NASCAR live updates: Kyle Larson wins Las Vegas race, his first victory since 2019

The NASCAR Cup Series is racing today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile intermediate track in Las Vegas, Nev. The Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube starts at 3:30 p.m. on FOX.

Stages end on laps 80, 160 and 267. All times are Eastern.

Check back here for live updates throughout the race and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

NASCAR race at Las Vegas live updates

Final Stage

CHECKERED FLAG: Kyle Larson picks up his first win since 2019 (Dover). Full results will be posted shortly.

6:25 p.m., Lap 239: It’s Kyle Larson followed by Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin — in that order — with 28 laps to go. None of the top 3 will have to pit again. Larson and Keselowski both took four tires when they had a pit stop at Lap 224.

6:17 p.m., Lap 223: Kyle Larson is driving well today and maintains a lead of almost 2 seconds with 44 laps to go. He hasn’t pitted since Lap 180, and much of his competition just hit pit road. He’ll have to pit again, but he’s looking primed to win for the first time since Dover in 2019.

6:08 p.m., Lap 204: With just over 50 laps to go, it’s Denny Hamlin up front, sitting about 0.2 seconds in front of Kyle Larson. Clean driving, for the most part, today.

5:52 p.m., Lap 180: The yellow flag comes out for debris after Aric Almirola’s left front tire goes down. He hits the in Turn 1. Some cars, including those driven by Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman and Joey Logano pit, hoping for another caution later. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and William Bryon are among those who stay out. Aric Almirola exits the race.

5:42 p.m., Lap 169: The caution comes out for Chase Elliott, who spins through the back of the field, but all cars passing appear to miss the spinning No. 9. Elliott was in 11th, but drops to 27th after earlier damage. “I just got right in his wake,” Elliott says of the spin. His crew chief Alan Gustafson says damage to the left front is “not bad as long as the splitter isn’t knocked down.”

5:36 p.m., Lap 165: Brad Keselowski loses five spots on pit road, while William Byron drops six spots, but the No. 48 team of Alex Bowman has a solid stop to put him up three spots to third place. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Bowman and Martin Truex Jr. are the top-four for the restart.

Stage 2

5:30 p.m., Lap 160: Kyle Larson wins Stage 2 after cycling back to the lead following green flag pit stops. He leads the final 13 laps in the stage for his first stage win Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott all finish in the top-10 for points.

5:23 p.m., Lap 147: Michael McDowell pits, and Kyle Larson retakes the lead. “It’s barely free, but I don’t know if that’s a bad thing,” Larson reports to his team. He’s ahead of Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, William Byron and Ryan Blaney.

5:13 p.m., Lap 131: Green flag pit stops start with Joey Logano, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman pitting first from top-10 spots. Leader Kyle Larson follows, as does Ryan Blaney in the top-five. William Byron inherits the lead, but pits a few laps later, reportedly earlier than originally planned due to vibration. There are seven lead-lap cars who still need to pit, including Tyler Reddick (leading), Michael McDowell, Anthony Alfredo and Daniel Suárez. Larson’s team is planning to cycle through back at the front near Denny Hamlin.

5 p.m., Lap 107: Kyle Larson passes Brad Keselowski for the lead after Keselowski led laps following the stage break. There were 12 lead changes in the opening stage, a trend that appears will continue in this race. Chase Elliott is up 14th place after the lengthy pit stops to repair damage.

4:47 p.m., Lap 85: Chase Elliott makes a long pit stop for the crew to attempt to make repairs to the right side jackpost. According to PRN, the damage occurred during a pit stop on Lap 49 after a jack got stuck under the No. 9 car. Elliott will restart 28th. The order for the restart is Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto, Joey Logano, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson. Larson dropped out of the top-10 from leading on the restart before the stage finish. His team passed on tires, with his team saying on the radio that they “should have taken (new tires).” Larson says that he still feels his car is fast today.

Stage 1

4:40 p.m., Lap 80: Brad Keselowski chases down Chase Elliott, making his final pass in the stage on Lap 79. He wins Stage 1 at Las Vegas, followed by Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Matt DiBenedetto, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.

4:31 p.m., Lap 62: Chase Elliott passes Joey Logano for the lead with fewer than 20 laps to go in the stage, but the Penske cars are looking strong. Ryan Blaney works his way to third, while Matt DiBenedetto makes his way into the top-10. He started in 30th today and needs a big points performance to make up for three bottom-half finishes so far.

4:28 p.m., Lap 58: It’s Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski. No, it’s Keselowski, Lar.. No it’s Logano. Okay. Logano is leading after an entire lap of three-wide racing at the front. The running order is Logano, Elliott, Keselowski, Larson. Exhale.

