| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 36 in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | March 12, 2017 | ||
| Location | Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (640.8 km) | ||
| Average speed | 136.032 miles per hour (218.922 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 27.881 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | |
| Laps | 150 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini | ||
| Turn Announcers | Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
The 2017 Kobalt 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on March 12, 2017, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) asphalt intermediate speedway, it was the third race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
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 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Entry list
First practice
Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.907 seconds and a speed of 193.500 mph (311.408 km/h).[11]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 27.907 | 193.500 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 27.980 | 192.995 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.981 | 192.988 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Brad Keselowski scored the pole for the race with a time of 27.881 and a speed of 193.680 mph (311.698 km/h).[12] When asked how he accomplished this despite missing his mark in Turns 1 and 2 on his pole lap, he said he didn't "know what the answer is. I'll have to look through a bunch of data, and the smart guys -- the engineers and crew chiefs -- will probably point some of that stuff out to me. But, yeah, every time I looked at the tracker, the cars that were fast in 1 and 2 weren't in 3 and 4, and we were the opposite. We were really good in 3 and 4… but we'll take it either way."[13]
Qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice
Chase Elliott was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.197 seconds and a speed of 191.510 mph (308.205 km/h).[14]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.197 | 191.510 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.599 | 188.818 |
| 3 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.633 | 188.594 |
| Official second practice results | ||||||
Final practice
Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.630 seconds and a speed of 188.613 mph (303.543 km/h).[15]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 28.630 | 188.613 |
| 2 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.636 | 188.574 |
| 3 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.657 | 188.436 |
| Official final practice results | ||||||
Race
Stage 1
Brad Keselowski led the field to the green flag at 3:48 p.m. He pulled away from Martin Truex Jr. in the opening laps, but Truex started reeling him back in around lap 12. The first caution of the race flew on lap 18 when Corey LaJoie slammed the wall in Turn 2. He went on to finish last.[16] Truex exited pit road with the race lead.[17]
The race restarted on lap 25. Keselowski, restarting on the outside lane, powered by Truex on the backstretch to take back the lead on the restart. Exiting the tri-oval, Kevin Harvick suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall, bringing out the second caution on lap 68.[18] After leaving the infield care center, he said that the tire "started vibrating about four or five laps there before it blew out, and I was just trying to ride it to the end of the stage there. Obviously, it didn’t make it.”[19] Joey Logano opted not to pit and took the lead.[17]
The race restarted on lap 75. Truex, on four new tires, passed Logano with ease on the backstretch to retake the lead. He won the first stage and the third caution flew for the conclusion of the stage. Truex decided to stay out, having pitted under the previous caution.[17]
Stage 2
The race restarted on lap 88. It settled into a green run that was interrupted by a cycle of green flag stops beginning on lap 125. Truex pitted from the lead the following lap. Keselowski pitted from the lead the next lap. Ty Dillon pitted from the lead on lap 129 and handed the lead to Michael McDowell. Truex passed McDowell in Turn 1 to cycle back to the lead on lap 131. Kyle Busch was handed a pass through penalty for speeding on pit road.[17]
The fourth caution flew on lap 152 when Derrike Cope spun out in Turn 2. Jimmie Johnson inherited the lead after electing not to pit.[17]
The race restarted on lap 156. Truex, on four new tires, passed Johnson with ease exiting Turn 2 on the restart to retake the lead. He won the second stage and the fifth caution flew for the conclusion of the stage.[17]
Final stage
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The race restarted with 100 laps to go. Kurt Busch made an unscheduled stop with 66 to go to make a battery change. Truex pitted with 57 to go and Johnson took the lead. He stayed out for 17 laps hoping for a caution, but didn't get one, pitted with 40 to go and Truex regained the lead. Keselowski passed Chase Elliott for second with 34 to go and set his sights on Truex. He passed Truex in Turn 3 to retake the lead with 23 to go. The sixth caution flew with 16 to go when Danica Patrick's engine expired on the frontstretch.[20] She said her team "got the car to a place where I [thought] we could have got a little more racy with it, especially if we would have caught some breaks, but then it just flattened out. I just rode around the top in case I blew up, but having a teammate behind me was not ideal for the timing of it, but unfortunately it happened. We'll just move on.”[21] The leaders all pitted under the caution and Keselowski remained the leader.[17]
The race restarted with nine to go. Keselowski pulled away on the restart and had the win in check, but suffered a part failure with two to go and dropped off pace.[22] Truex passed him on the backstretch and scored the victory.[23]
