Listed below are 5 takeaways from the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas:
Berry’s win a feel-good story for driver and group
After a disappointing rookie season that solely produced two prime fives, 4 prime 10s and 10 DNFs, Berry made the transition to Wooden Brothers Racing. With a move for the lead over Daniel Suarez with 14 laps to go, Berry pulled away for profession win No. 1.
Sunday was Berry’s second straight prime 5, however the velocity has been evident to date. Berry led a career-high 56 laps at Atlanta and seems to be placing issues collectively within the early going along with his new group. With powerhouse organizations Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing already discovering victory lane, Sunday was a feel-good story for Berry and the famed Wooden Brothers, who achieved their one hundred and first win as a corporation.
No 4 of a sort in Sin Metropolis for Christopher Bell
With a Twelfth-place end, Bell was unable to hitch NASCAR Corridor of Famer Invoice Elliott as the one drivers in Cup Sequence historical past to win 4 of the primary 5 races in a season on Sunday.
Whereas he certified thirteenth, the JGR driver started the day on the tail of the sector after his group modified the throttle physique. Although he solely scored one stage level within the race and was seldom towards the entrance all through the race, Bell seems poised to be a championship contender all season and Sunday was seemingly extra of an outlier because the season progresses.
Dominant efforts derailed by late warning
Following a caution with 73 laps remaining, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron had the 2 dominant automobiles within the race. After electing to pit to get rid of any gasoline considerations, Byron rallied to fourth whereas Larson may solely get better to ninth.
The velocity between the 2 was clear and it seemed as if one in every of them was going to be standing in victory lane by race’s finish. That was not the case, leaving each empty-handed, and in Larson’s case, nonetheless in the hunt for that first win of 2025.
Free wheels trigger issues for a number of drivers
It didn’t take lengthy for unfastened wheels to grow to be a difficulty on Sunday. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe misplaced a wheel on Lap 34 following his inexperienced flag pit cease. Las Vegas native Kyle Busch skilled the identical points when he spun at the exit of Turn 2 as his unfastened proper rear wheel went rolling down the backstretch.
Whereas Briscoe no less than rallied for a prime 20 end in seventeenth, Busch (thirty third) was not as lucky. To make issues worse, each drivers will lose two crew members for the subsequent two races on account of the wheels coming off, compounding a irritating day in Sin Metropolis.
Las Vegas produces good finishes for drivers in want
Though Berry was the one in victory lane, three notable drivers lastly put collectively stable finishes after a tough begin to the season. With a runner-up end and 12 laps led, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez picked up his first prime 10 of the season after having a finest end of thirteenth (Daytona 500) coming into the weekend.
Simply behind him, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Ryan Preece (third) and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger (eighth) recorded their first top-10s of the season as effectively. Whereas victory eluded every of them, Sunday was a much-needed step in the fitting path and one thing to construct off of.
