NASCAR has graced the tarmac of Las Vegas Motor Speedway since 1998 with Mark Martin winning the inaugural event. In recent years, Chevrolet’s been a dominant force, collecting six of the last eight victories, with Hendrick Motorsports winning three straight — so the drivers with the lowest odds shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
Leading the way is Kyle Larson at +300. Even before looking at betting odds, the driver of the No. 5 is the clear favorite. He’s won the last two Cup races at Las Vegas and currently sits atop the playoff standings after the reset. In 12 starts, he holds the best average finish among active drivers at 9.3, along with three checkered flags.
Race winner Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro
Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images
Right behind Larson is another Hendrick driver — this year’s Daytona 500 victor William Byron at +750. Then there’s Christopher Bell, who has never won a Cup race at Vegas, but he was a single car length away from changing that fact in last fall’s dramatic finish. With how strong he has consistently been throughout the playoffs, it makes plenty of sense for him to be near the top of the betting sheet at +800.
Denny Hamlin at +850 and Tyler Reddick at +900 are also solid choices for the win on Sunday. 2022 Vegas winner Joey Logano is at +1000 who is facing an unlikely second chance in the playoffs following Alex Bowman’s shock DQ. A three-time winner at the 1.5-mile oval, Logano managed to parlay his 2022 victory into the championship, noting then that winning the opening race of the Round of 8 helped the team to better focus all efforts towards the title-decider in the weeks that followed. He showed just how important winning this race cold be for the eight remaining title hopefuls in their quest to become the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Pennzoil Ford Mustang wins.
Photo by: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Images
The playoff drivers with the worst odds entering Vegas are defending series champion Ryan Blaney at +1100 and Chase Elliott at +1200. Neither driver has ever won at LVMS, and both are in need of points as they enter this round below the cut-line. Chasing stage points will make it harder for them to go all-out for the win, with Logano facing a similar predicament.
But what about the spoilers? Non-playoff drivers have won three of the first six races in the postseason,…
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