9:35 pm - Good Night - The World of Westgate 200 is in the books and Grant Enfinger is the latest winner in the Truck Series. Join us tomorrow for Cup practice and the Xfinity Series DDC Solar 300. Until then, good night!
8:55 pm - Enfinger Scores 1st LVMS Victory - Las Vegas sports books had Grant Enfinger listed a clear long-shot for tonight's World of Westgate 200 but he performed more like a favorite. After starting third and winning the second stage of the race, Enfinger stayed in the hunt and sealed the deal with his first victory of the season.
When the ThorSport Racing crew gambled on a fuel only pit stop late in the race, Entfinger capitalized on the track position and was in the right place when it counted the most.
Close racing forced the race into overtime not once, not twice but three times. Brett Moffitt had the lead on the final restart but lost any chance he had at victory when his engine sputtered and failed to pick up the precious few drops of fuel left in the tank.
Enfinger was able to take the lead and hold off Johnny Sauter to score his second career victory.
"This is kind of the culmination of all year," said Enfinger, who led seven times for 40 laps. "The truck was great. We had the best truck out there. We had to step it up and be aggressive tonight and all these guys did. We didn't have a good Ford F-150 yesterday during practice. These guys made it good. We had the best truck out here. Very, very proud of that."
The race was slowed 11 times for a total of 47 laps run under caution. There were nine lead changes among 21 drivers.
Johnny Sauter leads the point standings by 17 over Noah Gragson, who suffered a flat tire under green-flag conditions and finished 18th.
8:40 pm - Enfinger Wins World of Westgate 200 - Grant Enfinger took advantage of Brett Moffitt's trouble on the third overtime restart to take the lead and post his first Truck Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Johnny Sauter finished 2nd, with Justin Haley, Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton rounding out the top five.
8:37 pm - WoW 200, 3rd Overtime - Back to green on Lap 142
8:30 pm - WoW 200, 2nd Overtime - And take two? Also a no-go. Before leader Moffitt could make it around to the white flag, Peters, Hill and Little crash on the frontstretch to bring out the yellow flag.
The red flag comes out and the pace car has stopped the field on the backstretch while clean up continues.
Running order: Moffitt, Enfinger, Haley, Sauter, Rhodes, Crafton, Snider, Chastain
8:20 pm - WoW 200, 1st Overtime - We couldn't get through a lap before contact between Entfinger and Sauter caused a stack up behind them. Coughlin got the short end of the stick and ended up in the inside wall. We're back under caution.
Up front: Moffitt, Crafton, Enfinger, Sauter, Haley
Back to green on Lap 138
8:15 pm - WoW 200, Yellow Flag #9 - Friesen goes around for the third time and brings out the caution with just 4 laps to go in regulation.
Moffitt managed to wrestle the lead away from Sauter on that last restart and will be in first for the green/white/checker finish.
3rd-5th: Rhodes, Crafton, Enfinger
6th-10th: Haley, Peters, Chastain, Coughlin, Little
Green Flag!
8:05 pm - WoW 200, Yellow Flag #8 - An incident involving Roper and Jones brings out the caution on Lap 121.
Sauter continues to lead, followed by Rhodes, Moffitt, Enfinger, Crafton, Haley, Peters, Nemechek
The green flag waves with 10 laps to go.
8:00 pm - WoW 200, Yellow Flag #7 - Friesen runs into trouble again as he crashes in Turn 4 and brings out the caution on Lap 113.
Gragson and Moffitt made contact on Lap 107. That cost Gragson a trip to pit road under green with a flat tire.
Running order for the restart: Sauter, Crafton, Rhodes, Enfinger, Jones
And the green flag waves on Lap 116
7:50 pm - WoW 200, Yellow Flag #6 - Nemechek and Friesen executed synchronized spins in Turn 2 to bring out the caution on Lap 100.
Enfinger comes to pit road to fix some damage he sustained in some on-track contact with Friesen.
Running order for the restart: Sauter, Rhodes, Haley, Crafton, Gragson, Moffitt, Jones
And we go back to green on Lap 103
7:35 pm - WoW 200, Yellow Flag #5 - We're under caution again. This time for a two-truck crash in Turn 4 involving Todd Gilliland and Wendell Chavous.
