The NCS comes into Las Vegas after an exhilerating finish at Phoenix Raceway last Sunday, as Christopher Bell held of Denny Hamlin to secure his third straight win. It marked the first time since Kyle Larson in 2021 that a driver has won three consecutive races (Larson accomplished the feat twice that season).

The most famous words in motorsports carried some extra weight with them Sunday, as legendary actor and narrator Morgan Freeman gave the command to start engines for the NASCAR Cup Series' Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.