Las Vegas Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kyle Larson
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Larson is the premiere performer at Las Vegas and on Sunday, the road to victory lane likely goes thru him. At “Sin City”, Larson won last fall, should’ve won in the spring (2nd) and since 2017 minus fall 2022 where Wallace went kamikaze on him, his average finish is 4.7. Last year at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, the #5 had standout speed with Larson having the best Total Speed Ranking over the combined races (3.17 avg rank). Also, at high-speed 1.5’s last year minus Charlotte and Texas, Larson had a 2.3 average finish. On Sunday, look for Larson to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Las Vegas Track History – At Las Vegas, Kyle Larson has been stout and over the last four races, Larson has the best Next Gen Speed Ranking. Also in the new car minus fall 2022, Larson has a 1.7 average finish. Last fall, Larson put on a display of domination and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Larson won Stage #1, won Stage #2, won the race, led 133 laps (49.8% of the race) and earned a near perfect Driver Rating. In terms of speed stats, Larson had the best Green Flag Speed, the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run. In spring 2023, Larson should’ve won but the late caution denied him certain victory. In the race, Larson finished 2nd in the two opening Stages, led 63 laps, had a 2.2 average running position and ranked 2nd for Total Speed Rankings and Green Flag Speed. In fall 2022, Larson finished 35th, but take note Bubba Wallace went kamikaze on him in Stage #2 while he was running in 5th. In spring 2022, Larson had a strong showing and finished runner-up. In the race, Larson finished 6th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2 and led 27 laps. That race was far from incident free for him (pitted twice during the Stage #1 caution and got a speeding penalty in the last Stage while running in 5th), so that’s an impressive result.

William Byron
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – At Las Vegas, put the defending spring champ, William Byron on your short list of favorites. Byron’s been elite at “Sin City” and in 2023 at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Byron ranked among the premier performers. Last year at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Byron won twice, had a series best 4.8 average finish, earned the 2nd best driver rating and had the 3rd Total Speed Ranking. At Las Vegas, look for Byron to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Las Vegas Track History –At Las Vegas, William Byron has been fast and over the four combined races in the Next Gen, Byron is tied for 3rd in terms of Speed Rankings. In 2023 at Vegas, Byron was a standout performer and between the combined races, Byron had a 4.0 average finish, a 3.6 average running position and the 2nd best driver rating. Last fall, Byron had a strong showing. In the race, Byron started 3rd, finished 10th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2, had a 5.5 average running position, the 4th best driver rating and then finished 7th when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed analytics, Byron had the 4th best Speed Ranking but ranked 10th for Speed Late In A Run. Last spring, Byron had a stellar showing and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Byron won Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a 1.7 average running position, led 176 laps and earned the best driver rating. In terms of speed stats, Byron ranked #1 across the board for Total Speed Rankings, Green Flag Speed and Speed Late In A Run. In fall 2022, Byron looked great but finished 13th. In the race, Byron finished 10th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2 and had a 7.7 average running position. With 32 to go he was running in 5th, but then during a caution shortly after that he got shuffled back in the field and then even pitted when most of the other front runners didn’t, which did him in. In spring 2022, Byron had one of the best cars. In the race, Byron finished 2nd in Stage #1, 4th in Stage #2, had a 6.5 average running position, led 8 laps, had the 3rd best driver rating and then finished 5th.

Christopher Bell
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – At Las Vegas, look for Christopher Bell to be a contender. Bell finished runner-up hot on Kyle Larson’s heels last fall, and he’s had a ton of speed at “Sin City”, having the 2nd best Next Gen Speed Ranking, and ranking #1 in 2 of the last 3 races. In 2023 at high-speed 1.5’s minus Charlotte and Kansas #1 where he had problems, Bell had a 4.8 average finish. Over the three races held in the Playoffs specifically, Bell had a series best 4.7 average finish. In 2023 over the six combined races held at high-speed 1.5’s, Bell had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking.
Las Vegas Track History – Christopher Bell has performed at an elite level at Las Vegas. Bell was one of just two drivers who swept the top five last year (3.5 average finish) and in the Next Gen minus fall 2022 his average finish is 5.7. Last fall, Christopher Bell was a standout performer. In the race, Bell won the pole, led 61 laps, had a 2.6 average running position, finished 2nd in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2 and then finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. If the race were a few laps longer, he probably would’ve won. In terms of speed stats, Bell had the best Speed Ranking, ranked #1 for Speed Late In A Run and had the 2nd best Green Flag Speed. Last spring, Bell finished 5th but I’ll note he was in 13th with 4 to go before the late caution, so he definitely benefitted from that. In the race, Bell had an 8.1 average running position and ranked 7th for Total Speed Rankings. I’ll note, Bell finished 4th in Stage #1, 5th in Stage #2 and then in the final Stage he had a vibration which dropped him back. In fall 2022, the #20 appeared to be a hot rod but Bell was collected in the #45/#5 carnage which led to his 34th. In the race, Bell started 7th, finished 4th in Stage #1 but had a slow stop during the Stage #2 caution which dropped him outside the top ten and was running in 9th shortly before his demise. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bell ranked #1, having fielded the fastest car in segment #1 and segment #2. In spring 2022, Bell won the pole, led 32 laps, ranked 7th for Speed Late In A Run, had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 10th, despite his race not being incident free. On lap 142 while running in 3rd, Bell had a flat tire that shredded which dropped him all the way back into the low 30’s.

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