Top 5 u/c: Enfinger, Gragson, Sauter, Nemechek, Friesen
The leaders take advantage of this caution to make what should be their final pit stop.
Enfinger is off pit road first (no tires)
2 tires each for Friesen and Rhodes.
Gragson has a bit of a slow stop.
Running order after pit stops: Enfinger, Friesen, Chastain, Rhodes, Snider, Jones, Gragson, Sauter, Nemechek, Crafton
The green flag waves with 45 laps to go.
7:20 pm - Back to Green - Running order for the restart: Gilliland (stayed out), Coughlin (2 tires), Haley (2 tires), Gragson, Enfinger, Nemechek, Moffitt, Sauter, Crafton, Friesen
Crafton's team had some trouble with front left tire, which cost him some track position.
Coughlin and Haley took 2 tires
Lap 67 - the green flag waves for the final segment.
7:10 pm - Enfinger Wins WoW 200, Stage 2 - Enfinger wins the second stage by 0.8-second over Crafton.
3rd-5th: Gragson, Nemechek, Friesen
Several drivers had trouble during that green flag run. Herbst and Crafton both made contact with the wall in separate incidents.
This is Enfinger's 4th stage win of the season.
7:00 pm - WoW 200, Caution #3 - We're under caution on Lap 46 for a single-truck crash in Turn 4 involving Bo Le Mastus, who was running 28th at the time.
The leaders stay on the track but Coughlin, Gilliland and Cobb make pit stops.
Running order under caution Friesen, Enfinger, Crafton, Gragson, Nemechek
Back to green on Lap 50
6:55 pm - WoW 200 Back to Green - Pit stops under caution shuffled the running order at the front.
Running order on restart - 1st-3rd: Friesen, Gragson, Gilliland (all 2 tires stops)
4th-5th: Crafton (4 tires), Sauter
Penalties: Roper (uncontrolled tire), Currey (uncontrolled tire), Peters (crew member over the wall too soon.
Green flag waves on Lap 38
6:45 pm - Gragson Wins WoW 200 Stage 1 - Gragson led from the pole to win Stage 1 by about 4.2 seconds over Nemechek.
3rd-5th: Friesen, Gilliland, Jones
6th-10th: Sauter, Enfinger, Crafton, Haley, Rhodes
This is Gragson's 10th stage win of the season.
6:35 pm - WoW 200 Back to Green - That caution took awhile as track workers had a lot of fluid to clean up after Thorson's close encounter with the wall.
Thorson was evaluated and released from the infield care center.
We go back racing on Lap 13 with Gragson still showing the way.
6:25 pm - World of Westgate 200 Green Flag - Tonight's race will be 134 laps (201 miles). This is the 23rd Truck Series race at LVMS and the second of this season's playoffs.
Ben Rhodes has to give up his 18th place starting position to start at the rear after unapproved changes after qualifying.
The field lines up behind pole winner Noah Gragson, who starts on the inside lane, and we are set to go racing.
Green flag!
They're two-wide into Turns 1 and 2 and Gragson moves out front
Lap 1: Gragson, Friesen, Enfinger, Jones, Eggleston
Lap 3: Thorson slaps the outside wall hard in Turn 4 and he's heading to pit road. Flame erupts underneath Thorson's truck and the caution flies for the first time as Thorson bails out of his ride like...well, like it's on fire.
5:45 pm - Cup Qualifying Wrap Up - Erik Jones became the youngest Cup Series driver to win a pole at LVMS. The 22-year old driver was fourth fastest after this morning's practice session and saved his best for when it counted most.
"I knew we had a good car in practice," said Jones. "I didn't know if we had the speed to get the pole. The track kind of came to us. Can't start off any better than that. We've got a long ways to go this weekend, but we've definitely got the speed to do it."
Rounding out the five were Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.
The Cup teams will have two more practice sessions tomorrow to prepare for Sunday's main event.
5:20 pm - Jones Wins South Point 400 Pole - Erik Jones won the pole for Sunday's South Point 400 with a 188.121 mph. This is Jones' second career pole and his first at LVMS.
