Las Vegas Kobalt Tools Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Kasey Kahne – Las Vegas has been a good track for Kasey Kahne. At this venue minus the two races he crashed he has an 8.3 average finish. In 7 of the 9 races that he didn’t wreck he’s finished in the top 11. Last year he looked like a low double digit driver for much of the race but his car was at its best at the end. He started in 13th, earned the 12th best driver rating, had a 14th place average running position and finished 8th. In 88.8% percent of the laps completed he ran in the top fifteen. In 2013 at Las Vegas Kasey Kahne had a very good car and earned the #1 position in our exclusive PROS Rankings. The PROS Rankings show you who subjectively had the best car in a given event. In that race Kahne earned the best driver rating, led 114 laps, had a 3rd place average running position and ran the highest total number of fastest laps. His chance for winning came undone over the final run when Kenseth took two tires and he couldn’t get around him on four. In 2012 at Las Vegas Kahne finished 19th. That result deserves as asterisk mark. In that race Kahne started on the pole, fell back, but then eventually moved up towards the front again when his car was tuned to his liking. With four laps to go he was running around the top five but during a restart he got into the wall which led to his late free fall. In 2014 at 1.5 mile tracks Kahne was a good performer and typically could be counted on for a good result. At Atlanta Kasey Kahne had a competitive car and had an 8th place average running position. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Ryan Newman – I wouldn’t look for Ryan Newman to win at Las Vegas but he should contend for a good result. A large part of Ryan Newman’s “game” is using pit strategy gambles to get towards the front and at Las Vegas doing that is nearly a must. Lots of drivers will be doing two tire pit stops during cautions and Newman is a lock to be among those ranks. Last season at 1.5 mile tracks Ryan Newman had a successful season and was very consistent. In the 11 races at tracks of this length he scored the 3rd most points, had 6 top tens, 10 top fifteens and had a result in the top twenty every race. His average finish for the year was 9.5. Atlanta is the only 1.5 mile track visited so far this season and at that venue he had a 10th place average running position and finished 10th. At Las Vegas Newman has been successful. In half his starts he’s finished in the top ten. In recent Las Vegas races he’s been one of the more successful drivers. In three of the last four races he’s finished in the top ten. In last year’s race Newman started in 10th, had a 13th place average running position and finished 7th. He ran well early in the race but a four tire pit stop around lap 47 dropped him into the mid-teens. For nearly the entire middle portion of the race until there was about 40 laps remaining he ran between 11th and 15th. In 2013 at Las Vegas Ryan Newman was very mediocre. He ran between 16th and 20th for probably about 75% percent of the race. He likely would’ve finished within that range except late in the race his engine went south and as a result he had a DNF. In the next two most recent races at Las Vegas Newman had results of 4th and 5th. (Yahoo A Driver)

Recommended Reading – Top Tier Elite Picks, Mid Pack Predictions, Yahoo C List Preview, Scouting Report, Who will win at Las Vegas

Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson could be a factor at Las Vegas in the Kobalt Tools 400. At the end of 2014 he turned into an elite performer on this track type. In the last six races at 1.5 mile tracks in 2014 he had a 6.5 average finish. Last week at Atlanta he was a disappointment and didn’t run as well as he should’ve. Late in the event he got collected in the final “Big One”. At Las Vegas Kyle Larson has one race under his belt. Last season at this venue he made his first start for Ganassi Racing at a 1.5 mile track so you can’t put too much stock in that performance. Also his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 95 while he was running in 14th he got busted speeding on pit road and had to serve a pass through penalty. As a result it dropped him to 34th, one lap down. If his race would’ve been incident free he could’ve potentially challenged for a top ten finish. Now that he’s no longer a rookie look for him to be strong at Las Vegas. (Yahoo B Driver)

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our 2015 Las Vegas Kobalt Tools 400  Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

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