NASCAR heads back to Las Vegas this weekend for the Pennzoil 400! This tends to be one of the more entertaining tracks. Whether it’s a last-second restart setting up the win or just an impressive feat of dominance, this is one of my favorites in the series. We move up a notch from the mile-long track in Phoenix up to a 1.5 just outside of the Las Vegas strip. This car is built for tracks like these, and it should be a fun race even without the option tire.
Chris and Kaleb, as usual, will bring their picks for who you should throw money on and who to avoid. So, let’s go ahead, roll the dice, and get ready for the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas!
Kaleb’s Picks: #1 Ross Chastain (+2200) & #48 Alex Bowman (+2500)
Ross Chasain has the best average finish here at Las Vegas in the next-gen era. He’s posted a 5.5 average finish, with four top fives in six races. A low of P12 in 2023. He led 83 laps here in 2022 and will likely be a force to be reckoned with on this mile-and-a-half track. At +2200 for a win, you can get him at +250 for a top five. I love that bet, and you should too.
As for #48, he’s got the win here in the spring of 2022, as well as three top fives in five races. He had a cold start to 2024 and finished P18 in the spring rendition of this race but bounced back in the fall for a P5 and finished P3 in the spring of 2023. Alex Bowman at +2500 is similar to Chastain; great value and +330 for a top five should be considered almost free money, with the two outliers being an accident and the rough start to 2024. I think it’ll be Chevrolet kind of day over in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chris’s Picks: #8 Kyle Busch (+1600) & #45 Tyler Reddick (+650)
I feel like maybe this is a bit of “low hanging fruit” type of pick. He’s the hometown driver plus he has a pretty good history at Vegas. However, he didn’t finish that great in the last two races, finishing 13th in the fall and 26th in the spring race last year. Many people have been impressed with the speed in this car, specifically myself early this season, so I believe Rowdy will turn it around, and there is no better place than at your home track right?
First things first. Yes, I know these odds won’t net you a huge gain. You’ve read it before on these picks though right? In sports betting any win should be considered a win in my eyes at least. Now the numbers. Tyler didn’t finish well in the fall because of an accident, however, he did qualify second and grabbed stage points. Now, before that, he was riding a stretch of six Vegas races of only one finish lower than tenth and even then it was just fifteen. So, the conclusion is Tyler is pretty good here. I touched on it in my power rankings, he either wins or wrecks. Does he win this weekend Pennzoil 400?
Kaleb’s Fade: #22 Joey Logano (+1100)
Why Joey Logano hands around at these high odds early in the season is beyond me. The 3x Cup Series Champion doesn’t start showing up until late in the year. In the spring rendition of this race, he’s finished in the top 10 once. Now, he’s won 2/3 of the last three fall Las Vegas races. But it’s become painfully clear that Team Penske doesn’t have a ton of interest in winning these early races. The odds aren’t good enough to bet a T10 finish for the #22. And obviously, he hasn’t come close to a top five in the spring races here in the Next Gen car.
Chris’s Fade: Chase Elliott (+1800)
This one is hard as usual for me to type. Being a home-grown Elliott fan. However, Las Vegas is not a good place in the gen seven car for the sport’s most popular driver. He has only one top ten finish in the last five races he competed in. If we are being real though, in fifteen career Vegas starts. Chase only five top ten finishes. My conclusion is that unless a drastic change occurs this week, Las Vegas does not like Chase or vice versa. Either way, I am not putting any money on Chase this weekend during the Pennzoil 400 and you shouldn’t either.
If you enjoyed this content, or hate it and want to argue with me, follow me on Twitter @KalebMcChesney! Also, read up on the rest of the NASCAR content Belly Up Sports offers here! Maybe you are looking for a new NASCAR Podcast? Well, check out Short Pit! For all your other sports needs, follow the main page. If you love racing of any shape or form, find Chris on Twitter!
