Who triumphed in the inaugural race in Las Vegas? Exploring NASCAR Cup Series' decades-old start at the famed 1.5-mile oval ft. showgirls celebration
NASCAR's 1.5-mile D-shaped oval track, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, has a rich history. The first Cup Series race held on the track, the Inaugural Las Vegas 400, unfolded on March 1, 1998. Back then, former Roush Fenway Racing driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin etched his name in the history books after winning the first race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
He outperformed other NASCAR legends like Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. to take the honors. Martin clinched victory after leading for a whopping 82 laps in the 267-lap race.
Reminiscing about his triumph in Las Vegas, Mark Martin once expressed his views by saying: (via RFK racing's website)
"The win there in ’98 is one of the most memorable win I have. We went there, it was a brand new track and we had a brand new team looking to see what we could do."
He added:
"Once the race was all over with and we took care of all the Victory Lane stuff and all the media, we were leaving in the helicopter, and I looked down at the track and it dawned on me what we had accomplished."
Mark Martin celebrated his wins with showgirls on the victory lane, with 1998 becoming his best season. He scored seven wins, 22 top-five finishes, and 26 top-ten finishes, along with three pole positions. With 364 points, he was second only to Jeff Gordon in the table.
Fast forward to the 2024 NASCAR's first playoff race of the round of eight at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Team Penske driver Joey Logano won his spot in the Championship 4 after a dramatic win at the first race of the NASCAR Round of Eight playoff race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway held on October 20, 2024. Logano qualified for the race in tenth position with a best time of 29.242 seconds and a top speed of 184.382 mph.
The #22 Ford Mustang driver made immense progress after the race began and moved two places up to finish Stage 1 in eighth place. During Stage 2, he jumped three more spaces and entered the top five cars on the track, finishing in fifth place.
Things started to change during the final moments of the South Point 400 when Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell pit-stopped for a fresh set of tires and Logano continued with the old set to gain a few more spots. He even came close to Daniel Saurez, who was leading the pack during the last laps.
Joey Logano overtook the #99 in lap 261 and took the lead with just five laps to go. Logano won the first race of NASCAR's round of eight playoffs, outperforming the race leader Christopher Bell in the final moments by saving enough fuel to complete the race.