From a NASCAR Fan’s View
Once again, the Toyotas have shown up with speed to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Denny Hamlin will lead the field to green with Chase Briscoe starting with him on the front row. Christopher Bell qualified third, which says to this NASCAR fan that the Toyotas came to flex a little muscle at Las Vegas. In all honesty, one of them could be the first to qualify for the Final Four race for the Championship at Phoenix. That being said, there are six Toyotas starting in the top ten, and that could also spell trouble for the rest of the playoff drivers in more ways than one. No doubt about it. They are looking pretty stout in these playoffs so far.
Of course, the Hendrick teams still qualified for the playoffs, aren’t far behind in the lineup, and they start fourth, fifth, and sixth, and it looks like they want to make a showing also. Those Hendrick Chevys are the number nine of Chase Elliott, the number twenty-four of William Byron, and the number five of Kyle Larson.
Of course, there are two Fords stuffed in the mix of the top ten, and one of them is still qualified for the playoffs. That would be Joey Logano, and he could be trouble for the rest of the Round of Eight playoff drivers. He has been known to win the first race in the Round of Eight and coast into the final race with lots of time to prepare for the Final Four. (And by the way, it wouldn’t be the first time, and he has also been known to then go on to take the Championship.) Will it happen again? Well… I guess you could say there is a distinct possibility for that, also.
Now, I don’t want to say this race is pretty much all decided, but you have to admit. Those three Toyotas have been running strong for a while now in this part of the 2025 season. I am willing to admit that Denny Hamlin has had his problems at times, but he also has five wins this season, and he just won his first pole at the Vegas Speedway. I just don’t think he can be ruled out of being able to win this one from the pole position. There are several reasons for me saying that, but we’ll get to that shortly.
Christopher Bell is another JGR driver who runs really well at Vegas and has finished second both of the last two years. He is definitely one who could be considered for taking the win when this one is over. After all, he could have won last year’s race, so he is looking for a little better racing luck this year.
When it comes to Chase Briscoe, well, what can I say? He has won six poles this season and has shown a lot of speed almost every week. Yeah, it’s true, he only has two wins, but he could have had more. He has had a very good season so far, and he may be one of the final four. Since he is starting second, there is a chance he could pull off the victory by the end of the race. That probably wouldn’t make Denny very happy, but trust me, it could happen.
So, the first six in the starting lineup are all playoff contenders, and they all showed they could run faster than the rest for one lap. To this fan, that proves something about short-run speed. That’s all well and good, but this Vegas race isn’t about running fast for one lap. It is about tire wear and being able to keep the tires gripping the track in a long green flag run. One of the best at doing that is Denny Hamlin. Another just happens to be another JGR Toyota driver, and that is Christopher Bell. I admit they could have the advantage if this one comes down to a long green flag run as the laps wind down at the end of the race. Either of them could take the win and lock themselves into the final four.
So, let’s see. So far, I’ve mentioned the possibility of the first three starters possibly taking the win. The following three starters from the Hendrick camp are every bit as capable of taking the win today as any. In fact, this race could come down to the first six starters battling for the win in the closing laps.
From this fan’s view, that wouldn’t be that much of a surprise. The problem is that there are other drivers, both eligible for the playoffs and not, who can pull off the victory today. In the top ten starters, there are four that could pull it off, and there are others quite capable in the top twenty. There is no guarantee that a playoff driver in the Round of Eight will win today. This could be a day that sees a win from someone other than a playoff driver.
Will it happen? I can’t say. What I can say is, from my view, this one could go either way. Either a Round of Eight playoff driver wins their way to the final four, or the drama continues on to next week at Talladega. All I know for sure is the pressure is on and only four will survive these next three races leading to the Championship…
Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© October 12, 2025 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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