MOTORSPORTS

NASCAR at Las Vegas 2018: Odds, fantasy advice, prediction, sleepers, drivers to watch

Joe Rodgers 01/03/2018 | 00:01 MYT

Two races into the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season and Ford is flexing its muscle.

Ford has led the most laps at Daytona (Ryan Blaney) and Atlanta (Kevin Harvick) and has Joey Logano leading the points standings entering Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET).

Unlike a similar 1.5-mile track last Sunday in Atlanta, Las Vegas' surface and setup isn't as impactful on tire-wear. In fact, the track is most similar to Kansas Speedway.

Harvick dominated the race at Atlanta but the fact his Stewart-Haas teammates all did well — Clint Bowyer (3rd), Kurt Busch (8th), Aric Almirola (13th) — show Ford has indeed joined the intermediate track elites.

Our pick to win Sunday is a Ford driver and two-time Vegas winner Brad Keselowski, who is coming off a runner-up finish at Atlanta. Harvick, who driving on his potent Chassis No. 4-1041 should be headed for another top-five finish as will Martin Truex Jr., but Keselowski has proved his Vegas worth over the past five races there.

Keselowski owns a 3.4 average finish at Vegas since the 2013 race with two wins, leading laps in each of the 400-mile races with a 5.6 average running position.

What are the betting odds for NASCAR at Las Vegas?

Kevin Harvick 9/2

Kyle Busch 6/1

Martin Truex Jr. 5/1

Brad Keselowski 6/1

Joey Logano 12/1

Denny Hamlin 15/1

Kyle Larson 6/1

Chase Elliott 10/1

Jimmie Johnson 12/1

Ryan Blaney 18/1

Clint Bowyer 20/1

Kurt Busch 20/1

Erik Jones 30/1

Aric Almirola 30/1

Daniel Suarez 60/1

Paul Menard 80/1

Ryan Newman 80/1

Alex Bowman 100/1

Jamie McMurray 100/1

Austin Dillon 100/1

William Byron 100/1

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 200/1

Kasey Kahne 300/1

Trevor Bayne 300/1

Darrell Wallace Jr. 300/1

Cole Custer 300/1

Ty Dillon 500/1

Chris Buescher 1000/1

AJ Allmendinger 1000/1

FIELD (all others) 500/1

Odds via Westgate

Which drivers are best for fantasy NASCAR at Las Vegas?

Getting Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and our favorite sleeper Aric Almirola into your DraftKings lineup is possible with the additions of Kasey Kahne and David Ragan, who are coming off respectable low-20s finishes in Atlanta.

Daniel Suarez (9.7 average running position) and Kurt Busch (52 laps led) raced well at Atlanta and join Ryan Blaney as our favorite mid-salary selections for Sunday. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is most similar to Kansas Speedway where Blaney has excelled with three top fives and 86 laps led in the past four races.

Until Chevy drivers prove they are comfortable in the new Camaro ZL1 Cup Series car it's hard to trust the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson despite their 1.5-mile prowess last season. There were just three Chevy drivers in the top 17 at Atlanta and it may be a few weeks until the Bowtie Bandits return to victory lane in a wire-to-wire performance.

That being said, Larson, William Byron and Ryan Newman did top the charts in January during a test session in the new Camaro. Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kahne were also solid during the two-day organizational test at Las Vegas.

#English #Motorsport #NASCAR Sprint Cup Series #Jimmie Johnson #Denny Hamlin #Kyle Busch #NASCAR #Kurt Busch #Brad Keselowski #Joey Logano #Kevin Harvick #Martin Truex Jr.