Back in March, NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) drivers competed in the 6th annual Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS).
Race weekend was jampacked with fierce competition, as the NASCAR drivers went head-to-head in the Nevada desert.
Returning to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway after winning the NCS Championship in 2022, Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang and two-time Pennzoil 400 winner started first, ahead of his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney, who started third and Austin Cindric, who started ninth.
Logano started the race from the pole, his first of 2023, then led the first nine laps of the race. Unfortunately, by the end of stage 1, Joey had fallen back to 14th place, and by lap 183, he found himself on the outside of three cars around a turn that ended in Joey getting pushed into the wall and spinning out into the infield. The team tried to rapidly make repairs but ran out of time and had to retire the car, resulting in a 36th-place finish.
Team Penske
His teammates, Austin Cindric, finished sixth in the Pennzoil 400, and Ryan Blaney ran in the top ten for most of the race until falling behind and finishing in 13th place after the final restart at the end. As Team Penske closes out the west coast swing of races, Joey Logano shared his thoughts on the race afterward, looking ahead to Phoenix:
“Considering how we’ve been here in the past, you kind of expect a little bit more performance today than what we had. Just off on overall speed. We had the balance somewhat close—just not fast. We have to go back to the drawing board for when we come back here.”
Pennzoil maintains a long-standing relationship with Team Penske, developing motor oil formulations built for the racetrack and powering their cars with Pennzoil Synthetics for their most demanding situations. While the drivers raced around Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5th, Pennzoil was proud to know their cutting-edge technology was helping power each driver to the finish line.
Experiencing the activities
Throughout the race weekend, NASCAR enthusiasts were invited to experience the highly anticipated and fan-favourite Pennzoil Proving Grounds, located outside the track and filled with several activations.
Special vehicles including the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang NASCAR Cup Car, Chelsea DeNofa’s Ford Drift Show Car, Mitchell Stapleton’s Monte Carlo, and Shelby Hall of Rebelle Rally’s Ford Bronco, and were on display at the Powered by Pennzoil Vehicle Display. Spectators took pictures and admired the cars on display throughout the proving grounds.
Meet & Greets
Influencer Meet & Greets were popular with fans, with scheduled autograph sessions with Mitchell Stapleton, Alex Taylor, Hailie Deegan and Estevan Caballero.
Fans also participated in interactive experiences including a photo booth, and an oil change game, and were invited to enjoy a complimentary coffee from Pennzoil’s Perfect Pour located at the proving grounds to power them throughout the weekend.
Pennzoil podcast host, Michael Thomas, of Michael’s Motor Alley was capturing content throughout the weekend and was no stranger to fans who stopped by to meet him and ask their burning technical questions!
Adding to the thrill of race weekend, Screen to Speed powered by Pennzoil, a sim racing digital tournament for female racers, held the championship round at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The tournament crowned Saoirse Fitzpatrick as the winner, taking home $15,000 cash and a racing simulator, along with the experience of a real-life track event with the Kelly Moss Porsche race team.
In a conscious effort to provide more opportunities for women in motorsports, Pennzoil also announced that this year they will be the official gold sponsor of Rebelle Rally, the ultimate female-driven off-road competition. The sponsorship includes overall support for the Rebelle Rally competition, along with their training program, Rebelle U, and their collaborative Mechanics Program, throughout the year.
