The 2024 The LiUNA! was the 3rd stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in North Las Vegas, Nevada, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval shaped intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would cruise to victory in a dominating performance, leading a race-high 99 laps and earning his 10th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his first of the season.[9] Nemechek's teammate, Chandler Smith, won both stages and led 74 laps, but fell back in the final stage and finished 3rd.[10] To fill out the podium, Cole Custer, driving for Stewart–Haas Racing, and Smith, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 33 of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | March 2, 2024 | ||
| Official name | 28th Annual The LiUNA! | ||
| Location | Las Vegas Motor Speedway in North Las Vegas, Nevada | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482 km) | ||
| Average speed | 137.143 mph (220.710 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart–Haas Racing | ||
| Time | 29.788 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 99 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
Report
editBackground
editLas Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada outside the Las Vegas city limits and about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editThe first and only practice session was held on Friday, March 1, at 3:35 pm PST, and would last for 20 minutes.[11] Brandon Jones, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.423, and a speed of 177.497 mph (285.654 km/h).[12]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.423 | 177.497 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 30.425 | 177.486 |
| 3 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 30.525 | 176.904 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, March 1, at 4:05 pm PST.[11] Since Las Vegas Motor Speedway is an intermediate speedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in that round will win the pole.[13]
Cole Custer, driving for Stewart–Haas Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 29.778, and a speed of 181.281 mph (291.743 km/h).[14]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Qualifying results
editRace results
editStage 1 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Chandler Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Chandler Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Jesse Love (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 110
| Fin[15] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 99 | Running | 0 |
| 2 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 43 |
| 3 | 2 | 81 | Chandler Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 74 | Running | 54 |
| 4 | 5 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 6 | Running | 46 |
| 5 | 11 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 47 |
| 6 | 3 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 42 |
| 7 | 6 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 8 | 8 | 8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 9 | 13 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 10 | 36 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 11 | Running | 38 |
| 11 | 7 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 12 | 10 | 19 | Aric Almirola | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 25 |
| 13 | 16 | 26 | Corey Heim (i) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 14 | 32 | 11 | Josh Williams | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 10 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 28 | 15 | Hailie Deegan (R) | AM Racing | Ford | 199 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 37 | 5 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 15 | 2 | Jesse Love (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 18 | 19 | 42 | Leland Honeyman (R) | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 18 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 27 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 199 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 20 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 23 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 21 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 22 | 14 | J. J. Yeley | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 17 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 9 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 197 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 31 | 92 | Nick Leitz | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 30 | 07 | Patrick Emerling | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 33 | 6 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 38 | 35 | Joey Gase | Joey Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 29 | 29 | Blaine Perkins | RSS Racing | Ford | 195 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 24 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 34 | 38 | C. J. McLaughlin | RSS Racing | Ford | 194 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 26 | 4 | Dawson Cram (R) | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 192 | 0 | Running | 3 |
| 35 | 4 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 115 | 0 | Fuel Pump | 2 |
| 36 | 35 | 32 | Sage Karam | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | Transmission | 1 |
| 37 | 25 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 27 | 0 | Engine | 1 |
| 38 | 14 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^ "2024 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
- ^ "Las Vegas Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ "Entry list" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Practice Results" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Qualifying Results" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Starting lineup" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ "John Hunter Nemechek wins big in Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Albert, Zack (March 2, 2024). "Chandler Smith sweeps stages, settles for third in Las Vegas Xfinity bid". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ a b "2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Las Vegas Motor Speedway Spring Race Page". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
- ^ Christie, Toby (March 1, 2024). "Practice Results: NXS The LiUNA! at Las Vegas". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ Srigley, Joseph (March 1, 2024). "Cole Custer Notches 19th Career Xfinity Series Pole at Las Vegas". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "2024 The LiUNA! - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved March 2, 2024.