Red Bull Global Rallycross: Las Vegas Preview

Entering tonight's season finale in Las Vegas, Scott Speed leads teammate Tanner Foust in the championship standings.

IN BRIEF: A brand new course layout and the largest combined entry list of the season have Red Bull Global Rallycross Las Vegas on every fan’s radar. Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross teammates Scott Speed and Tanner Foust will settle the championship amongst themselves, while Ken Block goes for his third Las Vegas victory in a row.

TUNE IN INFORMATION:

Wednesday, November 4, 7PM PT/10PM ET on Red Bull TV

Sunday, November 8, 7:30PM ET on NBCSN and liveextra.nbcsports.com

NBC Sports will have a broadcast of this week’s Global Rallycross races from Las Vegas on Sunday from 6:30-8pm ET on NBCSN. Fans can see it all in spectacular high definition via NBC Sports Live Extra online at NBCSports.com/LiveExtra, or through the Live Extra app on mobile, tablet and through the Apple TV or Roku connected TV devices.

TICKETS: Click here

EVENT SPOTTER GUIDE: Click here

2015 SPECTATOR GUIDE: Click here

LAST RACE: Tanner Foust pulled off his best impression of teammate Scott Speed in Barbados, following Speed’s sweep of the Los Angeles doubleheader with two wins of his own in the Barbados doubleheader. Speed placed second in both races, while Joni Wiman (Saturday) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (Sunday) took the remaining podium spots.

DRIVER CHANGES: Subaru Rally Team USA expands to a three-car outfit once again, with Bucky Lasek and David Higgins both returning to action in Las Vegas. Pat Moro also rejoins the Supercar grid with the PMR Motorsports Chevrolet Sonic in his first action since Washington DC.

THE TRACK: This year’s Las Vegas event returns to the Village Lot on the Strip, expanding to .814 miles and incorporating 13 turns. Long straightaways, busy chicanes, and a brand new Kobalt Tools Joker Lap characterize the new course. Click here for more information on the track.

BIG WEEKEND FOR VOLKSWAGEN: Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross drivers Scott Speed and Tanner Foust clinched a championship for their team with their performances over the past two months, the first in team history, but the weekend could get even bigger. A Volkswagen victory, combined with Subaru outplacing Ford, would also earn Volkswagen its first Red Bull GRC Manufacturer’s Championship on a tiebreaker (at 6 wins to 6 wins, VW would earn the title with more second place finishes).

CHAMPIONSHIP SPOTS STILL TO BE SETTLED: Top drivers like Ken Block, Nelson Piquet Jr., and even defending Supercar champion Joni Wiman may be mathematically eligible for this year’s championship, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to fight for. Any of the top six drivers in points could finish second in the championship, while any of the top eight drivers can earn a top three spot in the year-end standings. Only Scott Speed is guaranteed a top-three spot right now; the worst he can finish in points is second.

PIQUET AIMING FOR PERFECT ATTENDANCE: Since missing the last main event of the 2014 season here in Las Vegas, Nelson Piquet Jr. has competed in all 11 points-paying Red Bull GRC Supercar finals. He’s aiming to become the only driver to make it to every main event this year, as all other drivers have either missed the final via last chance qualifier or missed at least one race this season.

QUOTES: A selection of quotes in advance of this Wednesday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Las Vegas:

Sebastian Eriksson, #93 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST: “We need to have as good of a race as possible for sure. There are seven drivers who can be third, at least, so we need to score as many points as we can and try to do a clean race without any problems or mistakes."

Patrik Sandell, #18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST: “It looks like a medium fast track with some technical sections. What I really like about it is that there are a lot of both left and right turns, so I don’t think we’ll have any tire issues, and we’ll also have a few dirt corners, which is always good for me. My idea for this week is, first of all, to try and do well in qualifying and then stay up front—when it comes to the dirt corners, I can hopefully gain some time on the other guys, and if I can drive the same pace as them on the asphalt that should lead to something good."

Pat Moro, #59 PMR Motorsports Chevrolet Sonic: “The goal was to get into the final here. It’d be a really good thing, well-needed. At the beginning of the year we sat down and decided we weren’t going to go to races just to go to races—we’re going to try to make improvements, and we can only do so much. If we’re not going to make some sort of improvement or change, we’re not going to go to a race just to run races. I think this is probably one of our best shots to make a main."

Red Bull Global Rallycross