Las Vegas South Point 400 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. Larson currently has back-to-back Las Vegas wins and in the Next Gen minus fall 2022, he’s finished in the top 2 every race! Going back to 2017 minus fall 2022, Larson has a stellar 4.4 average finish. This year at high-speed 1.5’s, Larson’s won twice and has a 4.0 average Speed Ranking minus Kansas #2 where he had problems before lap 20. On Sunday, look for Larson to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Las Vegas Track History – Kyle Larson has been stout at Las Vegas. Larson’s a 3-time winner and in the Next Gen, Larson has the best Total Speed Ranking and a 1.5 average finish minus fall 2022. This spring, Larson had the field covered and put on a display of domination. In the race, Larson won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 181 laps, earned a near perfect driver rating, had a 1.7 average running position and of course finished 1st. In terms of speed stats, Larson had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 5th for Speed Late In A Run. Last fall, Larson once again smoked the field 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 a 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 finished runner-up in what was an eventful afternoon for him (pitted twice during the Stage #1 caution and got a speeding penalty in the last Stage while running in 5th).

William Byron
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Look for William Byron to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win at Las Vegas. Byron’s been a Las Vegas Next Gen standout and in recent races at high-speed intermediate tracks, he’s been knocking on the door to victory lane with his last three results being 2nd (Kansas), 2nd (Michigan) and 3rd (Charlotte). For the season at high-speed 1.5’s, Byron has the 3rd best Track Type Total Speed Ranking, the 3rd best average finish (8.2) and the 3rd best Driver Rating.
Las Vegas Track History – William Byron is a recent winner at Las Vegas who’s been elite. In the Next Gen, Byron has the 2nd best average finish (7.2), the 3rd best Driver Rating and the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking. This spring, Byron finished 10th but he likely had one of the best cars. In the race, Byron led 15 laps but then just after the midpoint in Stage #1, Byron had a trash bag on his grille which led to an unexpected pit stop which put him behind for pretty much so the rest of the afternoon. In terms of speed stats, Byron ranked 3rd for Speed Late In A Run and had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking. Last fall, Byron had a strong showing. In the race, Byron started 3rd, finished 10th in Stage #1, finished 6th in Stage #2, had a 5.5 average running position, earned the 4th best driver rating and then finished 7th overall. 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 2022, Byron had results of 13th (really a top five contender) and 5th.

Christopher Bell
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Look for Christopher Bell to be a contender at Las Vegas. Bell finished runner-up hot on Kyle Larson’s heels last fall, and he’s had a ton of speed at “Sin City” in the fall, being 2 for 2 at having the best Total Speed Ranking in the new car. In the Next Gen minus this spring and fall 2022, Bell’s average finish is 5.7. This year at high-speed 1.5’s, Bell won at Charlotte and over the last three races, Bell has the best average finish (4.7) and the best Track Type Total Speed Ranking
Las Vegas Track History – Christopher Bell has performed at an elite level at Las Vegas, but he’s also had quite a few asterisk mark results recently. In the Next Gen over the four races prior to this spring, Bell had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. This spring, Bell likely had one of the best cars, but multiple problems derailed his afternoon and led to him finishing 33rd. In the race, Bell started 10th, but then problems started right off the bat for him basically and on lap 10, Bell had fallen back to 18th with a shredded tire which damaged the #20. Bell somehow rebounded from that and finished 10th in Stage #1. Then in Stage #2, while he was running around 14th, he spun on lap 156 and brought out another caution which doomed him to his 33rd. Personally, I wouldn’t’ read into that race for him. In 2023, Bell swept the top five with his average finish being 3.5. Last fall, 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, finished 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 and ranked #1 for Speed Late In A Run. 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 2022, Bell was an innocent victim in the Larson/ Wallace carnage (34th) and then in the spring, 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 having a flat tire that shredded on lap 142 while running in 3rd.

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