4:17 p.m., Lap 46: Kyle Larson is leading Denny Hamlin when the next caution comes out for debris. Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace both have early car problems, with Harvick needing to pit for repairs to his left front fender due to earlier contact with Erik Jones. His left front tire goes down just as the caution comes out, fortunately for Harvick. Bubba Wallace had to pit during the green flag after he lost power steering and is still multiple laps down.

4:06 p.m., Lap 28: At the competition caution, teams pit for tires and fuel. Kyle Larson comes off pit road first. Then the order is Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman. Bubba Wallace gets a speeding penalty while on pit road and will have to drop to the back for the restart. Chase Elliott dropped six spots while on pit road. The FOX broadcast shows Elliott’s No. 9 car with right side damage and a slide into the pit box, putting his car slightly farther forward in the box than optimal for his team.

3:59 p.m., Lap 20: Chase Elliott passes William Byron after passing two lapped cars. Elliott drives up on Byron’s bumper, tries the top lane, then slides low to make the pass. The order is Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski.

3:51 p.m., Lap 5: The field runs three-wide early, with William Byron sliding to the front to lead the opening laps, passing Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson. Byron won last weekend’s 1.5-mile race at Homestead and started second.

3:45 p.m.: Pre-race ceremonies completed

Cars roll off the grid for pace laps after the national anthem, sung virtually by Jessie James Decker, the flyover and a live command to fire engines from Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. There will be a competition caution on Lap 25.

3:30 p.m.: Cars honoring Wendell Scott

Each Cup car has a decal on it today to commemorate Wendell Scott’s career. Scott was the first Black NASCAR driver to win a premiere series event, a victory at Jacksonville almost 60 years ago that he was originally denied. Scott died in 1990 after accumulating 20 top-five finishes during his NASCAR career. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015.

NASCAR is honoring the 60th anniversary of Scott’s first career start this weekend.

3:10 p.m.: No cars to the rear for race start

NASCAR sends an update that no cars will be sent to the rear for the start of the race. There were no multiple failures during pre-race inspection.

3 p.m.: Get ready for racing with fans at Vegas

Cars are on the grid and ready to roll off for the next 400-miler. The NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is at the track. He will be the grand marshal for the event, which will also have fans in the stands for the first time since last year’s Pennzoil 400. The speedway had its fan attendance plan, which called for a 20% capacity cap (or roughly 15,000 people), approved last month by the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, according to KTNV.

Phoenix Raceway also plans to host limited fans next weekend.

Our #Pennzoil400 grand marshal, @derekcarrqb has arrived! @NASCAR | @Raiders pic.twitter.com/O7YvjKodqI

— Las Vegas Motor Speedway (@LVMotorSpeedway) March 7, 2021

2:30 p.m.: Pre-race inspection complete and local weather update

NASCAR completed pre-race inspection on Saturday evening due to the earlier local start time in Las Vegas. There were no multiple inspection failures as of Saturday evening, although teams would still be able to make unapproved adjustments Sunday before the race. So far, no teams have been sent to the rear of the field for the start.

Today’s local forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a high near 78 degrees and no threat of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Clouds are expected to gradually clear in the area this evening.

NASCAR this weekend: How to watch the race at Las Vegas

• Race: Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube

• When: Sunday, Mar. 7 at 3:30 p.m.
  
  

• How to watch/listen: FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Distance: 267 laps, 400.5 miles on the 1.5-mile tri-oval

• Stages: Laps 80, 160, 267

• Last year’s winner: Joey Logano

NASCAR Cup at Las Vegas starting order

Order	Driver	Car No.
1	Kevin Harvick	4
2	William Byron	24
3	Kyle Larson	5
4	Martin Truex Jr.	19
5	Michael McDowell	34
6	Denny Hamlin	11
7	Kurt Busch	1
8	Chase Elliott	9
9	Alex Bowman	48
10	Brad Keselowski	2
11	Tyler Reddick	8
12	Austin Dillon	3
13	Ryan Newman	6
14	Kyle Busch	18
15	Joey Logano	22
16	Christopher Bell	20
17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47
18	Chris Buescher	17
19	Ryan Preece	37
20	Cole Custer	41
21	Ross Chastain	42
22	Daniel Suárez	99
23	Bubba Wallace	23
24	Chase Briscoe #	14
25	Justin Haley (i)	77
26	Ryan Blaney	12
27	Anthony Alfredo #	38
28	Aric Almirola	10
29	Erik Jones	43
30	Matt DiBenedetto	21
31	Garrett Smithley (i)	53
32	Cody Ware (i)	51
33	Corey LaJoie	7
34	BJ McLeod (i)	78
35	Josh Bilicki	52
36	Quin Houff	0
37	Joey Gase	15
38	Timmy Hill	66

(i) ineligible for driver points, # series rookie