2023 South Point 400 Explained

Type:	CUST
Description:	Race 33 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series
Race Name:	South Point 400
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]
Year:	2023
Location:	Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada
Course Mi:	1.5
Course Km:	2.4
Distance Laps:	267
Distance Mi:	400.5
Distance Km:	640.8
Avg:	135.635mph
Pole Driver:	Christopher Bell
Pole Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Pole Time:	28.980
Most Driver:	Kyle Larson
Most Team:	Hendrick Motorsports
Most Laps:	133
Car:	5
First Driver:	Kyle Larson
First Team:	Hendrick Motorsports
Network:	NBC
Announcers:	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Radio:	PRN
Booth Ann:	Doug Rice and Mark Garrow
Turn Ann:	Nick Yeoman (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4)

The 2023 South Point 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 15, 2023, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) intermediate quad-oval, it was the 33rd race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, seventh race of the Playoffs, and first race of the Round of 8. Kyle Larson won the race and secured his 2nd Championship 4 appearance in three years.

Report

Background

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada outside the Las Vegas city limits and about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1200acres complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
• (P) denotes playoff driver.
• (OP) denotes owner's playoffs car.

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1			Chevrolet
2			Ford
3			Chevrolet
4			Ford
5	Kyle Larson (P)		Chevrolet
6			Ford
7			Chevrolet
8			Chevrolet
9	Chase Elliott (OP)		Chevrolet
10			Ford
11	Denny Hamlin (P)		Toyota
12	Ryan Blaney (P)		Ford
14			Ford
15	Brennan Poole (i)		Ford
16			Chevrolet
17	Chris Buescher (P)		Ford
19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)		Toyota
20	Christopher Bell (P)		Toyota
21			Ford
22			Ford
23			Toyota
24	William Byron (P)		Chevrolet
31			Chevrolet
34			Ford
38			Ford
41			Ford
42	Carson Hocevar (i)		Chevrolet
43			Chevrolet
45	Tyler Reddick (P)		Toyota
47	nowrap			Chevrolet
48			Chevrolet
51	J. J. Yeley (i)		Ford
54	Ty Gibbs (R)		Toyota
77			Chevrolet
78	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet
99			Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

Ross Chastain was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 28.899 seconds and a speed of 186.858mph.^[10]

Practice results

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1	1				28.899	186.858
2	17	Chris Buescher (P)			28.933	186.638
3	45	Tyler Reddick (P)			29.039	185.957
Official practice results

Qualifying

Christopher Bell scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.980 and a speed of 186.335mph.^[11]

Qualifying results

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	20	Christopher Bell (P)		Toyota	28.938	28.980
2	5	Kyle Larson (P)		Chevrolet	28.964	28.990
3	24	William Byron (P)		Chevrolet	28.941	29.004
4	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)		Toyota	29.189	29.070
5	17	Chris Buescher (P)		Ford	29.005	29.084
6	8			Chevrolet	29.172	29.093
7	23			Toyota	29.172	29.120
8	45	Tyler Reddick (P)		Toyota	29.210	29.129
9	22			Ford	29.022	29.147
10	1			Chevrolet	29.014	29.163
11	54	Ty Gibbs (R)		Toyota	29.029	—
12	12	Ryan Blaney (P)		Ford	29.157	—
13	10			Ford	29.214	—
14	48			Chevrolet	29.238	—
15	11	Denny Hamlin (P)		Toyota	29.245	—
16	3			Chevrolet	29.262	—
17	14			Ford	29.293	—
18	34			Ford	29.298	—
19	2			Ford	29.317	—
20	31			Chevrolet	29.327	—
21	6			Ford	29.346	—
22	16			Chevrolet	29.357	—
23	43			Chevrolet	29.396	—
24	4			Ford	29.410	—
25	42	Carson Hocevar (i)		Chevrolet	29.461	—
26	51	J. J. Yeley (i)		Ford	29.475	—
27	77			Chevrolet	29.539	—
28	7			Chevrolet	29.627	—
29	38			Ford	29.699	—
30	47			Chevrolet	29.717	—
31	78	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet	29.875	—
32	41			Ford	29.991	—
33	21			Ford	30.031	—
34	15	Brennan Poole (i)		Ford	30.192	—
35	9	Chase Elliott (OP)		Chevrolet	0.000	—
36	99			Chevrolet	0.000	—
Official qualifying results