Final lap and brawl
On the final lap, Keselowski's car fell back through the field. Kyle Busch veered to the bottom to avoid him and made contact with Logano.[24] In Turn 3, Logano got loose, hit Busch and sent him spinning through Turn 4 and down onto pit road.[25] Busch got out of his car, proceeded to the staging area where the top-five cars are captured after the race, usually at the entrance of pit road, threw a punch at Logano and a brawl broke out on pit road.[26] It lasted roughly 18 seconds before officials broke it up.[27]
Logano said after everything settled down that there wasn't much talking as "swinging," and that he was just "racing hard there at the end with our Pennzoil Ford. Kyle and I usually race really well together. We usually never have any issues, and he tried to pin me down into the corner underneath Brad and we about crashed on entry, and then I was still trying to gather it up by the center and I was gonna spin out, so I’m trying to chase it up and he was there. It obviously wasn’t anything intentional, but obviously he thinks that, so, I don’t know, we’ll get by.”[28]
Busch saw it differently, telling Vince Welch of Fox Sports that he "got dumped. (Logano) flat-out just drove straight in the corner and wrecked me. That's how Joey races, so he's going to get it."[29]
Post-race
Driver comments
Truex said in victory lane that his team "definitely had [their] share of races where we've dominated and gave one away, and it looked like today was going to be another one of those. The runs just didn't work out the way we needed them. We were struggling on the really long runs. We had to run that last set of tires on that last caution longer than we did all race long. From Lap 211 until caution for Danica Patrick's blown engine on Lap 252, I was out of control and Brad was really good on the long run. I hate that he had problems. He was strong and we weren't going to do anything with him, but then he lost the brakes or something. A little bit of a gift, but we've given some away, so it feels good to come out on the good end for once."[30]
Keselowski, who finished fifth, said his team will "have to take [the car] apart (to discover the source of the part failure), it has to go through inspection. I just know it was something major. It wouldn't turn, and I lost the brakes, so it's a pretty good indicator.”[31]
Race results
Stage results
Stage 1 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage 2 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final stage results
Stage 3 Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 267 | 60 |
| 2 | 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 52 |
| 3 | 12 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 47 |
| 4 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 39 |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 48 |
| 6 | 15 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 31 |
| 7 | 3 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 267 | 43 |
| 8 | 10 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 37 |
| 9 | 4 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 30 |
| 10 | 13 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 27 |
| 11 | 16 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 31 |
| 12 | 7 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 25 |
| 13 | 20 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 24 |
| 14 | 30 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 23 |
| 15 | 8 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 267 | 22 |
| 16 | 18 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 26 |
| 17 | 21 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 22 |
| 18 | 26 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 19 |
| 19 | 14 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 18 |
| 20 | 11 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 17 |
| 21 | 24 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 16 |
| 22 | 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 18 |
| 23 | 25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 14 |
| 24 | 23 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 13 |
| 25 | 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 12 |
| 26 | 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Fas Lane Racing | Ford | 265 | 11 |
| 27 | 27 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 264 | 10 |
| 28 | 33 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 264 | 9 |
| 29 | 32 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 264 | 8 |
| 30 | 17 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 263 | 7 |
| 31 | 37 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 262 | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 261 | 5 |
| 33 | 29 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 261 | 4 |
| 34 | 35 | 23 | Gray Gaulding (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 260 | 3 |
| 35 | 38 | 55 | Derrike Cope | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 2 |
| 36 | 28 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 246 | 1 |
| 37 | 39 | 51 | Timmy Hill (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 135 | 0 |
| 38 | 19 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 68 | 1 |
| 39 | 34 | 83 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 16 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 6 among different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 34
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 56 minutes and 39 seconds
- Average speed: 136.032 miles per hour (218.922 km/h)
Media
Television
Fox Sports covered their 17th race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, 2001 race winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.
