Asterisk Mark Report – Las Vegas

Ryan Blaney – Las Vegas has been a great track for Ryan Blaney and in 4 of the last 5 races he’s finished between 5th to 7th. Earlier this year at Las Vegas he might’ve been able to finish within that range again, but his race wasn’t incident free. During the extended opening green flag pit cycle on lap 51 while he was running in 9th he lost a valve stem and this problem dropped him two laps down which doomed him to a 22nd place finish. The race only had two cautions so he never really had a chance to bounce back.

Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson was a top ten contender earlier this year at Las Vegas, but he finished a misleading 12th. Around lap 43 while he was running around 10th he was penalized when his pit crew went over the wall too soon. That dropped him a lap down and he spent all race battling back. If the race would’ve had a few more cautions (only two which were for the Stages), I think there’s a great chance he would’ve finished in the top ten, and maybe even perhaps compete for a top five. In the three Las Vegas races prior to that he finished in the top 3.

Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch finished 3rd earlier this year at Las Vegas, but I think there’s a good chance he was better than his result. In the race he finished 2nd in Stage #1, and in Stage #2 while he was leading he was caught speeding on pit road which dropped him a lap down to 17th. From this point on there was only one more caution and that makes his 3rd place finish remarkable. Late in the race it was mentioned that he had the fastest car on the track. Loop data “speed wise” he ranked as the fastest driver late in a run.

Austin Dillon – Austin Dillon showed some potential earlier this year at Las Vegas, but he finished 20th. In the race he started in 4th, but around lap 45 while he was running in 7th he was caught speeding on pit road. That created a long afternoon and with the race having only two cautions he wasn’t able to bounce back.