Last weekend, in Atlanta, it was one of the greatest finishes in NASCAR Cup Series history, if not the greatest. It was a three-wide battle from turn three, all the way to the start-finish line between Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney. Suarez prevailed in this chaotic race in Atlanta. It was not only one of the greatest finishes in NASCAR history, but it was also one of the greatest races in NASCAR history. Hard to follow up on that performance after last weekend. But fans knew that heading into this weekend, they were in for a treat of a race. Las Vegas has become one of the best races on the calendar since the debut of the Next-Gen car. And this weekend was no different. With a familiar face in victory lane, let’s discuss the action that happened in The Sin City this past weekend.
History in the Truck Series:
Possibly the biggest storyline this past weekend in Las Vegas took place in the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday evening. Earlier that same day, it was Rajah Caruth winning the pole for the first time in his career. 2024 is Caruth’s make-or-break year not only in his NASCAR career but his racing career. Caruth began his racing career in online racing, much like the 2024 Daytona 500 Champion, William Byron. Caruth was brought up outside the traditional ways of Motorsports. Early in the Truck race, it seemed that it was going to be Ty Majeski’s day. Majeski led a race-high 40 laps during the event but fell back during the last pit cycle of the evening. A lack of execution by Majeski’s pit crew cost him a shot at winning this race.
Caruth inherited the lead from Mason Massey with 21 laps to go and never looked back. Rajah Caruth, the 21-year-old Spire Motorsports driver from Washington DC earned his first career Truck Series victory in Las Vegas. This is not just a huge deal because of his ethnicity, Caruth has always had major talent. He just needed the proper equipment to win in NASCAR. Earlier last week, it was announced that Caruth and Spire would receive a full season of sponsorship from Hendrickcars.com, who also sponsor Kyle Larson. Caruth has a future in NASCAR. If he can continue to prove that he belongs in the sport, he will eventually have a spot in the Cup Series. Maybe, just maybe he could be future teammates with Sunday’s winner in the Cup Series.
Larson dominates in the Nevada Desert:
Coming into Sunday, Larson was the overall favorite. Joey Logano qualified on the pole, but Larson led the field in 10, 15, 20, and 30 lap averages in practice. It was obvious that he had a fast car. It didn’t take long for Larson to get the lead from Logano, Larson took the lead on lap three. There were a few cautions in the first stage, most notably a hard hit by Chris Buescher into the turn-one wall. This would bring out the red flag to repair the wall, and Buescher would be okay. After the red flag, Larson would get stuck back in traffic but would make quick work of everyone to get back to the lead. Eventually, Larson would win stage one with a hard-charging Tyler Reddick behind him. Most of stage two would run under green, except for a caution for a spinning Christopher Bell.
Larson would win the second stage and once again, hold off a hard-charging Tyler Reddick. The green flag would fly on the final stage and Larson was flying after the restart. The laps would start clicking off and it seemed that the win was in Larson’s palms. But the caution would fly with 33 laps to go. After the final pit stops, it would be Kyle Larson vs Tyler Reddick for the win. With two laps to go, Reddick was as close to Larson as he was in this stint but fell back coming out of turn four. That was all Larson needed to see as he captured the checkered flag in dominating fashion on Sunday by leading 181 of 267 laps. This was Larson’s 24th career victory and his third in Las Vegas. But for now, let’s talk about where the Cup Series will be next weekend.
What to Expect from Phoenix:
This coming weekend, NASCAR is going from the Nevada Desert to the Phoenix Desert. Ever since 2020, Phoenix has played host to the Championship Race for all three series. But recently, Phoenix has not produced great racing. Whether that’s due to the track itself or the Next-Gen car, the results are still the same. Poor racing in Phoenix. Some are now considering Phoenix as the worst track on the circuit. But who can you expect to come out on top in the Arizona Desert this coming Sunday? That would be our most recent Cup Series Champion, Ryan Blaney. Blaney has been bad fast the past few times that the Cup Series has been to Phoenix and could’ve won in November. Expect Ryan Blaney to have a good run on Sunday, and potentially end the day in victory lane.
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