NASCAR heads west for the first intermediate-track race of the 2024 season. DraftKings is rewarding the winner of the Las Vegas fantasy NASCAR contest with a $100K grand prize. Check out the DFS NASCAR rankings below and make your fantasy racing picks for the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $444K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
1. Kyle Larson ($11,000) — The NextGen car suits Yung Money’s style. This car can bounce off the wall at 170 mph — as Larson did at Las Vegas last fall — and not lose speed. It rewards drivers that push the limit. That’s why Larson scored 109.4 and 79.8 DKFP in the 2023 Las Vegas races.
2. William Byron ($10,500) — In the spring Las Vegas race, Byron scored 116.6 DKFP. He led 176 laps and won the intermediate-track race. The fall race was disappointing in terms of fantasy NASCAR, but his car was still fast. He finished with a top-5 driver rating.
3. Christopher Bell ($9,500) — If the Las Vegas fall race were one lap longer, then Bell would have won. He crossed the finish line a tenth of a second behind Kyle Larson. Bell didn’t fire off great in practice, but his JGR Toyota had tremendous long-run speed.
4. Denny Hamlin ($10,700) — This is a perfect example of why practice is just practice. It’s not the race. Practice lap times can be misleading. The timing charts said Hamlin did not have a top-10 car at Las Vegas. The timing charts do not know if a driver is just running shakedown laps or if the driver is built for the long run. Hamlin finished with a top-5 DFS NASCAR score at Las Vegas.
5. Martin Truex Jr ($9,300) — The JGR Toyotas were built for the long run at Las Vegas. This plays to Truex’s strengths. He tends to be faster on long runs. Unfortunately, the frequent cautions and short-run losses were too much to overcome.
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6. Ross Chastain ($9,100) — Like Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain is aggressive. Not only does the package suit him, but so does the track. Las Vegas is a multi-groove race track. Gifted drivers with good equipment can make the bottom, middle and top work.
7. Alex Bowman ($8,100) — Hendrick Motorsports nailed the Las Vegas setup in 2023. These Chevys swept the series and scored a bunch of DFS NASCAR points. Bowman was the low man of the team behind Byron and Larson, but he still scored the third-most fantasy points in the spring race.
8. Brad Keselowski ($8,500) — Two-tire pit stops are a thing at Las Vegas. A quick pit stop is an easy way to the front. The hard part is holding that position on two tires. Keselowski got to the front with this strategy and held his position for the rest of the race. Not many drivers can do this.
9. Kyle Busch ($9,700) — The Las Vegas native has finished third or better in five of the last six races in Sin City. He earned a top-5 DFS NASCAR score in four of those races. All four of the races were with JGR before 2023.
10. Ryan Blaney ($10,200) — The No. 12 Team Penske Ford won the 2023 championship by being consistent throughout the playoffs. It was not a dominant car. Blaney’s fastest car at an intermediate track was at Homestead. He scored 23 hog points (fast-lap and lap-led points) at that unique 1.5-mile track. He did not score more than 10 hog points at the other intermediate tracks in the playoffs.
11. Bubba Wallace ($8,700) — Kansas and Las Vegas are comparable intermediate tracks. Bubba Wallace and 23XI Racing have been strong at Kansas over the last two seasons. It stands to reason that Wallace should be in contention at Las Vegas. Wallace finished fourth at Las Vegas last spring.
12. Tyler Reddick ($8,900) — Among the elite, Hendrick and JGR tend to hog all of the hog points. They led the laps and piled up the fast lap points last season. Reddick is priced in this elite company. He needs to finish inside the top 5 and lead laps. He accomplished this feat several times last season, but not enough to instill confidence in fantasy NASCAR players.
13. Joey Logano ($10,000) — The 2023 season was a down year for Logano. This season isn’t much better so far. There’s no reason to panic. Super speedways are going to super speedway. Las Vegas is the first real test for the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford. It also happens to be the Pennzoil sponsored race.
14. Chase Elliott ($9,800) — Similar to Logano, the 2023 season was a struggle for the 2020 Cup Series Champion. Like Logano, Las Vegas is a big first step towards a return to glory. Hendrick has speed in the desert, but Elliott has to do a better job of not wrecking.
15. Daniel Hemric ($5,500) — This is a risky DFS NASCAR pick. Hemric may be one of the least talented drivers in the Cup Series. His Kaulig Racing equipment is not elite. He’s going to be quickly dismissed. Keep him on the board. Kaulig has been fast at Las Vegas in the NextGen car, and there are typically enough cautions at Las Vegas to keep Hemric in the race.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $444K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
