NASCAR at Las Vegas: Chris Buescher confident in first Round of 8. News, how to watch

Before this NASCAR Cup Series season, Chris Buescher and his RFK Racing team didn’t have a goal to go deep in the playoffs. It was an expectation.

Buescher, on the heels of a 21st-place finish in 2022, never finished higher than 16th in the Cup Series. The 2015 Xfinity Series champion, Buescher was confident that he could have a “very good shot” at contending in the rugged Cup Series field this year if he improved on where he ended last season.

One of eight drivers who will race for an appearance in the Championship Four as the Round of 8 opens at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR), Buescher’s trio of victories late in the regular season didn’t come as a surprise.

“It wasn’t always probably apparent to a casual fan, but we measure our week in so many different ways internally that we could always see the progression and the opportunity ahead of us,” Buescher told reporters on a video call on Wednesday. “Finally being able to really grab those wins later in the season cemented it for everybody in the industry to see.

“Very early on, we figured we would have this opportunity, and it would just be a matter of having a solid season and being smart along the way. This is not coming as a surprise to us whatsoever.”

William Byron (20 points above the elimination line), Martin Truex Jr. (+15), Denny Hamlin (+11) and Kyle Larson (+3) enter the Round of 8 as the Championship Four favorites. Buescher sits in fifth, three points below the cut line, followed by Christopher Bell (-8), Tyler Reddick (-8) and Ryan Blaney (-10). After Las Vegas, the playoffs move to Homestead-Miami and Martinsville.

Las Vegas, a 1.5-mile asphalt oval, has featured five winners in its last five playoff races, including Truex in 2019 and Hamlin in 2021. With the Next Gen cars, this particular speedway provides cars more opportunities to pass each other if they’re moving fast, Bell explained on a conference call.

Bell, who leads the field with five poles, described Las Vegas as a high-speed, high-grip intermediate track at which he expects to score a lot of points.

“The Round of 8 is not gonna be a cruise-through round for us — we’re below the cut line now, and we’re gonna have to have three spectacular races,” said Bell, who boasts just one win, the only driver still in the playoffs without multiple victories. “Your round is really dictated by that first race, and how that first race plays out is how your strategy is going into the next two races.”

Carson Hocevar joining Cup Series full-time

Carson Hocevar will drive Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro next season, the team announced Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Craftsman Truck Series driver has made six starts in the Cup Series this season, with a best finish of 11th at Bristol. He’ll become teammates with Corey LaJoie, who will continue driving Spire’s No. 7 Chevy.

“I mean, anybody in my position wants to be a Cup Series driver,” Hocevar said in the announcement. “That’s what you dream about when you’re young. You want to run on Sundays. So, my opportunity to run a few times this year, to run on Sunday and get ready, I feel more than prepared to get in the No. 77 car with Spire.

“That team is growing exponentially and I’m just excited for everything. I have a unique opportunity to build something and grow with it, while growing myself at the same time.”

Spire, which purchased Truck Series team Kyle Busch Motorsports last month, will move its headquarters from Concord to a 77,000-square foot facility in Mooresville.

Hocevar, currently second in the Truck Series playoffs, will replace Ty Dillon.

Who’s the favorite in Sunday’s South Point 400?

Kyle Larson, the 2021 champion who boasts three wins this season, is the favorite to win Sunday’s race in Las Vegas at +450 odds, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Fellow playoff drivers William Byron (+550), Denny Hamlin (+550), Tyler Reddick (+750) and Martin Truex Jr. (+750) round out the top five.

How to watch the NASCAR playoffs at Las Vegas

Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Clark County, Nevada, about 15 miles from the Las Vegas Strip)

Race: South Point 400

Date: Sunday, Oct. 15

Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Streaming: NBC Sports App/NBCSports.com

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR

Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps)

Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 80, Stage 2 ends on Lap 165 and the Final Stage ends on Lap 267