Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series continues in the desert. The drivers will head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube, which fans can watch online with a fuboTV trial. Here is when the race starts and how to take in the action.
The Cup Series race takes place at 3:30 p.m. ET, and the green flag will wave at 3:49 p.m. Fox will provide the broadcast as part of the continued first-half season schedule. PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the audio for fans unable to watch. Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon, and Clint Bowyer will call the action from the booth while Jamie Little and Regan Smith work as pit reporters. Larry McReynolds will provide analysis from the Fox studios.
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Vegas, baby. 😏
Retweet if you’re ready to go racing at @LVMotorSpeedway today! #NASCARReturns pic.twitter.com/PZ0k2Vk1UE
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 7, 2021
The NASCAR season has started in a unique fashion due to the first-time winners taking the checkered flag. Michael McDowell won the season-opening race, Christopher Bell won at the Daytona Road Course, and then William Byron took care of business at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Will the 2021 season continue to surprise, or will a veteran with a long list of accomplishments secure the win?
Kevin Harvick, who won nine races in 2020, will lead the field to the green flag after winning the Busch Pole. He has yet to win in 2021 but has two top-five finishes to his name. Byron will join Harvick on the front row while Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. line up on the second row. NASCAR did not hold practice laps or a qualifying session due to the ongoing COVID-19 guidelines but determined the starting order through a formula based on points, finishing position, and fastest laps.
Before the pace laps and the green flag, two special guests will take part in the pre-race festivities. Country star Jessie James Decker will sing the national anthem and set the stage for 400 miles of racing. Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who just finished his first season in the desert, will then serve as grand marshal and deliver the most famous words in racing.
The last time the NASCAR series headed to Vegas for the Pennzoil 400, the drivers dealt with weather-related issues. They didn’t take part in any qualifying sessions due to the rainfall. NASCAR responded by setting the starting lineup based on the rulebook, a trend that would continue throughout the 2020 season.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch secured the pole position but had to move to the rear of the field after he and teammate Denny Hamlin both received penalties. Busch and Hamlin ultimately finished 15th and 17th, respectively, while Team Penske’s Joey Logano secured his first win of the season.
