Las Vegas Kobalt Tools 400 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks

1) Jimmie Johnson Las Vegas Fantasy NASCAR Spin – It’s hard to go wrong making Jimmie Johnson your fantasy NASCAR pick for the Las Vegas Kobalt Tools 400. Nobodies won at Las Vegas more than him and he has momentum. Fresh off his Atlanta win you can count on him backing up his performance with another good result. On Sunday he’s starting in 9th. Since the track was reconfigured in 2007 the average starting position of the race winner is 9.5. Perhaps that’s a good omen for seeing the #48 in victory lane again. Before the track reconfiguration he won his first Las Vegas race from this starting position. In the last three Las Vegas races he’s been as good as anybody but he hasn’t been able to close the deal. In practice his car was extremely fast. In practice #2 he had the fastest lap time and he posted good lap times over an extended run. In Happy Hour he had the best 5 lap average and his ten lap average ranked as the 2nd best.
Starting Position – 9th
Track History – Las Vegas has been a great track for Jimmie Johnson and he’s been to victory lane four times. His most recent win was in 2010. In the last three Las Vegas races he’s run extremely well. In these three events he has the best driver rating, a 4.7 average finish, 4.7 average running position and has led the most laps. Last season he was a contender to win and his strength was being good over long runs. He was at his best through the first 4/5ths of the race but he lost track position at the end when others used pit strategy gambles and got ahead of him. When the checkered flag waved he finished 6th, had a 3rd place average running position, earned the 2nd best driver rating and led 34 laps. In 2013 Johnson had a very strong car. In that race he had a 3rd place average running position, finished 6th and led the second most laps (66). His driver rating ranked as the second best. In 2012 Johnson started in the rear of the field at Vegas. He didn’t stay back for long. In just 99 laps he raced his way up to the lead. At the end it came down to him vs Tony Stewart but the #14 car was better on restarts and that was the difference maker. When the checkered flag waved he finished 2nd.
Momentum – Jimmie Johnson is one of four drivers who’ve finished in the top five every week and he’s fresh off a win at Atlanta.
Chassis Selection – On Sunday Jimmie Johnson will be using a brand new chassis.
NASCAR Odds To Win – 10/1

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2) Joey Logano Las Vegas Fantasy NASCAR Spin – Nobody has more momentum than Joey Logano and he’ll be a factor at Las Vegas. Last year he started on the pole and parlayed that into a 4th place finish. On Sunday he’ll start in 2nd. That’s the very position where this race was won from last year. The main attribute I really like about Joey Logano is how well he’s performed at 1.5 mile tracks recently. Over the last six races at tracks of this length he’s scored the 2nd most points and has a 6.8 average finish. In practice Joey Logano seemed happy with his car and he was fast. In Happy Hour his 10 lap average ranked as the 12th best.
Starting Position – 2nd
Track History – Joey Logano has run fairly well at Las Vegas. In his career at this venue he has a 12.3 average finish. Last year he had his only “really” good race at Vegas. He started on the pole, finished 4th and led 44 laps. In that event all of his laps led came early. Then through pit strategy on lap 47 he took four tires when nearly everyone else got two. That shuffled him back to 12th. Until the final run of the race he typically ran around that position. When the checkered flag waved he finished 4th and earned the 4th best driver rating. In 2013 he finished 12th and that’s essentially the best he ran all afternoon long.
Momentum – Joey Logano is leading the 2015 point standings. He won the Daytona 500 and finished 4th at Atlanta.
Chassis Selection – No chassis selection information has been provided.
NASCAR Odds To Win – 8/1

Further Recommended Reading – Las Vegas Post Practice Predictions (another fantasy take), 10 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet, Las Vegas Starting Lineup, Happy Hour Notes, Happy Hour Speeds, Practice #2 Notes, Practice #2 Speeds, Scouting Report, PROS Rankings, Pit Stall Assignments, Chassis Selections, Odds To Win, Power Index

3) Kevin Harvick Las Vegas Fantasy NASCAR Spin – Kevin Harvick will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick at Las Vegas in the Kobalt Tools 400. This week his car is very fast. In practice #2 he had the best 5 lap average and 10 lap average. In Happy Hour his car remained quick and his ten lap average ranked as the 5th best. I also think his car appears to handle really well which is big because it will allow him to do two tire pit stops throughout the race. On Sunday he’s starting in 18th which isn’t great, but that shouldn’t be an overwhelming concern. Last season he started in 16th and he raced his way up to the lead before the midpoint. In the event in 2014 he looked like a lock to finish in the top three until he had brake rotor problems. Overall at Las Vegas he’s performed pretty well throughout his career. One attribute I really like about Kevin Harvick is how strong he’s been at 1.5 mile tracks recently. Over the last six races at 1.5 mile tracks he has a 3.8 average finish, the best driver rating and has scored the most points.
Starting Position – 18th
Track History – Last year at Las Vegas Kevin Harvick had a great car that was good enough to compete for a win. In that event he started in 16th and took the lead on lap 130. Unfortunately his race wasn’t incident free. With 73 laps to go he had brake rotor issues which sent him to the garage. At the time of that incident he was running in 2nd. To give you a good idea about his level of performance last year here’s a link to his Yahoo Race Chart. Also in the event last year he led 23 laps. In 2013 he was solid. He finished 9th, earned the 9th best driver rating and had a 7th place average running position. In 2012 at Las Vegas Harvick started in 3rd, had an average running position of 7th and finished 11th. For the first 200 laps he ran exclusively in the top 7.
Momentum – This season Harvick has been very strong and has back to back runner-up results. In the last five races dating back to last season he’s finished in either 1st or 2nd.
Chassis Selection – On Sunday Kevin Harvick will be using a chassis that’s proven itself fast at high-speed intermediate tracks. Its first race was last spring at Texas and in that event he was very competitive until an early engine failure sidelined him. He also used this race in the 2014 Coca Cola 600 and in that event he arguably had the best car and finished 2nd.
NASCAR Odds To Win – 7/1