By Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the next stop for the NASCAR Cup Series, with the Pennzoil 400 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Hendrick Motorsports is going for its fourth straight victory in the Spring Vegas race.
It should be no surprise to see HMS drivers Kyle Larson (+450) and William Byron (+900) atop the odds board.
Many consider Las Vegas the first real test of the season after opening the year with back-to-back superspeedways.
The 1.5-mile oval should give us an early indication of the top contenders.
After providing my favorite prop targets earlier in the week, here are my betting picks for the Pennzoil 400, which include past winners at Las Vegas and champions of the sport.
Pennzoil 400 best bets
To win: Christopher Bell (+1000, bet365)
Bell never had a chance last week at Atlanta, as a crash on Lap 2 ended his race early.
He should be thrilled to head to Las Vegas, as the 29-year-old has shown speed at the track lately.
Bell finished top-five in Stage 1 before a crash ruined his finish in the Fall 2022 Vegas race.
If we exclude that finish, Bell has three straight top-10 finishes. Last season, he finished fifth and second at Vegas.
He had an especially strong performance in the Fall race, where he started on the pole, finished top-three in both stages and led 61 laps.
He nearly tracked down Kyle Larson for the win and finished second by a small margin.
It’s only a matter of time before Bell has a dominant performance at a 1.5-mile track.
I have no issue betting on him as one of the race favorites.
To win: Kyle Busch (+1200, BetMGM)
I expected the 38-year-old Busch to take a step back this season, but the first two races have shown he’ll be a championship contender.
Busch was a part of the thrilling three-wide finish at Atlanta last week, taking third.
He returns to his home track, where he’s surprisingly only won once in 25 starts. That victory came in 2009, but he’s been on the verge of another win.
Busch has finished sixth or better in six of his last seven starts at Las Vegas. He was on his way to winning the 2022 Spring race before a late caution shuffled the running order.
He scored a third-place finish in last year’s Fall race.
Can Busch capture his second Cup Series victory at his home track? He’ll have plenty of motivation.
Top-three finish: Kyle Larson (+140, Caesars)
It’s never easy to bet on a short favorite, but you can’t argue with Larson’s Las Vegas numbers.
He’s been nearly unbeatable at the track with HMS.
In six Vegas starts in the No. 5 car, Larson has two wins, two second-place finishes, 421 laps led and an average finish of 8.5.
He scored a clutch victory in last year’s Fall race after leading 133 of 267 laps.
The Spring race has been excellent for Larson, who won in 2021 and was leading in the final five laps of 2022 and 2023, finishing second in both races.
Late cautions have ruined potential victories for Larson at Vegas. A top-three bet is a safe bet for Sunday’s race.
Top-five finish: Denny Hamlin (+150, bet365)
It took a while for Hamlin to figure out Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He only had two top-five finishes and 18 laps led in his first 17 starts at the track.
Since then, he has one win, four top-five finishes and 374 laps led in seven races.
His finish in the last two Vegas Spring races hasn’t indicated his performance. He had a top-five car in the 2022 race before a mechanical issue led to an early exit.
Last season, he would’ve finished fourth without a late caution.
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You could even argue his 10th-place finish in last year’s Fall race is misleading.
The speed numbers indicate Hamlin had the fourth-fastest car.
Toyotas have been fast at 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen era.
Hamlin has had trouble finding victory lane at Vegas, but he should contend for a top-five finish.
