The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are getting more intense than ever… with just a three-race round determining which four drivers will be racing for the championship at Phoenix Raceway in November. A victory in one of these next three races — Las Vegas, Talladega, or Martinsville — will lock a championship-eligible driver into the Championship 4.
While there are eight drivers looking to punch their ticket into the championship finale at Phoenix, there are 28 others who are looking to put another win in their pocket prior to the end of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
There are lots of drivers who could make something happen every week, but there are five drivers in particular who could be in a prime position to park their vehicles in Victory Lane this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Alex Bowman
Alex Bowman was able to clinch a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs courtesy of his points position following the regular-season finale at Daytona, but after a horrendous first round, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was eliminated.
Things have been a little bit topsy-turvy since then, with just a single top-10 result in the last seven races — an eighth at Bristol — but the Hendrick Motorsports cars always seem to be strong at Las Vegas and the mile-and-a-half racetracks.
Plus, as a bonus, one of Bowman’s eight victories in the NASCAR Cup Series has come at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, winning the Spring event at the racetrack in 2022.
There’s no reason to believe that Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet couldn’t find themselves in Victory Lane at the end of the race weekend.
Josh Berry
Josh Berry and Wood Brothers Racing REALLY need to find something positive after the last six weeks of what has been quite the disaster, with three DNFs and four finishes of 33rd or worse.
So, coming back to the site of their first (and only) victory together this season, could very well be the medicine that the doctor ordered to get this No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse team back on track and healthy heading into the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
Team Penske, the organization tightly aligned with Wood Brothers Racing, has been strong here in the past, with Joey Logano winning a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in four of the last seven seasons.
Could Josh Berry end up sweeping the races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2025? It’s always been a good track for the Hendersonville, Tennessee-native, even in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Kyle Busch
It’s Kyle Busch. It’s Las Vegas. That has to count for something, right?
The NASCAR Cup Series has been a STRUGGLE for Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing for… a lot of the season, with on-track incidents, slow racecars, and a lack of overall pace, but could this weekend’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway serve as a turnaround?
Busch is a former winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, capturing the victory with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009 — 16 years ago. At the same time, the racetrack was also the place where the Las Vegas, Nevada-native scored his last top-five on a mile-and-a-half — granted it was two years ago.
I’m sure everybody would love to see Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing back in Victory Lane together… so, why not this weekend?
AJ Allmendinger
Now, this one might be a little bit of a sneaky pick… but, if things go right in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there is absolutely no reason to believe that AJ Allmendinger and Kaulig Racing couldn’t get themselves into Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The No. 16 Chevrolet has had legitimate pace on the mile-and-a-halfs this season, including an eighth-place finish earlier this year at the Nevada-based racetrack, and a top-five in the Coca-Cola 600.
This season, the intermediate racetracks seem to be a stealthy strength for Allmendinger and Kaulig Racing… could the Los Gatos, California-native
John Hunter Nemechek (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB)
This one was a bit of a toss-up, but John Hunter Nemechek has had a career season in the NASCAR Cup Series with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and it could very well continue with his maiden victory on Sunday.
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, with both Nemechek and Erik Jones, has been taking massive steps forward in performance, especially on the intermediates. Both entries had speed in the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this season, and in the Southern 500, both cars finished inside the top five.
Both Nemechek (No. 42) and Jones (No. 43) could be contenders to make a surprise trip to Victory Lane this weekend at Las Vegas, and with a new tire compound coming out — one that was run at Kansas Speedway — you never know what opportunities could arise with strategy.
