JRM Chase Weekend Preview: Las Vegas II

September 30, 2026

#88: Kyle Larson, JR Motorsports, Hendrick Cars.com Chevrolet Camaro celebrates his win

TRACK – Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
NOAPS RACE – Focused Health 302 (201 laps / 301.5 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90, ESPN Mobile App at 7:30 p.m. (ET)

  • Carson Kvapil will head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the fourth time in his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career.
  • In 35 career starts on tracks 1-2 miles in length, Kvapil has recorded nine top-fives and 15 top-tens.
  • Accompanying Kvapil, crew chief Rodney Childers has made 26 NASCAR Cup Series starts atop the box at Las Vegas. In those starts, Childers has two wins, five top-fives and 10 top-tens.
  • Through the third race of The Chase, Kvapil remains third in the series points standings.
  • Justin Allgaier heads into the fourth race in The Chase second in points, 11 markers back from the series lead.
  • Allgaier is a former winner in Las Vegas, taking the checkered flag in dominating fashion in the spring of 2025 after leading for 102 of 200 laps.
  • Overall, Las Vegas is statistically one of Allgaier’s strongest tracks on the NOAPS schedule, as his 14 top-fives rank tied for first among all tracks he has competed on and his average finish of 6.6 ranks the best among all 1.5-mile tracks on the schedule.
  • Dating back to this event in 2021, Allgaier has finished no worse than 10th in “Sin City,” earning a combined eight top-fives and 10 top-10s along the way.
  • Sammy Smith will make his eighth NOAPS start at Las Vegas this Saturday and currently sits tied for sixth in The Chase standings.
  • In 62 NOAPS starts on tracks measuring 1-2 miles in length, Smith has tallied two wins, 10 top-fives and 30 top-10s.
  • According to NASCAR’s Loop Detail Statistics, Smith is ranked first in quality passes this season with 1,316.
  • O’Reilly Auto Parts will ride along in Las Vegas with Smith for their second primary of the season on the No. 8 Chevrolet.
  • Rajah Caruth and the No. 88 HendrickCars.com team head west to Las Vegas this weekend for the fourth race of the 2026 Chase.
  • Las Vegas is the site of Caruth’s first career NASCAR national-series victory. In 2024, Caruth started from the pole and led 38 laps on his way to his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at the 1.5-mile oval.
  • On 1.5-mile tracks this season, Caruth’s best finish was at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he earned an eighth-place result.
  • The No. 88 HendrickCars.com team returns to Las Vegas as the defending race winner after Kyle Larson drove the Chevrolet to victory earlier this season. Larson started second and led 47 laps enroute to the victory.

Carson Kvapil: “Las Vegas is a fun track with multiple grooves you can run. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and this entire No. 1 Bass Pro Shops team have been working their tails off during the off week to bring another fast Chevrolet to Vegas. We just need to go out there and execute the way I know this team can. If we do that, we’ll put ourselves in position to get this No. 1 Bass Pro Shops team into Victory Lane on Saturday.”

Justin Allgaier: “Las Vegas has been a really strong track for us in the past. Something about this place has always suited my driving style and I can’t think of a better place to go to then here to try to reclaim that point lead. We were solid here in the spring and I know that Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and everyone on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team have worked tirelessly through the off weekend to ensure we are going to be even stronger when we hit the track on Saturday. If we can just go out and execute like we know we can, I feel like we will have a great chance to have a great night on Saturday.”

Sammy Smith: “We’ve had good finishes in The Chase so far, we just need to focus on running up front the entire race to build up more stage points and break into the top-five in the standings. At Las Vegas back in the Spring we qualified and finished in the top-five and I know this No. 8 team will bring another fast car so I’m looking forward to heading back there this weekend and see what we can do in our O’Reilly Auto Parts Chevrolet.”

Rajah Caruth:“Las Vegas is obviously a special place for me with getting my first Truck win there a couple years ago. I’ve always enjoyed racing there, and it’s a track where you can move around and find different lanes as the race develops. Our No. 88 team had a lot of speed there earlier this year with Kyle (Larson) getting the win, so hopefully we can build off that and have another strong weekend for HendrickCars.com. We just need to keep executing and take advantage of every opportunity we get.”

JRM Team Updates

  • JR Motorsports at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: JR Motorsports has competed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a combined 97 times in the NOAPS since 2006. In those starts at the 1.5-mile oval, the organization has recorded five wins, 40 top-fives, and 63 top-10s. The average finish is 10.8.
  • Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, and Rajah Caruth will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / HMS WB + AB souvenir rig on Saturday, October 3rd, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. PT.