Summerlin South players honored at South Point 400 at LVMS

It’s been almost two months since Summerlin South made its incredible run to the U.S. championship at the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The team is still being treated like rock stars around the city.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted Summerlin South at Sunday’s South Point 400 and had the team serve as honorary race officials.

Player signed autographs in the fan zone, made appearances around the property and received loud cheers from the crowd everywhere they went.

“It felt really cool to have a whole entire state supporting us,” star pitcher and third baseman Garrett Gallegos said at a news conference Sunday.

Gallegos blasted a three-run homer in a win over Irmo (South Carolina) to send Summerlin South to the U.S. championship game in August. The team defeated Fairfield (Connecticut) to win the U.S. title, but fell to Chinese Taipei in the world championship game.

“It was really fun because we got to spend time with people from different countries and have a lot of fun with them,” infielder/pitcher Cache Malan said of the team’s experience in Williamsport. “The experience when we’re playing baseball was just a lot cooler because we were playing on a really nice field in front of a lot of fans and it’s always a once in a lifetime opportunity that was really fun.

“We took it all in and we just had the best time of our lives there.”

Summerlin South, after returning from Pennsylvania, was celebrated with a parade in Downtown Summerlin and a trip to Las Vegas Ballpark. The team also lit the torch at Allegiant Stadium before a Raiders game and rang the siren at a Golden Knights game.

“It feels really cool to be recognized like a pro and have all these fans celebrating us and our accomplishments,” Malan said. “It was really fun.”

Said infielder/pitcher Luke D’Ambrosio: “It was really cool to see the Raiders and Knights honoring us and giving us the best opportunity that we can to get there. It was really awesome.”

The boys are part of a new generation of Southern Nevadans. They have major professional sports teams in their backyard and can attend a huge sporting event seemingly every weekend.

Now, they’re part of the city’s growing sports history.

“It’s cool because it’s fun to live in a state with really good sports teams and I feel like our city and state should be really proud,” Malan said.

Malan, Gallegos and D’Ambrosio all agreed the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers will defeat the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers, respectively, and meet in the World Series. They weren’t as familiar with the drivers in Sunday’s race.

Gallegos said he did have a favorite driver. But he won’t be racing in Las Vegas until November.

“My favorite driver is (Formula 1 driver) Max Verstappen,” Gallegos said.

South Point extends deal

LVMS and South Point, hours before Sunday’s green flag, announced that South Point will remain the title sponsor of the fall Cup Series race for the next three years.

“Las Vegas is the sports and entertainment capital of the world and we all embrace that here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,” LVMS senior vice president and general manager Patrick Lindsey said at a news conference. “But it wouldn’t happen unless it was for partners like South Point.”

South Point has sponsored the fall Las Vegas race every year since 2018, when the second race at the track was added to pair with the annual Cup Series race in the winter. South Point is owned by Michael Gaughan, whose family has deep ties to racing.

Gaughan raced and was involved in off-road racing, like the Mint 400. His son, Brendan Gaughan, has raced across the three NASCAR national tour series for more than two decades.

“This is the best way for us to support professional sports in Las Vegas,” South Point general manager Ryan Growney said. “(The Gaughan family) absolutely loves it. They love this sport and they love being a part of it and we love having our name on top of such a special race.”

Busch gets top 10

Nothing has seemed to go right for Las Vegas native Kyle Busch in 2025, but he will leave his home track with a solid finish. Busch placed eighth in the South Point 400 on Sunday after qualifying 32nd on Saturday.

Busch entered Las Vegas 22nd in the point standings and missed the playoffs for a second straight year. Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, hasn’t won a race in the Cup Series since June 4, 2023. Sunday’s top-10 finish is Busch’s ninth of the season.

Two other Las Vegas natives had strong races after poor qualifying efforts. Noah Gragson finished 13th and Riley Herbst was 17th. Gragson started 28th and Herbst started 33rd.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.