Playoffs will be the buzzword this weekend as NASCAR visits Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
On Friday night, the Gander Outdoors Truck Series contests the final race of its opening round, meaning two drivers will be eliminated.
Saturday marks the final race of the Xfinity Series regular season prior to the start of its playoffs next week in Richmond.
And the 10-race Cup playoffs kick off with Sunday’s race at the 1.5-mile speedway (on NBCSN).
There will be two Xfinity and two Cup practices on Friday. The Truck Series has a one-day show with one practice, qualifying and a 134-lap race under the lights, starting at 9 p.m. ET. Wunderground.com predicts a high of 99 degrees Friday with 0% percent of precipitation. Grant Enfinger won last year’s race.
On Saturday, Cup and Xfinity have qualifying sessions for their respective races. The 200-lap Xfinity Series race will start at 7:30 p.m. ET (on NBCSN). Wunderground.com predicts a high of 102 degrees with 0% percent of precipitation. Ross Chastain won last year’s race.
And then the main event, the 267-lap Cup playoff opener, takes place Sunday, with the green flag set to drop at 7 p.m. ET. Wunderground.com predicts a temperature of 103 degrees with 0% percent of precipitation. Brad Keselowski won last year’s race, while teammate Joey Logano won there in March.
Here is this weekend’s schedule:
(All times Eastern)
Thursday, Sept. 12
3 – 8 p.m. – Truck garage open
Friday, Sept. 13
10 a.m. – Truck garage open
11:05 – 11:55 a.m. – Truck final practice (no TV or radio)
12:30 – 9:30 p.m. – Xfinity garage open
1:30 – 11 p.m. – Cup garage open
3:35 – 4:25 p.m. – Xfinity practice (NBCSN)
4:35 – 5:25 p.m. – Cup practice (NBCSN)
5:35 p.m. – Truck qualifying impound (single vehicle/one lap all positions) (FS1)
6:35 – 7:25 p.m. – Xfinity final practice (NBCSN)
7:15 p.m. – Truck driver/crew chief meeting
7:30 – 8:20 p.m. – Final Cup practice (NBCSN)
8:30 p.m. – Truck driver introductions
9 p.m. – Truck Series race (Stages 30/60/134 laps = 201 miles) (FS1/Motor Racing Network/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday, Sept. 14
11 a.m. – Xfinity garage open
11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Cup garage open
2:35 p.m. – Xfinity qualifying impound (single vehicle/one lap all positions) (NBCSN)
3:45 p.m. – Xfinity driver/crew chief meeting
4:05 p.m. – Cup qualifying impound (single vehicle/one lap all positions) (NBCSN/Performance Racing Network)
7 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions
7:30 p.m. – Xfinity race (Stages 45/90/200 laps = 300 miles) (NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, Sept. 15
3 p.m. – Cup garage open
5 p.m. – Cup driver/crew chief meeting
6:20 p.m. – Cup driver introductions
7 p.m. – Cup race (Stages 80/160/267 laps = 400.5 miles) (NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
