Las Vegas Kobalt 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ryan Newman – Las Vegas is a good track for Ryan Newman. In four of the last five races he’s finished in the top seven. Over this stretch minus 2013 when he had an engine failure Newman has a 4.8 average finish, 11.0 average running position and has led 14 laps. Last year Newman had a great performance finishing 3rd which tied his best result of the season. I will note he used some pit strategy at the end that minutely gave him a misleading result. Performance wise he was really about 6th to 8th place good. In addition to finishing 3rd he also earned the 5th best driver rating and had a 9th place average running position. In 2014 Newman started in 10th, had a 13th place average running position and finished 7th. In 2013 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 his next two most recent races at Las Vegas Newman had results of 4th and 5th. I will note Las Vegas plays to a strength of the #31 team. They love to use pit strategy and the nonabrasive surface allows drivers to use differing strategy to get to the front and stay there. Last week at Atlanta Newman ran well and was about 10th place good but walked away with a misleading result after having a pit penalty and then a tire problem. (Yahoo B Driver)(DraftKings – $7,500)

[themify_box ]Want to be a better fantasy racer? Get the ifantasyrace advantage and read all of our full exclusive week to weekend content. This post has member exclusive content for 5 drivers. Join Now and read it all! Membership prices are just $2 a race! [/themify_box]

Paul Menard – One general rule of thumb regarding Paul Menard in fantasy NASCAR is pick him early in the season because that’s when he performs at his best. Las Vegas has been a pretty good track for Menard. He currently has five straight top 12 finishes. Over this five race stretch he has an 8.8 average finish, 12.2 average running position and the 10th best driver rating. Last year he had a respectable performance. He finished 12th, earned the 14th best driver rating and had a 16th place average running position. In 2014 he had an impressive performance and his car really shined during long runs. In the event Menard started in 21st, had a 10th place average running position, earned the 6th best driver rating and finished 3rd. His car was so strong that at one point in the event he drove up to the lead and paced the field for 6 laps. In 2013 he had a solid race. He finished 10th, had a 12th place average running position and earned the 12th best driver rating. In 2012 he started in 26th and drove up to a 7th place result. In 2011 he finished 12th. Last week at Atlanta Paul Menard finished 18th. (Yahoo B Driver)(DraftKings – $6,500)

Further Recommended Reading – Las Vegas Top Tier Elite Picks, Las Vegas Mid Pack Predictions, Las Vegas Scouting Report, DraftKings Las Vegas Points

Kasey Kahne – Kasey Kahne should be on your fantasy NASCAR radar at Las Vegas. It’s been a great track for him and his average finish is 13.8. Last year Kasey Kahne finished 17th. That is a very misleading result because strength wise he was top five good. With 75 laps him and Carl Edwards were running 4th & 5th but they had contact which sent Kahne into the wall. He was able to keep racing but his car was never the same. Even with his problem with quite a bit of the race remaining he had a 6th place average running position and earned the 9th best driver rating. In 2014 he looked like a low double digit driver for much of the afternoon 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. At Atlanta Kasey Kahne was a disappointment and finished 23rd. (Yahoo B Driver)(DraftKings – $8,500)

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our 2016 Las Vegas Kobalt 400 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > Yahoo C List Preview