NASCAR playoffs 2019: Schedule, lineup, TV and more for South Point Hotel & Casino 400 at Las Vegas
It’s race day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and we've got all the information you need to get ready for Sunday's South Point Hotel & Casino 400, the first of 10 playoff races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:
START TIME: 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. local). GREEN FLAG: 7:16 p.m. ET (4:16 p.m. local).
Cole Hauser, star of Paramount’s TV series "Yellowstone." will instruct drivers to start their engines at 7:07 p.m. ET (4:07 p.m. local).
TV: NBCSN. Pre-race broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. local).
RADIO: Performance Racing Network. STREAMING: For those who sign in with their cable/satellite provider's credentials, you can watch at stream.nbcsports.com.
RACE DISTANCE: 267 laps around the 1.5-mile track for a total of 400.5 miles.
STAGE LENGTHS (laps per stage): Stage 1: 80, Stage 2: 80, Stage 3: 107.
SEEDINGS (heading into first place race): 1. Kyle Busch, 2. Denny Hamlin, 3. Martin Truex Jr., 4. Kevin Harvick, 5. Joey Logano, 6. Brad Keselowski, 7. Chase Elliott, 8. Kurt Busch, 9. Alex Bowman, 10. Erik Jones, 11. Kyle Larson, 12. Ryan Blaney, 13. William Byron, 14. Aric Almirola, 15. Clint Bowyer, 16. Ryan Newman.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Country singer/songwriter Sierra Black will perform the anthem at 7:01 p.m. ET (4:01 p.m. local), followed by a flyover by four A-10s from the 66th Weapons Squadron “Exterminators” of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
PLAYOFF FIELD: Meet the 16 drivers racing for the 2019 championship
KYLE BUSCH: Aims to recapture first-half magic as playoffs begin
'HELL YES!': Bowyer would wreck another driver to win a playoff race
WEATHER: Hot. Very, very hot! The Weather Channel is forecasting temperatures right around 100 degrees for the start of the race and minimal cooling by race end — still in the mid-to-upper 90s. Skies will be partly cloudy and there is no chance of rain.
LAST TIME: Logano lead 86 laps, including the final 24, and edged teammate Keselowski by 0.236 seconds as Team Penske swept the top two spots in March race. And one year ago in the 2018 playoff opener, Keselowski led 75 laps, including the final 22, holding off Larson for the win.
LINEUP: Bowyer lead a Stewart-Haas Racing sweep of the first two rows, grabbing the pole during Saturday's qualifying. Daniel Suarez, the only SHR driver to make the playoffs, starts second.
Here is the lineup for the South Point Hotel & Casino 400 (car number in parentheses):
1. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford
2. (41) Daniel Suarez, Ford
3. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford
4. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford
5. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet
6. (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet
7. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
8. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
9. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
10. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford
11. (38) David Ragan, Ford
12. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford
13. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
14. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
15. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
16. (47) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet
17. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford
18. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford
19. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
20. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota
21. (21) Paul Menard, Ford
22. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
23. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
24. (19) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota
25. (95) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota
26. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota
27. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
28. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet
29. (36) Matt Tifft, Ford
30. (00) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet
31. (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet
32. (15) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
33. (32) Corey Lajoie, Ford
34. (52) Garrett Smithley, Ford
35. (51) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet
36. (53) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet
37. (77) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet
38. (27) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet
39. (66) Joey Gase, Toyota
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