Race

Race results

Stage results

Stage OneLaps: 80

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	5	Kyle Larson (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	10
2	20	Christopher Bell (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	9
3	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	8
4	45	Tyler Reddick (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	7
5	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	6
6	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	5
7	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	4
8	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	3
9	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	2
10	24	William Byron (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 85

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	5	Kyle Larson (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	10
2	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	9
3	20	Christopher Bell (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	8
4	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	7
5	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	6
6	24	William Byron (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	5
7	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	4
8	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	3
9	45	Tyler Reddick (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	2
10	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	1
Official stage two results

Final Stage results

Stage ThreeLaps: 102

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	2	5	Kyle Larson (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	60
2	1	20	Christopher Bell (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	52
3	6	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	267	41
4	21	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	267	47
5	10	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	267	41
6	12	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	267	39
7	3	24	William Byron (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	36
8	8	45	Tyler Reddick (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	267	38
9	4	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	34
10	15	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	38
11	5	17	Chris Buescher (P)	RFK Racing	Ford	267	26
12	9	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	267	25
13	7	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	267	25
14	13	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	23
15	36	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	267	22
16	24	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	23
17	18	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	267	20
18	16	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	267	19
19	28	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	18
20	33	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	267	17
21	22	16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	267	16
22	20	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	267	15
23	19	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	267	14
24	27	77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	13
25	30	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	267	12
26	32	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	11
27	29	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	266	10
28	23	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	266	9
29	26	51	J. J. Yeley (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	266	0
30	34	15	Brennan Poole (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	266	0
31	31	78	B. J. McLeod (i)	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	0
32	35	9	Chase Elliott (OP)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	5
33	17	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	263	4
34	11	54	Ty Gibbs (R)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	259	3
35	14	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	144	2
36	25	42	Carson Hocevar (i)	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	110	0
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 20 among 7 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 7 for 36 laps
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 2 hours, 57 minutes, and 10 seconds
• Average speed: 135.635mph

Media

Television

NBC covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Two–time Las Vegas winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio

PRN covered their final 2023 broadcast, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice & Mark Garrow covered the action for PRN when the field races down the front straightaway. Nick Yeoman covered the action for PRN from a platform outside of Turns 1 & 2, & Pat Patterson covered the action from a platform outside of Turns 3 & 4 for PRN. Heather DeBeaux, Brett McMillan, Brad Gillie and Wendy Venturini had the call from pit lane for PRN.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
3	1	Kyle Larson	4,084
1	2	William Byron	4,077 (–7)
1	3	Martin Truex Jr.	4,070 (–14)
1	4	Denny Hamlin	4,070 (–14)
1	5	Christopher Bell	4,068 (–16)
1	6	Tyler Reddick	4,054 (–30)
1	7	Ryan Blaney	4,053 (–31)
3	8	Chris Buescher	4,047 (–37)
	9	Brad Keselowski	2,239 (–1,845)
	10	Ross Chastain	2,213 (–1,871)
1	11	Kyle Busch	2,191 (–1,893)
1	12	Bubba Wallace	2,185 (–1,899)
	13	Joey Logano	2,168 (–1,916)
	14	Kevin Harvick	2,144 (–1,940)
1	15	Michael McDowell	2,130 (–1,954)
1	16	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	2,126 (–1,958)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Chevrolet	1,225
	2	Toyota	1,144 (–81)
	3	Ford	1.130 (–95)

• Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2023 schedule . Jayski.com. . September 11, 2023.
2. Web site: Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. September 11, 2023. January 3, 2013. October 30, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151030043513/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/las-vegas-motor-speedway.html. dead.
3. News: NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops . Taranto, Steven . September 14, 2022 . March 29, 2023 . CBS Broadcasting Inc.
4. News: NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series . September 14, 2022 . March 29, 2023 . National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC.
5. Web site: Entry List. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 9, 2023. October 9, 2023.
6. Web site: Practice Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. October 14, 2023. October 14, 2023.
7. Web site: Qualifying Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. October 14, 2023. October 14, 2023.
8. Web site: South Point 400 Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR. October 15, 2023. October 15, 2023.
9. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 15, 2023. October 15, 2023.
10. Web site: Utter. Jim. Chastain tops Las Vegas Cup practice; Elliott and Suarez wreck. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Las Vegas, Nevada. October 14, 2023.
11. Web site: Utter. Jim. Bell beats Larson for NASCAR Cup pole at Las Vegas. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. October 14, 2023. Las Vegas, Nevada. October 14, 2023.