2026 Pennzoil 400
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | March 15, 2026 | ||
| Location | Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (640.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Clear 81 °F (27 °C) | ||
| Average speed | 148.992 miles per hour (239.779 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 28.853 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 134 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Time | 29.454 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 1.44 (2.771 million) | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Brad Gillie and Nick Yeoman | ||
| Turn announcers | Andrew Kurland (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Pennzoil 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 15, 2026, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) asphalt intermediate speedway, it was the fifth race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Denny Hamlin won the race, his 61st career win, moving him to 10th all time on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series winners. Chase Elliott finished 2nd, and William Byron finished 3rd. Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top five, and Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top ten.
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
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Alex Bowman, the original driver of the No. 48, was sidelined for the race due to vertigo sustained at Austin.[7]
Practice
Christopher Bell was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.338 seconds and a speed of 184.062 mph (296.219 km/h).
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.338 | 184.062 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.438 | 183.436 |
| 3 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.460 | 183.299 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Christopher Bell scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.853 and a speed of 187.156 mph (301.198 km/h).[8]
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 85
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 102
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 70 |
| 2 | 15 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 40 |
| 3 | 9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 49 |
| 4 | 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 51 |
| 5 | 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 39 |
| 6 | 10 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 267 | 35 |
| 7 | 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 48 |
| 8 | 18 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 29 |
| 9 | 4 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 267 | 41 |
| 10 | 28 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 267 | 27 |
| 11 | 8 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 267 | 33 |
| 12 | 11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 25 |
| 13 | 7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 267 | 30 |
| 14 | 12 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 23 |
| 15 | 21 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 22 |
| 16 | 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 23 |
| 17 | 17 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 20 |
| 18 | 13 | 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 19 |
| 19 | 31 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 19 |
| 20 | 14 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 267 | 17 |
| 21 | 26 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 266 | 16 |
| 22 | 19 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 15 |
| 23 | 20 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 266 | 14 |
| 24 | 29 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 13 |
| 25 | 22 | 48 | Justin Allgaier (i) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 |
| 26 | 30 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 11 |
| 27 | 35 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 265 | 10 |
| 28 | 24 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 9 |
| 29 | 23 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 8 |
| 30 | 34 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 7 |
| 31 | 32 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 264 | 6 |
| 32 | 25 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 5 |
| 33 | 36 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 4 |
| 34 | 27 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 264 | 3 |
| 35 | 33 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 263 | 2 |
| 36 | 16 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 21 among 9 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 3 for 20 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 41 minutes and 17 seconds
- Average speed: 148.992 miles per hour (239.779 km/h)
Media
Television
Fox Sports was carried by FS1 in the United States. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and two-time Las Vegas winner Kevin Harvick called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side, and Larry McReynolds provided insight on-site during the race.[9][10]
| FS1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Kevin Harvick | Jamie Little Regan Smith | Larry McReynolds |
Radio
PRN covered the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Brad Gillie and Nick Yeoman called the race in the booth when the field races through the tri-oval. Andrew Kurland called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field races through turns 1 and 2. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field races through turns 3 and 4. Wendy Venturini, Alan Cavanna, and Heather DeBeaux worked pit road for the radio side.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Brad Gillie Announcer: Nick Yeoman | Turns 1 & 2: Andrew Kurland Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Wendy Venturini Alan Cavanna Heather DeBeaux |
Standings after the race
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References
- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Las Vegas Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 9, 2026. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ↑ "Pennzoil 400 Results". Racing-Reference. March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 15, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
- ↑ "Alex Bowman remains sidelined; Justin Allgaier to drive No. 48 car at Las Vegas". NASCAR. March 11, 2026. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ↑ DeGroot, Nick (March 14, 2026). "Christopher Bell earns Las Vegas NASCAR Cup pole in JGR 1-2-3". Motorsport.com. Las Vegas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ↑ "2026 Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube". Fox Sports. 2026. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ↑ "2026 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule". NBC Sports. 2026. Retrieved February 18, 2026.