Best of the Rest: Las Vegas Edition

With the Craftsman Truck Series off, the Xfinity and Cup Series teams continued their push toward crowning a champion in Phoenix with a handful of races left.

Having only a few weekends remaining, here are the drivers who gambled and challenged the playoff contenders in Las Vegas.

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Focused Health 302

Race Winner: Aric Almirola

#17 Corey Day: Having appeared in other articles in this series, Hendrick Motorsports prospect Day had a standout day in Las Vegas. Starting his HendrickCars.com-backed Chevrolet 19th, Day showed considerable improvement in his development and finished 4th.

In nine Xfinity starts with the Hendrick #17 team, Day collected his best career finish in Vegas, beating out his 9th-place effort in Gateway.

#39 Ryan Sieg: For Sieg and his #39 RSS Racing crew, 2025 has matched not matched the expectations after being a playoff contender last season. Typically running well consistently at tracks like Vegas, Sieg drove his Ford to a 7th-place finish after starting 14th.

Leaving Vegas, Sieg sits 15th in the standings, with 10 top ten finishes. Race 22 in Iowa was Sieg’s last top ten run, finishing 8th.

#10 Daniel Dye: A rookie of the year contender, and Craftsman Truck graduate, Dye has had an up and down 2025 with his Kaulig Racing crew. Las Vegas provided Dye a chance to roll the dice, driving his Chevrolet to a 17th-place finish in one of his better performances since finishing 12th in Kansas.

Dye and his #10 Kaulig crew have shown improvement late this season, with top fifteen finishes coming in four of the last six races.

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South Point 400

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin

#8 Kyle Busch: While it seems odd to include a former champion like Busch in this piece, the 2025 season for Busch and his Richard Childress Racing crew has not been close to what was expected. Busch’s hometown track in Vegas provided a glimpse of the old Rowdy however, with the #8 Chevrolet placing 8th by race’s end (after starting 32nd).

Bad luck has been the story of Busch’s 2025, with Vegas being his first top ten finish since an equal effort in Darlington.

#2 Austin Cindric: Having been eliminated from the 2025 playoffs early, Cindric and his Penske Racing crew had a much-needed strong day in Las Vegas. Cindric qualified his Ford in 31st, and finished 11th.

Having earned his playoff contender spot via a win early in the season in Talladega, but being eliminated in the first round (mostly due to bad luck), Vegas was Cindric’s best run since finishing 5th in Richmond.

#35 Riley Herbst: Herbst, who is running his first full season in 2025 has struggled mightily, but the 23XI Racing driver had a much needed bright spot in Vegas. Sporting a new Hungry Jack paint scheme, Herbst drove his Toyota to a 17th-place finish after starting 33rd.

Despite such a rough rookie season in the Cup Series, Herbst does carry a unique honor of finishing 17th three times this season, with the others coming in Chicago and at the Circuit of the Americas.