2 months agoRyan Blaney will roll off the starting grid from 15th-place for this weekend's Pennzoil 400, his lowest starting position in the five NextGen races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Although the No. 12 Ford didn't have the most speed in it during qualifying on Saturday, there is still top 10 upside for the defending series Champion. In 15 career starts at Las Vegas, Blaney has posted top-10 finishes in 10 of them (66.7%), along with an 11th-place finish back in 2020. Blaney's Ford Mustang Dark Horse seemed to get better on the long run during practice as well, as he went from 10th-fastest in 10-lap average to third-fastest in 20-lap average during the lone practice session of the weekend. Look for Blaney to compete for a top-10 finish on Sunday, although he may not have the speed to contend for a win.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
2 months agoOne driver to keep an eye on this weekend is Brad Keselowski. The No. 6 Ford lacked speed during practice and qualifying on Saturday afternoon, as Keselowski was just 23rd-fastest in five-lap average and then went and qualified 25th for this weekend's Pennzoil 400 race. With that being said, his record here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway stands for itself. Keselowski had a rough three races in his first year-and-a-half with RFK Racing, but he still has posted top-10 finishes in 13 of his last 17 starts at this track, including a fourth-place finish last fall (after starting back in 21st). Keselowski is priced at $8,500 on DraftKings for the Pennzoil 400 and has great upside due to his place differential potential. For what it's worth, he ranks 14th-best in total speed on 1.5-mile tracks in this NextGen car.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
2 months agoTyler Reddick is a driver that you should be building your DFS lineups around at Las Vegas this weekend. The 23XI driver qualified back in 18th-place for this weekend's Pennzoil 400, giving him great upside for place differential in addition to a good finish. In practice on Saturday, Reddick had one of the faster cars on the long run, ranking third-fastest in both 10- and 15-lap average. Here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Reddick has finished eighth or better in four of his last five starts, and he won at Kansas last season, which is the sister track to Las Vegas. Barring a mid-race issue, Reddick has a very good chance at being in the optimal DFS lineup this weekend with his DraftKings salary at just $8,900.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
2 months agoThe speed of Michael McDowell and Front Row Motorsports as a whole has been a big topic early on in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and it looks as though we will be continuing to talk about it for the time being. McDowell's No. 34 Ford was the 11th-fastest car during practice on Saturday afternoon and then he went out and qualified 12th for this weekend's Pennzoil 400, the best starting position for him in the five races at Las Vegas in the Next Gen car. With that being said, McDowell has yet to finish better than 17th at this track in the four NextGen races. This No. 34 Ford struggled a bit with race speed at the low-wear 1.5-mile tracks last season, but there's no reason to think McDowell can't challenge for a mid-teens finish this weekend--which is where he wound up at both Texas and here at Las Vegas in the Playoff races last season. At $7,200 on DraftKings, McDowell is a very risky DFS play with limited upside. Your exposure should be extremely limited as well.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Speedway Digest
2 months agoAlthough Zane Smith will likely get a boost from the improved Chevrolet investment into Spire Motorsports for 2024, don't expect Smith to seriously compete with teammates Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie for team supremacy. Although the triumvirate competed for different teams in 2023, Hocevar's speed percentile on intermediates last year was 42.38 to LaJoie's 28.12 and Smith's 20.97. Smith was slower than both his teammates in both Las Vegas practice and qualifying as Hocevar will start 14th to LaJoie's 17th and Smith's 24th. Smith also ranks by far the lowest of the three drivers in my teammate model. However, it is also clear that Trackhouse Racing has a lot invested into Smith, who they consider one of their top prospects, and if his car, as an official Trackhouse satellite, ends up receiving more funding than the superior drivers' Spire cars, don't be surprised if he does better than you think in the Pennzoil 400 this weekend.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoWith Chevrolet investing substantially more into Spire Motorsports than it has in previous years, the Spire cars were immediately faster than usual in practice and qualifying this weekend at Las Vegas with Carson Hocevar ranking 13th-fastest and Corey LaJoie ranking 15th-fastest in practice. LaJoie did out-qualify Hocevar by .038 seconds but will be starting worse because Hocevar faced less competition in his qualifying group. Although many fans and critics have written LaJoie off as a bust because of his mediocre Gateway run last year, he has always rated highly in my stock car teammate model, where he is currently just about tied with Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain. Hocevar is rated higher in my model, but now that Spire has faster cars, expect both drivers to exceed expectations both at Las Vegas and in the 2024 season in general.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoIn his first full-time race on a standard NASCAR Cup Series track, Carson Hocevar qualified 14th and will be the highest-starting Spire Motorsports driver in Sunday's race, although Corey LaJoie technically outqualified him but will be starting worse because he was in a more competitive group in the first round of qualifying. The 21-year-old wunderkind immediately impressed on his Cup Series debut in Gateway when he outran LaJoie in his own car when LaJoie filled in for Chase Elliott in the #9 car after his suspension and he did post a faster intermediate speed percentile, beating LaJoie 42.38 to 28.12. Admittedly, LaJoie was substantially faster than his teammate Ty Dillon while Hocevar was substantially slower than his teammate Erik Jones on intermediates so it seems likely that LaJoie and Hocevar will run about the same. It will be interesting to see which teammate ultimately comes out on top.