Las Vegas Pennzoil 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Denny Hamlin
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Denny Hamlin, last fall’s Las Vegas winner ranks among the premiere performers at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks and on Sunday, look for Hamlin to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. Last year at high-speed 1.5’s, Hamlin had quite a few problems, but he didn’t lack when it comes to “Performance” and over the last three races, Hamlin’s Track Type Total Speed Ranking was 1.7, with him being a contender to win both Playoff races (Kansas and Las Vegas) when everybody brought their A-game. At Las Vegas, Hamlin’s a 2-time winner and since 2021 minus spring 2022 and last spring, Hamlin has a 6.0 average finish.
Las Vegas History – Denny Hamlin has been one of the best at Las Vegas and in the Next Gen, Hamlin’s the most recent winner, has the 5th best Next Gen Driver Rating, the 6th best Next Gen Speed Ranking and a 7.2 average finish minus spring 2022 and spring 2025. Last fall, Hamlin came up clutch and raced his way to victory lane in game 7 fashion, racing his way from 6th to 1st over the last little green flag run. In the race, Hamlin had a 4.8 average running position, led 9 laps and earned the 2nd best Driver Rating. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 2nd. Last spring, Hamlin looked off early and also got a speeding penalty in the first Stage, but he rebounded in the second half and logged some laps in the top five in the last Stage. Then in the last Stage, Hamlin pitted early during a round of green flag pit stops and was then also burned by a caution during the pit cycle which doomed him to his 25th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 20th but take note his speed over the segments were 28th, 29th, 15th and then 8th. In fall 2024, Hamlin started 4th, was in 5th on lap 30, had a slow pit stop during the opening round of green flag pit stops that dropped him back 8 spots, was the only driver who didn’t pit during the Stage #1 caution which dropped him back like a rock into the 20’s but he eventually rebounded en route to an 8th place finish. Over the four races prior to that, Hamlin had results of 8th, 10th, 11th and 5th.

Kyle Larson
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Larson is a super-elite performer at Las Vegas who’ll be tough to beat. In the Next Gen, Larson’s won twice, his top 2 finish rate is 62.5%, has the best Next Gen Speed Ranking, has the 2nd best Next Gen Driver Rating and his average finish minus fall 2022 is 4.0. Last year at high-speed 1.5’s, Larson was elite, winning Kansas #1, had the best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and a 4.4 average finish minus Charlotte. On Sunday, look for Larson to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Las Vegas History – Kyle Larson’s a 3-time Las Vegas winner and in the Next Gen, Larson has the best Total Speed Ranking and a 4.0 average finish minus fall 2022. Last year, Larson was the class of the field in both races, going 2 for 2 at having the best Total Speed Ranking but his average finish was 5.5. Last fall, Larson had the field covered but late mayhem robbed him of the win. In the race, Larson finished 2nd in Stage #1, won Stage #2, led the most laps (129), had the best average running position (2.9), earned the best Driver Rating and was the leader prior to all the late mayhem that ensued. In terms of speed stats, Larson had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked as the Fastest Driver Late In A Run. Last spring, Larson may have very well had the best car, but he finished an asterisk mark 9th after some final Stage pit strategy shuffled him from the lead back to the mid-teens. In the race, Larson won Stage #2, led the most laps (61), had the 2nd best average running position (7.6) and earned the 2nd best Driver Rating. In terms of speed stats, Larson ranked #1 for Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. In fall 2024, Larson looked pretty good, but his afternoon was anything but incident free and he finished an asterisk mark 11th after having multiple problems. In terms of speed, Larson didn’t lack and ranked #1 for Speed Late In A Run and ranked 6th for Total Speed Rankings. In spring 2024, Larson 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 Total Speed Rankings, Larson ranked #1. In 2 of the 3 races prior to that, Larson finished 2nd.

Tyler Reddick
Las Vegas Fantasy Outlook – Look for Tyler Reddick to be a contender at Las Vegas. Reddick’s performed at an elite level and the #45 was one of the fastest at high-speed 1.5’s last year, with Reddick ranking 2nd in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings. At Las Vegas in the Next Gen, Reddick ranks 3rd in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings and in the results column minus spring 2025 and fall 2024, Reddick has a 7.2 average finish.
Las Vegas History – Tyler Reddick has been elite at Las Vegas and over the last four races, Reddick has a 2.5 average Speed Ranking. In the results column, Reddick’s had misleading results in 2 of the last 3 races but going back further, he’s finished in the top 8 in 6 of the last 9. Last fall, Reddick ranked among the best. In the race, Reddick earned the 3rd best Driver Rating, had the 4th best average running position (5.0) and then finished 5th overall. In terms of speed stats, Reddick had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 5th for Speed Late In A Run. Last spring, Reddick had a great car but finished a misleading 24th. In the race, Reddick led 34 laps, had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking, the 6th best Average Running Position (9.2) and earned the 7th best Driver Rating. On lap 230 during the final round of green flag pit stops while running in 2nd, Reddick had a slow pit stop that dropped him back to nearly 30th, and he was then doomed to his 24th after that. In fall 2024, Reddick had a rocket. In the race, Reddick started 2nd, won Stage #1, led 9 laps but then early in Stage #2 he was collected in the “Big One”, leading to his 35th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Reddick ranked 2nd. In spring 2024, Reddick finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2 and then finished 2nd overall. In terms of speed stats, Reddick was the fastest driver late in a run and had the 2nd best Total speed Ranking. In 4 of the 5 races prior to that, Reddick finished between 6th to 8th.

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