Starting 2nd-12th: Logano, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Blaney, Elliott, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Truex, Larson, McMurray.
5:05 pm - Jones Wins Cup Qualifying, Round 2 - Erik Jones led the second round of qualifying with a 187.911 mph lap.
The remaining drivers transferring to the third and final round to run for the pole: Harvick, Logano, Hamlin, Larson, Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Bowman, McMurray, Kurt Busch.
4:50 pm - Harvick Wins Cup Qualifying Round 1 - Kevin Harvick was fastest in that first round at 188.778 mph.
The top 24 qualifiers advance to Round 2. Joining Harvick are Logano, Bowman Larson, Boywer, Almirola, Blaney, Jones, Johnson, Keselowski, Dillon, Byron, Kurt Busch, Menard, Newman, Hamlin, Bayne, Suarez, McMurray, Stenhouse, Truex, Elliott, McDowell, Kyle Busch.
The top 12 after Round 2 will transfer to Round 3.
Bubba Wallace made contact without the outside wall during his qualifying run.
4:35 pm - Cup Qualifying, Round 1 - Qualifying has just begun for Sunday's South Point 400. This will be a multi-vehicle format with three rounds to determine the pole winner. The top 24 drivers advance to Round 2.
4:05 pm - Gragson Wins the World of Westgate 200 Pole - Las Vegas' own Noah Gragson earned the right to lead the field to green with the fastest lap during Truck Series qualifying. Gragson toured the speedway at 178.036 mph to outrun Stewart Friesen for the pole. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver just missed the standing track qualifying record. Mike Skinner set the bar at 178.065 mph in September 2006 and it has stood ever since.
This is Gragson's eight career pole in 42 series events and his fifth of this season. This marks the first time he has won the pole at his home track.
Friesen posted a speed of 176.811 mph and will start alongside Gragson.
3rd-5th: Entfinger, Eggleston, Herbst
6th-10th: Sauter, Jones, Nemecheck, Moffitt, Gilliland
11th-15th: Thorson, Haley, Snider, Peters, Hill
Norm Benning, Tate Fogleman, and JJ Yeley are the three drivers who failed to qualify for the race.
3:40 pm - Gragson Fastest in Truck Qualifying, 1st Round - Noah Gragson led the first round of qualifying with a 177.713 mph lap. The other drivers advancing to the second round to fun for the pole are Friesen, Jones, Eggleston, Hunter, Gilliland, Herbst, Sauter, Enfinger, Moffitt, Thorson, Haley.
3:10 pm - Truck Qualifying Underway - We are early on in this qualifying session. Korbin Forrister is on the provisional pole but the fastest drivers in the field will be qualifying later in the session. Las Vegas resident Riley Herbst was fastest in the final practice session and will be the last driver to post a qualifying speed. This is a single-truck qualifying format with two rounds, and we have 35 drivers on the entry list this weekend.
2:50 pm - Reddick Fastest Xfinity Driver - The Xfinity drivers have finished their final practice and Tyler Reddick led the way with a 176.696 mph lap. 2nd through 5th: Chastain, Cole Custer, Sadler, and Hemric.
6th through 10th: Ryan Preece, Christopher Bell, Tifft, Reed, Justin Allgaier
11th through 15th: Ryan Truex, Chase Briscoe, Michael Anntt, Shane Lee, Austin Cedric
2:10 pm - Xfinity Final Practice Update - The Xfinity drivers are back on the track for their so-called Happy Hour practice session. Just 10 minutes into this session and Ross Chastain has the fastest lap (176.120 mph). He's followed by Tyler Reddick, Hemric, Tifft, and Reed.
1:40 pm - 2019 Ultimate Vegas Sport Weekend - The popularity of professional sports is exploding in Las Vegas, and after a successful kick-off in March of this year, the city is gearing up for next spring's Ultimate Vegas Sport weekend. On hand this afternoon to preview the event was UFC Legend Forest Griffin, Team USA Rugby star Carlin Isles, hometown hero and former NASCAR champion Kurt Busch and Derek Stevens, owner of the D, Las Vegas.