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoNoah Gragson is a big question mark in 2024, especially on intermediates like this weekend's race at Las Vegas. Although Gragson shockingly had the second-fastest lap and fifth-fastest average speed in practice, he only qualified 30th. On intermediate tracks in 2023, Gragson posted an abysmal speed percentile of 17.90 and they were Gragson's worst track type in speed. However, Noah has a history of underachievement as a rookie in each series while he tends to improve in later years. Although the Las Vegas native finished 30th last year and didn't run any better than that, he did finish between 2nd in 6th in all his Xfinity Series starts there. He is probably an extreme longshot, but given his practice speed and his tendency to improve significantly in his second year in a series, he'll probably run slightly better than he did last year.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoAustin Dillon surprisingly outqualified his teammate Kyle Busch for this weekend's Las Vegas NASCAR Cup Series race, but don't expect him to seriously contend in the race. In 2024 thus far, Kyle Busch has an average speed percentile of 87.90, which ranks 5th in the Cup Series, while Dillon at 9.38 is last among full-timers. Admittedly, both 2024 races so far have been on drafting tracks while Las Vegas is a regular intermediate so perhaps last year's data may be more instructive to predict this race. Busch had a massive difference in speed last year as well (66.36-43.77) but that was even more pronounced on intermediates where Busch had a speed percentile of 75.67 to Dillon's 39.39. Intermediates were both Busch's strongest track type and Dillon's weakest. Since Chevy did not introduce a new chassis for 2024 unlike Ford or Toyota, it's hard to see any reason why that will change.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoDuring qualifying for Las Vegas, Chase Briscoe scored a starting position of sixth for Sunday's race. Briscoe has one top-10 finish and gained positive place differential three times in six Cup starts at Las Vegas. After finishing 10th in the Daytona 500 and wrecking last week at Atlanta, Briscoe is showing solid speed through pre-race events. The driver of the No. 14 Ford had the seventh-fastest single-lap time in practice and his qualifying result of sixth marks just the second time he will start from the Top 10. Although Briscoe seems to be a promising DFS play based on pre-race events, his prior history at Las Vegas suggests that fantasy players should use him with caution in most formats.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoKaulig Racing driver Daniel Hemric will start this week's Pennzoil 400 from the 34th starting position. In three Cup Series starts at Las Vegas, Hemric has three top-25 finishes, with his best finish being 17th in September 2019. In practice, Hemric's single-lap time ranked 20th of all drivers, while his overall lap average ranked 18th. After two races this year, Hemric quietly has two top-20 finishes while scoring a positive place differential. Despite having trouble with his car in qualifying, Hemric's starting position sets him up as one of the safer DFS options for Sunday's race. Overall, Hemric's Las Vegas history points to him as a driver who is a favorable DFS option for any lineup, especially with plenty of PD upside available.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoRyan Preece spun and crashed during practice three laps into his first run. As a result, Preece will start 36th, his lowest starting position of the year so far, with a backup car. In eight Las Vegas starts in the Cup Series, Preece placed in the Top 20 twice, gaining positive place differential four times. Preece's single-lap time before wrecking in practice ranked 24th of all drivers, showcasing his car could compete for a top-25 finish or better. Although it is unknown if his backup vehicle will be faster than his wrecked primary, Preece's starting position and history make him a favorable DFS value option to consider.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoIn this week's Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start from the 13th position. In 17 previous LVMS races, Stenhouse has six top-20 finishes, with his last one being scored in 2021. Despite recording a single-lap time in practice that ranked 16th of all drivers, Stenhouse did display top-10 speeds in the 10,15, and 20-consecutive lap average categories. After finishing sixth in last week's Cup race at Atlanta, Stenhouse is looking for his second top-10 finish of the year at Las Vegas on Sunday. Regardless of his practice speeds, track history points to Stenhouse not likely finishing above his starting position, only finishing four times better than 13th. This makes Stenhouse a DFS risk that should only be considered for tournament-based lineups.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoLast week's Atlanta winner, Daniel Suarez, captured a 16th starting position during Las Vegas qualifying for Sunday's race. In 13 Vegas starts, Suarez collected four top-15 finishes, including both 2023 races at the site. In practice, Suarez recorded a single-lap time that ranked 23rd of all drivers, while his 10-consecutive lap average ranked 13th, showcasing a car better suited for longer green flag runs. Considering his equipment and recent history, Suarez is a driver capable of competing for a top-10 finish and being a solid DFS option for any format.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoRick Ware Racing driver Kaz Grala will make his first Las Vegas start in a Cup car this week from the 32nd position. In four Xfinity Series starts at Vegas, Grala's best finish was 16th in March 2018, while he has one top-5 finish at the site in three Truck Series races. During last week's race at Atlanta, Grala scored a finish of 14th, his best Cup Series finish since 2021 when he drove for Kaulig Racing. Grala's single-lap time in practice ranked 32nd of all drivers, while his five-consecutive lap average ranked 26th. The driver of the No. 15 Ford is one of the cheapest drivers that fantasy players could roster this week that starts close to the rear. Overall, while Grala is a serviceable driver that could fit into any lineup, there are better choices capable of placing better or gaining more DFS points, as indicated by track history and practice speeds.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
RADIO
