Who Are the Top NASCAR Drivers to Watch in Las Vegas?
The Round of 8 in the 2025 NASCAR Playoffs starts at 5:30 p.m. EST Sunday in Las Vegas. Now that the playoff field has been cut in half, this is crunch time. Las Vegas presents an opportunity for each of the eight drivers who remain championship eligible to grab a win and punch their ticket straight to the Championship 4 in Phoenix. Here is a look at three playoff drivers that might find themselves in victory lane on Sunday.
Joey Logano
The late season is when Joey Logano and Team Penske rise to the occasion. In the past three seasons, Logano has won this exact race twice to punch his ticket to the championship, and he ended up winning the title in both of those seasons. Last season, Logano was in a hole compared to the other drivers and needed to win, and this year is no different. Logano sits last in the playoff standings entering this race, 24 points below the cutline. In the Next Gen car, Logano has won two of the seven Las Vegas races and has an average finish of 12.6, which is fifth among active drivers in the car. With a lot of points to gain, a win might be just what Logano needs to get back to the championship in hopes of his fourth career title.
William Byron
Of the eight drivers still in the playoffs, William Byron has the best average finish at Las Vegas in the Next Gen car. Across the seven races, Byron averages a finish of 6.3. He has six top-10s, four top-fives, and won the spring race in 2023. While Byron has been under the radar recently with just two top-10s in the first six playoff races, Las Vegas might be the time he finally wakes up and starts to perform again. In the playoff races at Las Vegas in the Next Gen car, Byron has finished 13th, seventh, and fourth, progressively improving each time. If he continues that trend, he could be the one exiting with a win and a spot in the finale.
Kyle Larson
Like Logano, Kyle Larson has brought home the checkered flag twice in the Next Gen car at Las Vegas. While Logano’s wins came in the 2022 and 2024 playoff races, Larson took the 2023 playoff race and followed it up with a win in the 2024 spring race. Larson is one of four drivers to average a top-10 finish at the 1.5-mile intermediate track, achieving an average of 8.7. He has five top-10s and four top-fives to go along with his wins. Larson and Byron will enter this race tied in the points, each being four above the cutline. The Hendrick Motorsports teammates may try to work together throughout the day, but when it comes down to it, each will do whatever it takes to secure the win and reach Phoenix.
