NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: South Point 400 round of 8 Opener

 

 

The ROVAL had nothing on Kyle Larson as the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet led 62 of 109 laps. The win was Larson's sixth of the season, his second at the ROVAL and the 29th of his Cup Series career. The victory also evened up everything with Larson's two children because Audrey got participate in her father's Victory Lane celebration. Oh, and guess what? Larson has won the last two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 
 
This Week's Pick Strategy:  LVMS is a high commitment track. What do I mean by high commitment? Think drivers who are are all in once they pull their belts tight. This also tends to be one of those Ford/Chevy tracks so go heavy on those two manufacturers and sprinkle in those laser-focused Toyota drivers. Don't forget to pick a couple of non-Playoff drivers because there are a handful who could play spoiler.
 
Active Drivers with Most Top 10s:
By Race (2015-2023)
Martin Truex Jr.- 5
All with 4 - Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney 
All with 3 - Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick
 
By Track (2019-2023)
Martin Truex Jr. - 9
Both with 7 - Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson
Both with 6 - Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin
All with 5 - Joey Logano, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney
All with 4 - Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell

Last Year's Pole Sitter: Christopher Bell
 
Last Year's Race Winner: Kyle Larson

The Likely Suspects: My Las Vegas elites include Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Brad Keselowski.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick is a tie between Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. My next picks are Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, and Joey Logano. I'll complete my roster with Noah Gragson and Carson Hocevar. 

My Final Four: Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Noah Gragson.

Second-Look Driver: This week's second-look driver is a tie between Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch. Truex Jr. has two wins, seven Top 5s, 16 Top 10s, and has led a total of 317 laps in 25 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas. His average Las Vegas finish is 9.8. (Kyle Larson’s average finish is 9.3). Truex’ most recent Las Vegas victory was in September 2019. He finished ninth in this race last year and seventh in 2022.

Kyle Busch earned one win, 12 Top 5s and 15 Top 10s at his home track for an average finish of 11.2. His solo win came in March 2009. Busch finished third in this race in both 2023 and 2022.
 
Points to Ponder:
  • The second starting position is the most prolific in the field, producing more winners (16.13%) than any other starting position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (21.21%).
  • A total of 18 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Eight of those drivers will be racing this weekend, led by a trio with three wins each: Kyle Larson (2021, 2023, 2024), Joey Logano (2019, 2020, 2022) and Brad Keselowski (2014, 2016, 2018.) Martin Truex Jr. has two wins (2019 and 2017), and William Byron (2023), Alex Bowman (2022), Denny Hamlin (2021), and Kyle Busch (2009) each have one win.
  • Four manufacturers have visited Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas, led by Ford (14 wins), followed by Chevrolet (13 wins.)
  • Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with 10, followed by RFK Racing with seven.
  • Kyle Larson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in runner-up finishes at Las Vegas with four second-place finishes.
  • Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in Top 5 finishes at Las Vegas with 12. 
  • Martin Truex Jr., leads the NASCAR Cup Series in Top 10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with 16, followed by Kyle Busch with 15.
  • Kyle Larson leads all active drivers in laps led with 628 and in average finishing position at Las Vegas with a 9.313 in 16 starts.
Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 19 and final picks by 2:30 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, October 20th. 
 
Enjoy the race!
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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 17 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.
 

NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: South Point 400 round of 8 Opener NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: South Point 400 round of 8 Opener Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Saturday, October 19, 2024 Rating: 5