Las Vegas Pennzoil 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Chris Buescher
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Chris Buescher should be penciled in for a solid showing at Las Vegas. Buescher ran well in both 2025 races (12.5 average finish) and going back further, in 4 of the last 5 he’s finished between 10th to 13th. Over that same stretch, Buescher also has a 10.4 average Speed Ranking. Last year at high-speed 1.5’s, Buescher ranked 10th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings and his 14.7 average finish was tied for being the 9th best.
Las Vegas History – Chris Buescher has been pretty solid at Las Vegas and in 4 of the last 5, he’s come home with a top 13 finish. In the Next Gen, Buescher ranks 13th in terms of average finish (16.5) and has the 15th best Next Gen Speed Ranking. Last fall, Buescher was a solid low double-digit performer. In the race, Buescher finished 12th, had a 12.4 average running position and ranked 13th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last spring, Buescher finished 13th, ranked 18th in terms of Total Speed Rankings and had a 19.3 average running position. In fall 2024, 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. In spring 2024, 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). In fall 2023, Buescher finished 11th.

Ty Gibbs
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Ty Gibbs will be a dark horse pick at Las Vegas. Gibbs is 6 for 7 at finishing 22nd or worse at Las Vegas but he was a top ten performer last fall before his ugly demise during a late restart wreck. In terms of Next Gen Speed rankings at Vegas, Gibbs ranks 13th and in 4 of the last 5 races he’s ranked 13th or better, so he’s clearly run a lot better than the results column. Last year at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Gibbs ranked 16th in terms of Track Type Total Speed rankings but in the results column, he didn’t crack the top 20 once and had a 26.0 average finish. One attribute you have to like about Gibbs is that he’s running well and currently has back-to-back 4th place finishes heading into the weekend.
Las Vegas History – At Las Vegas, Ty Gibbs has finished 22nd or worse in 6 of his 7 starts, but he’s shown potential and in 3 of the last 4, he’s been top ten good despite what you’ll see in the results column. Last fall, Gibbs looked great but finished an asterisk mark 34th. In the race, Gibbs started 10th, finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 7th in Stage #2, was in 6th on lap 230 but then shortly after that on lap 243 during a restart, he got overly aggressive and crashed, leading to his 34th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Gibbs ranked 8th. Last spring in a slump, Gibbs was just bad and finished 22nd. In fall 2024, Gibbs looked strong but finished an asterisk mark 30th. In the race, Gibbs finished 6th in Stage #1, was in 4th on lap 125 but was then caught speeding on pit road during green flag pit stops. Later on lap 190, he got loose and spun, which dropped him two laps down. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Gibbs ranked 11th. In spring 2024, Gibbs finished 5th despite his race not being incident free. In the race, Gibbs started 8th, finished 6th in Stage #1 but then in Stage #2 around lap 158 while in 5th, Gibbs had lugnut problems and got an uncontrolled tire penalty. Gibbs rallied back, even despite being said to have lost first gear. Additionally, Gibbs earned the 4th best Driver Rating and had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking.

Alex Bowman (Not sure if he’s racing or not this week yet)
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Look for Alex Bowman to have a solid showing and compete for a top ten at Las Vegas. Bowman won Las Vegas Next Gen race #1 and has a 6.3 average finish over the last three. In the Next Gen, Bowman ranks 4th 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. Last year at high-speed 1.5’s, Bowman ranked 8th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings, finished in the top 7 50% of the time but in the other 50% he had problems and finished 28th or worse.
Las Vegas History – Alex Bowman won Las Vegas Next Gen race #1 and he’s historically run well but over his last 10 races, he has six top 7’s and in the other four, he’s finished 18th or worse, so he’s been a “hero or zero.” Over the last three, Bowman’s run quite well with a 6.3 average finish. Last fall, Bowman looked great over a long run and finished 7th. In the race, Bowman finished 8th in Stage #2, earned the 7th best Driver Rating and then finished 7th overall. In terms of speed stats, Bowman ranked 2nd in terms of Speed Late In A Run and had the 7th best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring, Bowman finished 7th and had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking. I’ll note, on lap 90 while running 5th just after the Stage #2 restart he made an unexpected pit stop and then later in Stage #2 he was caught speeding on pit road. In fall 2024, 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.

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