Las Vegas South Point 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Chris Buescher
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Look for Chris Buescher to be a top ten contender at Las Vegas. Buescher’s run well here and in 3 of the last 4 races, he’s finished between 10th to 13th. In terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings over the last four, Buescher has a 9.75 average Speed Ranking. This year at high-speed 1.5’s, Buescher ranks 10th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings and has a 15.2 average finish. At Kansas recently, Buescher finished 15th but take note of his 6th best Total Speed Ranking.
Las Vegas History – Chris Buescher has been pretty solid at Las Vegas and in 3 of the last 4, he’s come home with a top 13 finish. This spring, Buescher finished 13th, ranked 18th in terms of Total Speed Rankings and had a 19.3 average running position. Last fall, the #17 was a rocket and Buescher was a top five contender, but he finished a misleading 10th via pit strategy/fuel saving from others who beat him. In the race, Buescher finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2 and was in 5th on lap 226 right before the final green flag pit cycle started. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Buescher ranked 7th. Last spring, Buescher looked good, but he also had a short race and finished 37th. In the race, Buescher started 9th, took the lead during the first caution when he took two tires, led 2 laps, was in 7th on lap 25 but then on lap 27, he lost a wheel and pounded the wall hard (finished 37th). His race was short, but he did rank 3rd in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In fall 2023, Buescher finished 11th.

Alex Bowman
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Look for Alex Bowman to have a solid showing and be a top ten performer. Bowman won Las Vegas Next Gen race #1 and currently has back-to-back top 7’s. In the Next Gen, Bowman ranks 5th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings and in the results column minus fall 2023 where he was top ten good but got into the wall his average finish is 6.8. This year at high-speed 1.5’s, Bowman ranks 9th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings, has a 6th place average finish over his two incident free races but in three of them, he’s had major trouble and finished 28th or worse.
Las Vegas History – Alex Bowman won Las Vegas Next Gen race #1 and he’s historically run well here but over his last nine races, he has five top 7’s and then in the other four he’s finished 18th or worse, so he’s been a “hero or zero.” This spring, Bowman finished 7th, earned the 8th best Driver Rating and had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking. I’ll note, Bowman didn’t have an incident free race. On lap 90 while running 5th just after the Stage #2 restart he made an unexpected pit stop for a vibration and then later in Stage #2 he was caught speeding on pit road. Last fall, the #48 was fast and when the checkered flag waved, Bowman finished 5th, earned the 4th best Driver Rating, had a 6.8 average running position and ranked 5th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last spring, Bowman started 23rd, finished 8th in Stage #2 but then finished 18th overall. Over the last long run, Bowman just kind of faded back. With 30 to go he was in 9th, with 20 to go he was in 14th and then of course he finished 18th. Additionally, Bowman had the 15th best Total Speed Ranking and the 15th best Driver Rating. In fall 2023, Bowman finished 35th but that’s an asterisk mark result. “Performance Wise”, Bowman was a top ten contender but on lap 145 while running in 9th, Bowman got into the wall hard. Additionally, Bowman had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking and had the 13th best Driver Rating. In his two races prior to that, Bowman had results of 3rd and 1st.

Josh Berry
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Spring winner, Josh Berry will be a dark horse driver at Las Vegas. It sounds strange to say that about the most recent winner but that’s exactly what he is. This year at high-speed 1.5’s, Berry of course has his Las Vegas win, ranks 13th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings and in the results column minus Kansas #2 and Texas his average finish is 6.3.
Las Vegas History – This spring at Las Vegas, Josh Berry had a great performance and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Berry earned the best Driver Rating, had the 3rd best Average Running Position (7.9), led 18 laps and had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. I’ll note, bad pit strategy from others helped him but his win is the real deal. Over his three starts prior to that, Berry was 3 for 3 at finishing in the 20’s. Last fall, Berry finished 24th, had a 24.7 average running position and then ranked 26th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last spring, Berry finished 20th, had a 22.6 average running position and his Speed Ranking ranked 24th. In spring 2023 in an emergency start in the #9, Berry finished 29th. Berry never ran well, and he also got into the wall.

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

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions & The Low Tier