| Fox | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie Little Vince Welch Matt Yocum |
Radio
PRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards worked pit road for the radio side.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow Announcer: Wendy Venturini | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Jim Noble Steve Richards |
Standings after the race
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References
- ↑ "2017 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ↑ "Las Vegas Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ↑ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 6, 2017. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ↑ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 10, 2017. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ↑ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 10, 2017. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ↑ "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 11, 2017. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ↑ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 11, 2017. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ↑ "Kobalt 400 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 12, 2017. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 13, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ↑ "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 13, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ↑ Spencer, Lee (March 10, 2017). "Truex tops opening Las Vegas practice". Motorsport.com. Las Vegas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ↑ Cranston, Mike (March 10, 2017). "Keselowski on pole for NASCAR Las Vegas stop, Truex Jr. 2nd". Associated Press. Las Vegas: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ↑ Spencer, Reid (March 10, 2017). "Keselowski captures Las Vegas pole for first time". NASCAR.com. Las Vegas: NASCAR Wire Service. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ↑ Spencer, Lee (March 11, 2017). "Chase Elliott leads first Saturday Cup practice". Motorsport.com. Las Vegas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ↑ Spencer, Lee (March 11, 2017). "Truex tops final practice in Las Vegas". Motorsport.com. Las Vegas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ↑ Beard, Brock (March 12, 2017). "CUP: Corey LaJoie's first Cup Series last-place finish comes after hard Vegas crash". brock.lastcar.info. LASTCAR.info. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Engle, Greg (March 12, 2017). "The NASCAR Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas as It happened". CupScene.com. Cup Scene. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Pistone, Pete (March 12, 2017). "Early Exit for Harvick in Vegas". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Aragon, Dominic (March 12, 2017). "Harvick blows tire, loses points lead". TheRacingExperts.com. Las Vegas: The Racing Experts. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Miech, Rob (March 12, 2017). "Stewart-Haas Racing has tough day in Las Vegas". USA Today. Las Vegas: Gannett Company. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ White, Tucker (March 13, 2017). "Rough day for Stewart-Haas Racing in Vegas". SpeedwayMedia.com. Speedway Media. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Manzano, Gilbert; Kantowski, Ron (March 12, 2017). "Brad Keselowski's successful Las Vegas run comes to abrupt ending". Las Vegas Review-Journal. GateHouse Media. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Cranston, Mike (March 12, 2017). "Martin Truex Jr. wins at Vegas, Kyle Busch bloodied in brawl". Associated Press. Las Vegas: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ↑ Miech, Rob; Horrow, Ellen (March 12, 2017). "Kyle Busch fights with Joey Logano's pit crew after NASCAR race in Las Vegas". USA Today. Las Vegas: Gannett Company. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
- ↑ Ruffin, Jessica (March 12, 2017). "Kyle Busch, Joey Logano mix it up on pit road after wild Las Vegas finish". NASCAR.com. Las Vegas: NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Gluck, Jeff (March 15, 2017). "Video: Kyle Busch, Joey Logano fight at Las Vegas NASCAR race". JeffGluck.com. Las Vegas: Jeff Gluck. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ White, Tucker (March 13, 2017). "Busch and Logano collide and fight in Vegas". SpeedwayMedia.com. Speedway Media. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Knight, Chris (March 12, 2017). "Last lap contact leads to pit road altercation between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano". Catchfence.com. Las Vegas: Catchfence. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Davis, K. Lee (March 12, 2017). "Kyle Busch gets worst of fisticuffs with Joey Logano, crew". ESPN.com. Las Vegas: ESPN Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Spencer, Reid (March 12, 2017). "Truex sidesteps Keselowski, rallies to Vegas win". NASCAR.com. Las Vegas: NASCAR Wire Service. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Haverlin, John (March 12, 2017). "Mechanical Failure Dooms Keselowski at Las Vegas". PopularSpeed.com. Las Vegas: POPULAR SPEED. Retrieved March 15, 2017.