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The Team Penske driver took the lead from Ross Chastain with three laps to go and cruised to the win.

Chastain, driving for Trackhouse Racing, finished second, .817 second back.

The victory was the third of the season for Logano and the 30th of his Cup career. It was his 11th in the Playoffs.

“We’re racing for a championship,” he shouted after getting out of his car. “Let’s go.

“Oh, man, all you want to do is get to the Championship 4 when the season starts and race for a championship, and we’ve got the team to do it. I don’t see why we can’t win at this point.”

Non-contender Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing was third while Playoffs contenders Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

The race was the first in the three-event Cup Playoffs’ Round of 8 – the round which will set the four-driver championship event in Phoenix on Nov. 6.

Among Round of 8 drivers, William Byron finished 13th, Chase Elliott was 21st, Ryan Blaney was 28th and Christopher Bell was 34th.

Chastain had the lead heading into the final restart of the race but Logano just had more car.

(This story will be updated shortly)

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NASCAR Cup Series Race – 5th Annual South Point 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, Nevada

Sunday, October 16, 2022

1. (5)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, 267.
2. (11)  Ross Chastain (P), Chevrolet, 267.
3. (18)  Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267.
4. (16)  Chase Briscoe (P), Ford, 267.
5. (31)  Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 267.
6. (1)  Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 267.
7. (27)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267.
8. (22)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 267.
9. (21)  AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 267.
10. (10)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 267.
11. (17)  Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 267.
12. (13)  Kevin Harvick, Ford, 267.
13. (3)  William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 267.
14. (28)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 267.
15. (12)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 267.
16. (6)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 267.
17. (25)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267.
18. (23)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 267.
19. (15)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 267.
20. (24)  Cole Custer, Ford, 267.
21. (20)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 267.
22. (19)  Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, 267.
23. (29)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 267.
24. (30)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 267.
25. (35)  Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 267.
26. (8)  Harrison Burton #, Ford, 266.
27. (34)  Cody Ware, Ford, 264.
28. (4)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 260.
29. (2)  Austin Cindric #, Ford, 259.
30. (36)  BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 256.
31. (26)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 253.
32. (32)  Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 246.
33. (33)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Suspension, 237.
34. (7)  Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, DVP, 94.
35. (14)  Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 94.
36. (9)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 94.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  130.48 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 4 Mins, 10 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .817 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  8 for 42 laps.

Lead Changes:  18 among 11 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   T. Reddick 1;A. Cindric # 2;T. Reddick 3-33;A. Cindric # 34-40;R. Stenhouse Jr. 41;D. Suarez 42-56;B. Wallace 57-85;D. Suarez 86-96;R. Chastain (P) 97;D. Hamlin (P) 98-102;D. Suarez 103-107;R. Chastain (P) 108-128;R. Blaney (P) 129-167;J. Logano (P) 168-196;R. Chastain (P) 197-229;J. Haley 230-245;C. Briscoe (P) 246-251;R. Chastain (P) 252-264;J. Logano (P) 265-267.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Ross Chastain (P) 4 times for 68 laps; Ryan Blaney (P) 1 time for 39 laps; Joey Logano (P) 2 times for 32 laps; Tyler Reddick 2 times for 32 laps; Daniel Suarez 3 times for 31 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 29 laps; Justin Haley 1 time for 16 laps; Austin Cindric # 2 times for 8 laps; Chase Briscoe (P) 1 time for 6 laps; Denny Hamlin (P) 1 time for 5 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 45,22,99,20,12,2,5,19,8,24

Stage #2 Top Ten: 12,22,99,1,11,24,4,19,2,18

 

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