NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: South Point 400 at Las Vegas

 

 

Hmm. Not sure if Las Vegas racing can compete with the competitive crazy drama at Bristol, but we'll see. This season has been far from predictable, so you never know. After all, at the start of the race there will only be five cars between Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott. Enough said.

This Week's Pick Strategy: There's no better place to talk about fantasy NASCAR strategy than when you're racing at Las Vegas. I'll be loading my roster with Playoff drivers and Fords. Keep in mind that no non-Playoff driver has ever won the Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A note of caution: The Busch Brothers are always tempting to pick here, but there's other drivers who consistently run better. However, if you must pick one of the Vegas hometown boys, go with Kyle.

 

Drivers with Most Top 10s:

By Race and Track in the Last 5 Years (Last 8 races)

Both with 7 - Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano
All with 6 - Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex, Jr. and Ryan Blaney

Both with 5 - Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch 

  NASCAR Cup Series 2020 Top 12 in the Driver Standings at Las Vegas

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Kyle Larson	10	0	1	4	7	0	9.8	98.8
2	Martin Truex Jr	19	0	2	6	10	0	10.7	98.3
3	Denny Hamlin	19	0	0	4	9	1	12.9	86.7
4	Ryan Blaney	10	1	0	4	7	0	9.2	97.6
5	Kyle Busch	20	2	1	8	11	2	12.0	100.2
6	Chase Elliott	9	0	0	2	3	3	20.6	98.1
7	Alex Bowman	9	0	0	1	2	1	19.7	76.6
8	William Byron	7	0	0	0	2	1	20.3	82.1
9	Joey Logano	16	1	2	6	11	0	8.4	103.7
10	Brad Keselowski	16	1	3	8	11	0	10.8	96.2
11	Christopher Bell	3	0	0	0	1	0	21.3	70.1
12	Kevin Harvick	24	1	2	7	12	2	14.0	102.9

* – Based on last 20 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2005 – 2021).

Source: NASCAR.com

2020 Race Winner: Kurt Busch 

My No-Brainer Pick: Joey Logano 

My Final Four: Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Matt DiBenedetto, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

 

Points to Ponder:

• The second starting position is the most prolific in the field, producing more winners (four) than any other starting position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (14.81%).
• Four manufacturers have visited Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas, led by Ford (13 wins).
  
• Roush Fenway Racing leads the series in wins at Las Vegas with seven victories.
• Brad Keselowski leads all active drivers in wins at Las Vegas with three (2014, 2016, 2018).
• Four active drivers have multiple NASCAR Cup Series wins at Las Vegas: Brad Keselowski (three), Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. (all with two each).
• Five drivers are tied for the lead among active drivers in second-place finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with two each. They are Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Matt DiBenedetto.
  
• Among active Cup drivers Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski lead the series in Top 5s at Las Vegas with eight each.
• Kevin Harvick leads the series in Top 10s at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with 12. He is also the lap leader at Las Vegas with 679 laps led in 24 starts
• Joey Logano leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finish at LVMS with an 8.0.  

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your final picks by 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 26th. Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 15 years. She launched  NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet.

 
When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.