Best of the Rest: Rolling the Dice in Vegas

While the ARCA Menards Series and Craftsman Truck Series had a weekend off, the O’Reilly and Cup Series teams headed west to test their luck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A fixture on the Cup schedule for over a decade now, the Las Vegas race weekend represents the true start of each series’  season, being the first true oval track on the schedule.

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The LiUNA! 

Race Winner: Kyle Larson

#9 Carson Kvapil

Perhaps one of the most unique and taxing situations in the 2026 NOAP schedule belongs to sophomore driver Carson Kvapil.  After narrowly missing an unexpected championship run in his rookie season last year with JR Motorsports, Kvapil finds himself running for multiple teams in 2026, while running a full schedule.

On this day, Kvapil slid behind the wheel of JR Motorsports’ #9 Chevrolet featuring a new sponsor in Wilde Protein Snacks. The JR Motorsports #9 entry, is in itself a part-time effort in 2026…but also is where Kvapil has found a home for select races. Starting his Chevrolet 18th, Kvapil methodically moved his way to the front before settling for 11th at races end.

Kvapil will be running a combined schedule in 2026, featuring the #1 and #9 Chevrolets from JR Motorsports, and w also select events in the #91 Chevrolet for DGM Racing.

 

#99 Parker Retzlaff

For 2026, Parker Retzlaff has taken over the seat of the #99 Chevrolet for Viking Motorsports. While Viking itself is a second year team running on their own, adding Retzlaff to the mix has already provided strong results. Las Vegas was no different, with Retzlaff notching his best finish of the season so far. Retzlaff qualified the Viking’s #99 entry in 12th, and also finished in 12th

Through the first five races of the season, Retzlaff and his new crew have finished 14th twice, 30th once, and second in Atlanta before the 12th-place run in Vegas.

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Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin

#6 Brad Keselowski

Following a rough 2025 for Keselowski and his #6 RFK Racing Ford, all thoughts and hopes were for a much improved 2026. Unfortunately, an injured leg in a off-season skiing incident has already created quite a challenge for 2026. Keselowski and his Ford stepped up to the table in Vegas however, and notched his second top ten of the season (10th) after qualifying 28th.

This season has been a bit of a roller coaster for the 6 crew, with finishes of 5th (Daytona), 17th (Atlanta), 20th (COTA), and 15th in Phoenix before his Vegas top ten.

 

#3 Austin Dillon

In a season that has seen Austin Dillon and his #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet struggling to find footing early on, Las Vegas was a glimmer of hope the RCR driver. Qualifying his Camaro in the 11th spot, Dillon survived being bitten by bad luck, and finished a strong 12th place, his best finish of the young season yet.

Through the early season, the iconic no. 3 Chevrolet has been involved in accidents in Daytona and Atlanta, and finished 19th and 16th the previous two weeks.