NASCAR Cup at Las Vegas: Sunday Start Time, TV Channel and 36-Car Entry List
The short version
- NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: Sunday, Oct. 4, 267 laps, green flag 5:40 p.m. ET, coverage on USA from 5:30 p.m. ET.
- The race marks the halfway point of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the championship.
- Kyle Larson leads the Chase with two wins in the first four races; Denny Hamlin is 26 points back.
- Hamlin is the defending winner of the fall Las Vegas Cup race.
- The 36-car entry list has no open entries; the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series runs 201 laps Saturday on The CW.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the championship reaches its halfway point at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Denny Hamlin chases Kyle Larson's 26-point lead.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the fall race that marks the halfway point of the 2026 Chase for the championship. The Cup event shares the weekend with the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, which has a full Saturday of practice, qualifying and racing of its own.
Sunday's Cup race is scheduled for October 4 over 267 laps, with the green flag set for 5:40 p.m. ET. The three stages run 80, 85 and 102 laps, and each team will have nine sets of tires for the event.
A pre-race show airs at 5:00 p.m. ET on USA, with race coverage following at 5:30 p.m. ET on the same channel. TSN carries the broadcast in Canada, and a live stream is available through USA. Radio coverage can be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Saturday's slate begins with O'Reilly Auto Parts Series practice at 2:00 p.m. ET and qualifying at 3:05 p.m. ET, both on The CW app and ESPN Unlimited. Cup drivers then practice at 4:30 p.m. ET and qualify at 5:40 p.m. ET on TruTV and HBO Max. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series closes the day with a 201-lap race at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW.
Championship leader Kyle Larson arrives in Las Vegas with two wins through the first four races of the 2026 Chase. Denny Hamlin trails by 26 points and won this event a year ago with a charge in the closing laps.
Thirty-six cars are entered for the Cup race, with no open entries. Hendrick Motorsports fields four Chevrolets for Kyle Larson (No. 5), Chase Elliott (No. 9), William Byron (No. 24) and Alex Bowman (No. 48). Joe Gibbs Racing counters with four Toyotas for Denny Hamlin (No. 11), Chase Briscoe (No. 19), Christopher Bell (No. 20) and Ty Gibbs (No. 54).
Team Penske runs Fords for Austin Cindric (No. 2), Ryan Blaney (No. 12) and Joey Logano (No. 22). RFK Racing also enters three Fords, for Brad Keselowski (No. 6), Chris Buescher (No. 17) and Ryan Preece (No. 60). 23XI Racing brings Toyotas for Bubba Wallace (No. 23), Riley Herbst (No. 35) and Tyler Reddick (No. 45).
Trackhouse Racing lists three Chevrolets for Ross Chastain (No. 1), Connor Zilisch (No. 88) and Shane van Gisbergen (No. 97). Spire Motorsports fields Daniel Suarez (No. 7), Michael McDowell (No. 71) and Carson Hocevar (No. 77) in Chevrolets. Front Row Motorsports rounds out a three-car Ford group with Noah Gragson (No. 4), Todd Gilliland (No. 34) and Zane Smith (No. 38).
The rest of the grid includes Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets for Austin Dillon (No. 3) and Austin Hill (No. 33), Kaulig Racing entries for Ty Dillon (No. 10) and AJ Allmendinger (No. 16), and Legacy Motor Club Toyotas for John Hunter Nemechek (No. 42) and Erik Jones (No. 43). Josh Berry (Wood Brothers Racing, No. 21 Ford), Cole Custer (Haas Factory Team, No. 41 Chevrolet), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Hyak Motorsports, No. 47 Chevrolet) and Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing, No. 51 Chevrolet) complete the field.
