# 2019 South Point 400

The 2019 South Point 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 15, 2019, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) asphalt intermediate speedway, it was the 27th race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, first race of the Playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 16.

## Report
### Background

Las 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

* (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford |
| 52 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 53 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 66 | Joey Gase (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota |
| Official entry list ||||

## Practice
### First practice

Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 30.327 seconds and a speed of 178.059 mph (286.558 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.327 | 178.059 |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.470 | 177.223 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.483 | 177.148 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 30.461 seconds and a speed of 177.276 mph (285.298 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 30.461 | 177.276 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 30.546 | 176.783 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 30.626 | 176.321 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Clint Bowyer scored the pole for the race with a time of 30.180 and a speed of 178.926 mph (287.953 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time |
| 1 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.180 |
| 2 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.189 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.206 |
| 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.252 |
| 5 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 30.318 |
| 6 | 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.366 |
| 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.454 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.463 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.488 |
| 10 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 30.490 |
| 11 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 30.527 |
| 12 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.531 |
| 13 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.539 |
| 14 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.567 |
| 15 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 30.590 |
| 16 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 30.615 |
| 17 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 30.618 |
| 18 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 30.619 |
| 19 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.620 |
| 20 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.633 |
| 21 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 30.672 |
| 22 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 30.674 |
| 23 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 30.706 |
| 24 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.721 |
| 25 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 30.726 |
| 26 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.740 |
| 27 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 30.742 |
| 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 30.774 |
| 29 | 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 30.808 |
| 30 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 30.839 |
| 31 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.893 |
| 32 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.027 |
| 33 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 31.081 |
| 34 | 52 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 31.411 |
| 35 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford | 31.413 |
| 36 | 53 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 31.538 |
| 37 | 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.572 |
| 38 | 27 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.070 |
| 39 | 66 | Joey Gase (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 32.086 |
| Official qualifying results ||||||

## Race
### Stage results

Stage One Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage Two Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final stage results

Stage Three Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 24 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 53 |
| 2 | 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 51 |
| 3 | 18 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 34 |
| 4 | 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 39 |
| 5 | 23 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 35 |
| 6 | 19 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 32 |
| 7 | 14 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 39 |
| 8 | 15 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 39 |
| 9 | 22 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 47 |
| 10 | 17 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 27 |
| 11 | 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 26 |
| 12 | 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 31 |
| 13 | 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 32 |
| 14 | 21 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 267 | 23 |
| 15 | 13 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 26 |
| 16 | 27 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 21 |
| 17 | 6 | 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 20 |
| 18 | 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 19 |
| 19 | 20 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 266 | 18 |
| 20 | 2 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 266 | 24 |
| 21 | 25 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 266 | 16 |
| 22 | 11 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 266 | 15 |
| 23 | 31 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 14 |
| 24 | 10 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 266 | 13 |
| 25 | 1 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 266 | 12 |
| 26 | 12 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 265 | 11 |
| 27 | 16 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 10 |
| 28 | 33 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 265 | 9 |
| 29 | 30 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 |
| 30 | 29 | 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 264 | 7 |
| 31 | 32 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 262 | 0 |
| 32 | 36 | 53 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 260 | 0 |
| 33 | 35 | 51 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford | 259 | 0 |
| 34 | 38 | 27 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | 0 |
| 35 | 34 | 52 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 255 | 0 |
| 36 | 26 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 254 | 2 |
| 37 | 37 | 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Toyota | 250 | 1 |
| 38 | 39 | 66 | Joey Gase (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 249 | 0 |
| 39 | 5 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 187 | 8 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Kyle Busch/Garrett Smithley incident

Late in the race, Kyle Busch was battling for position with William Byron when #52 Honest Abe Roofing driver Garrett Smithley, who was laps down, couldn't move down to get out of the way of the lead lap cars. Kyle Busch also didn't have enough time to move down, and Busch would hit Smithley in the rear. Busch would have major front end damage, saying "think the nose is knocked in. Fucking destroyed". Busch would go on to finish 19th, and Smithley 35th, 12 laps down.
Busch was noticeably frustrated during post race interviews, saying:
   Reporter 1: What happened there with the #53, there late? Kyle Busch: #52, get it right. Don´t know. Reporter 1: And how´d that impact your car? Kyle Busch: Killed it. Reporter 1: What did you think... were you happy that you were able to come back after the early damage to your (car)? Kyle Busch: Nope. Reporter 1: What happened there at the beginning of the race? Kyle Busch: I´m just here so I don´t get fined. Reporter 2: How about the heat? How did it... Kyle Busch: Felt great. Reporter 2: You felt fine out there the whole time? Reporter 1: Based on since you´re doing to a place where you won last time, last year, Richmond... Kyle Busch: Nope, can´t pass there. Reporter 1: Do you feel OK about your chances overall at Homestead? Kyle Busch: Don´t care. Reporter 3: Does it help any at all that you had the bonus points coming in here, coming out of this race? Kyle Busch: Just here so I don´t get fined. Reporter 1: Do you feel like if you were able to get a top 10... (Kyle Busch´s PR manager walks up to Kyle Busch and talks to Busch) Kyle Busch: I´m answering the dumbest fucking questions over and over again. Am I good?
On Monday, September 16, Smithley would defend his actions on Twitter, tweeting ¨Held my line... 2 cars got around.¨ Fans were split on the issue- some saying Smithley should have gotten out of the way, while others saying Busch should have moved his line earlier. On the same day, Smithley would post an announcement on Twitter, defending his racing career up to that point and saying that he wasn't mad at Busch. Busch would criticize the skill of lapped car drivers, saying “We’re at the top echelon of motorsports, and we’ve got guys who have never won Late Model races running on the racetrack. It’s pathetic. They don’t know where to go. What else do you do?¨ On September 20, Smithley would tweet ¨Even when I don’t do anything @KyleBusch blames me. Went outta my way to give him room tonight. Think he might have thought I was in a different car. 🤷🏼‍♂️¨. As of now, nothing more has been said, but the question of skill needed in NASCAR has remained, recently brought up by Quin Houff´s incident with Matt Dibenedetto at the 2020 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500.

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 24 among 14 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 4 for 22
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 2 hours, 48 minutes and 34 seconds
* Average speed: 142.555 miles per hour (229.420 km/h)

## Media
### Television

NBC Sports called the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCSN :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

PRN covered the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2 & Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Wendy Venturini, and Heather DeBeaux worked pit road for the radio side.
PRN :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Wendy Venturini Heather DeBeaux |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 2 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 2,082 |
| 3 | 2 | Kevin Harvick | 2,079 (–3) |
| 1 | 3 | Joey Logano | 2,075 (–7) |
| 3 | 4 | Kyle Busch | 2,063 (–19) |
| 1 | 5 | Brad Keselowski | 2,058 (–24) |
| 1 | 6 | Chase Elliott | 2,057 (–25) |
| 5 | 7 | Denny Hamlin | 2,056 (–26) |
| 1 | 8 | Kyle Larson | 2,044 (–38) |
| 4 | 9 | William Byron | 2,040 (–42) |
| 2 | 10 | Ryan Blaney | 2,039 (–43) |
| 1 | 11 | Alex Bowman | 2,037 (–45) |
| 2 | 12 | Aric Almirola | 2,033 (–49) |
| 3 | 13 | Ryan Newman | 2,027 (–55) |
| 6 | 14 | Kurt Busch | 2,019 (–63) |
| | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 2,012 (–70) |
| 5 | 16 | Erik Jones | 2,007 (–75) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Toyota | 991 |
| 2 | Ford | 958 (–33) |
| 3 | Chevrolet | 916 (–75) |