The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the third race of the Sprint Cup Season, the Kobalt Tools 400. Brian Brown took a look at past performances, season trends, and spoke with NASCAR contacts to predict how the field should finish on Sunday.
When: Sunday, March 6; 3:46 p.m./et.
Weather: Cloudy with a high around 67; wind out of the SW at 29 mph. There is a 20% chance of precipitation.
The Track: Las Vegas MotorSpeedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile tri-oval that was reconfigured in 2007 when the banking on the corners increased from 12 degrees to 20 degrees. Roush Fenway Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have been strong at races at the track since it opened in 1998.
Key to Race: BEAT THE BIG BOYS
There have been 19 races run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway since it opened and cars from the Roush-Fenway and Hendrick Motorsports stables have won 11 of them. The past success of Hendrick is great news for Jimmie Johnson who won last weekend at Atlanta.
Hendrick Motorsports and Chevy worked hard during the offseason and have looked fast this year with the new low-downforce package. Chevy is no longer behind Toyota as they were last year. In addition to Johnson, Kevin Harvick will be tough to beat this weekend. Harvick led 131 laps at Atlanta last week and dominated last year in Las Vegas.
Qualifying Procedures:
39 cars will attempt to qualify for 40 spots.
Fantasy Cheat Sheet:
Top 5
No. 4 Kevin Harvick: Harvick was awesome last year at Vegas and will bring the same chassis. He is the guy to beat this weekend. Use him in all leagues.
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has won four of the past 11 races at Las Vegas and was fantastic late in Sunday’s race at Atlanta. Feel free to use the No. 48 in all leagues.
No. 78 Martin Truex Jr.: Truex was excellent at Atlanta last weekend and was great at Las Vegas last season. He is a top choice.
No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior has eight consecutive top 17 finishes in The Sin City. He finished fourth last year and is a great choice this weekend.
No. 18 Kyle Busch: Busch drove from the back of the pack to a near win last weekend at Atlanta. He is a great option this weekend too.
6 to 10
No. 20 Matt Kenseth: Kenseth struggled after a penalty last weekend in Atlanta, but he fought hard and had a decent car. He will bounce-back this week.
No. 41 Kurt Busch: Busch was very fast at Atlanta last weekend and he is usually very good on his home track.
No. 2 Brad Keselowski: The Blue Deuce won at Vegas in 2014. He will be a solid pick this visit.
No. 22 Joey Logano: Logano has run decent at Las Vegas during his career. Use him in most leagues.
No. 19 Carl Edwards: Edwards won the 2011 and 2008 races at Las Vegas and battled very hard last weekend in Atlanta. He will have a top 10 car again this weekend.
11 to 20
No. 11 Denny Hamlin: Hamlin has finished outside the top 10 just five times during his career at Vegas. He didn’t have the best car at Atlanta last weekend, but he fought hard to notch a top 16 finish.
No. 24 Chase Elliott: Elliott drove a smart race at Atlanta last weekend. He will have his ups-and-downs this season, but he isn’t your typical rookie.
No. 31 Ryan Newman: Newman finished third at Vegas last year and was running well at Atlanta last weekend prior to being caught up in a crash.
No. 5 Kasey Kahne: Kahne was terrible at Atlanta last weekend. He just couldn’t get the low-downforce package figured out. We are going to bump him out of our top 10 until he proves he can find some speed.
No. 16 Greg Biffle: Biffle has been great in four of the past eight races at Vegas and he ran a decent race Atlanta. He isn’t a bad third option.
No. 3 Austin Dillon: Dillon ran well at Atlanta last weekend. He is an okay option.
No. 42 Kyle Larson: Larson was a non-factor last weekend in Atlanta. We suspect he won’t help your fantasy team this weekend either.
No. 14 Brian Vickers: Vickers is back behind the wheel of Tony Stewart’s No. 14 ride. He did well at Daytona and is worth using as a fourth driver in most leagues.
No. 15 Clint Bowyer: Bowyer, as we predicted, was terrible at Atlanta. He will be a risky option for most of this year.
No. 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Ricky S. was great last weekend at Atlanta. He is worth using.
21 to 30
No. 13 Casey Mears
No. 43 Aric Almirola
No. 27 Paul Menard
No. 10 Danica Patrick
No. 1 Jamie McMurray
No. 21 Ryan Blaney
No. 6 Trevor Bayne
No. 47 A.J. Allmendinger
No. 34 Chris Buescher
No. 38 Landon Cassill
Field Fillers
No. 44 Brian Scott
No. 23 David Ragan
No. 7 Regan Smith
No. 46 Michael Annett
No. 95 Michael McDowell
No. 30 Josh Wise
No. 32 Jeffery Earnhardt
No. 83 Matt DiBendetto
No. 98 Cole Whitt
My NASCAR LIVE Team for this Week:
Kevin Harvick $28.00
Martin Truex Jr. $25.75
Chase Elliott $16.75
Brian Vickers $13.00
Casey Mears $12.75
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick
Manufacturer: Chevy
My Yahoo! Fantasy NASCAR Team for this Week:
B. Ryan Newman