The weekend brings together five major sports in one city, a feat that only Las Vegs can pull off successfully. Returning in 2019 are the NASCAR weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, UFC, a USA Sevens rugby match and two Golden Knights games. New for 2019 is the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour at the South Point Hotel and Casino.
"This is amazing," said Busch. "Seeing everything come together as a sports weekend. It's amazing because when I was growing up, we had UNLV basketball and that was about it.
And now here we are, we have the Golden Knights, who made it into the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Raiders are on their way into town. UFC has taken residency here and everyone wants to participate in this stage of what we call the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas."
The weekend kicks off with an expanded free UVSW Fan Fest scheduled for Thursday, February 28 at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center featuring human and animal athlete appearances, interactive experiences, and a humongous tailgate party.
1:00 pm - Tifft Fastest in Xfinity Practice #1 - The first Xfinity Series practice has just concluded and Tifft's early lap of 177.614 mph stood up as the fastest overall. Elliott Sadler is second on the speed chart at 177.113 mph. Roundin out the top five are Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, and Ross Chastain.
The session was halted briefly for fluid on the track. Looks like it may have come from the 76 Chevy driven by Spencer Boyd.
12:25 pm - Truck Playoff Drivers - The truck teams are coming off a two-week break since their first playoff race, which was won by Justin Haley.
The eight playoff drivers are:
Brett Moffitt - Moffitt's only other start at LVMS came earlier this year in March, when he started 6th and finished 3rd.
Noah Gragson - Gragson's series record at his home track consists of two starts and a best finish of 12th in March 2018.
Johnny Sauter - Sauter's win at LVMS in 2009 was his first career series victory.
Justin Haley - Haley has two starts at LVMS but failed to finish in 2017 after an engine issues and crashed out of event this past March.
Ben Rhodes - This race marks the one-year anniversary of Rhodes first career victory. Rhodes started 6th in last September's event and led 20 of 146 laps to capture the checkers. Rhodes finished 7th place in the March event.
Stewart Friesen - Friesen has three Truck starts at LVMS with a best finish of 5th in March 2018.
Matt Crafton - Crafton has 18 starts at LVMS and one pole but has yet to visit Victory Lane.
Grant Entfinger - Entfinger will making his fifth Truck Series start at LVMS. His best finish was this past March when he started 8th and finished 4th.
12:10 pm- Xfinity Series Practice #1 Underway - The Xfinity drivers have taken over the track for their first of two practice sessions. We're just five minutes into this session and Matt Tifft is atop the leader board with a lap of 177.614. 2nd through 5th are Daniel Hemric, Austin Cindric, Brandon Jones, Ryan Reed.
12:00 pm - Logano Wins Practice #1 - Nobody was able to surpass Joey Logano's early lap of 189.653 mph. Kevin Harvick came closest wit a lap of 189.460 mph. Aric Almirola was 3rd, followed by Erik Jones, and Kurt Busch.
Jamie McMurray, who ranked 8th overall, was the only non-playoff driver among the top 10.
11:15 am - Logano Fastest Early - Cup Series practice is officially underway and with 15 minutes in the books, Joey Logano is leading the way at 189.653 mph. Aric Almirola is second fastest with Erik Jones, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex, Jr rounding out the current top five.
10:45 - Good Morning - We're back for day two of this weekend's NASCAR extravaganga!
The Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup teams have joined us here at the speedway and we have a full schedule for today culminating with this evening's Truck Series Main Event.
Everybody will get their chance to try out the track with one round of Cup practice, two sessions of Xfinity practice and qualifying for both the Truck and the Cup teams.
If you can't join us in person (and you should) stay tuned right here for all the action as it happens.
Today's on-track schedule:
11:05 am - 11:55 am - Cup Practice #1
12:05 pm - 12:55 pm - Xfinity Practice #1
2:05 pm - 2:50 pm - Xfinity Final Practice
3:05 pm - Truck Qualifying (Single Vehicle/Two Rounds)
4:30 pm - Cup Qualifying (Multi-Vehicle/Three Rounds)
6:00 pm - World of Westgate 200 Truck Race
