Las Vegas Fantasy Racing Preview

Driver Averages | Laps Led Leaders | Driver Ratings | Past Winners

Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race will mark the first of the year with the full new rules package.

Who’s HOT at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 

• Brad Keselowski is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last seven races, including three wins.
• Martin Truex Jr. has posted a 2.7 average finish in his last four starts, including a win in 2017.
• Kevin Harvick has led 371 laps and scored two wins in the last five races.
• Joey Logano has finished in the top 10 in the last six races.
• Kyle Larson has posted a 2.3 average finish in his last three starts.
• Kyle Busch, who will compete in all three races this weekend, has finished seventh or better in three of the last four races.
• Ryan Blaney, who won the pole for this event last year, has finished seventh or better in his last four starts.

Keep an Eye On at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

• Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Landon Cassill, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto, Jimmie Johnson, Keselowski, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace tested the new rules package at Las Vegas four weeks ago. Testing Speeds
• Aric Almirola and Menard finished in the top 10 in both Las Vegas races last season.
• Erik Jones and Chase Elliott each have finished in the top 10 in three of the last four races at 1.5-mile tracks.

Notes: Las Vegas will be the first race with the full new rules package that includes the aero ducts…Fourteen teams tested the new package at Las Vegas four weeks ago…Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams will be running a new tire combination this weekend…Teams did run the right-side tire code that will be used this weekend at Michigan and Texas in 2018…This will be the 14th race for the Cup Series since Las Vegas was reconfigured and the second straight year for two events in a season…Kyle Busch (2009) is the only driver that has won from the pole in 22 overall races and the second starting position has sparked the most winners (4) with Kevin Harvick the latest last year in this event…Kevin Harvick (4), Kyle Busch (3), Brad Keselowski (2), Martin Truex Jr. (1), Joey Logano (1) and Chase Elliott (1) have combined to win the last 12 races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the start of the 2018 season.

*Best Average Finish at Las Vegas

* – The best average finish is based off a driver entered in the race who has competed in every race during that time span.

Laps Led Leaders at Las Vegas

Click Here to view all laps led leaders at Las Vegas over the past 10 races.

Las Vegas Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2018, 15 Races)

Click Here to view the Top 10 Driver Ratings at Las Vegas since 2016.

Top 10 Stage 1 & 2 Points Earned at Las Vegas
Three Races

2018 Las Vegas March Race Stage Finishes

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Joey Logano
Pete Pistone: Kevin Harvick
Tyler Burnett: Kevin Harvick
Kenneth Lee: Brad Keselowski

Driver Notes – Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at Las Vegas

Brad Keselowski is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in the last seven races at Las Vegas, including wins in 2014, 2016 and the 2018 September race. Keselowski failed to lead at least one lap at Las Vegas for the first time since 2011 in this event last year. In 2015, he led 89 laps and was passed for the lead with two laps to go when he had a mechanical issue that relegated him to a fifth-place finish. Keselowski, who won for the second time in the last five races at 1.5-mile tracks last weekend at Atlanta, tested the new rules package at Las Vegas four weeks agao and was fastest on the final day.

Martin Truex Jr. is coming off his fourth top five in the last five races at Las Vegas after leading 96 laps and finishing third last September. He started second and led 150 laps en route to the win in the 2017 race, along with the opening two stages. He leads all drivers with 51 stage points in the last three races at LVMS. Truex, who finished second last weekend at Atlanta, has the second-best average finish (6.3) in the 12 races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the start of last season. Truex did get some track time with this weekend’s rule package during a January Goodyear tire test at Auto Club Speedway.

Joey Logano has finished in the top 10 in his last six starts at Las Vegas, including a second-place finish in 2016. Logano has combined to lead 241 laps in that span and won the pole in 2014. Logano, who did get track time with the new rules package during a Goodyear tire test at Auto Club Speedway, has the fourth-best average finish in the 12 races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the start of the 2018 season.

Kyle Larson has posted a 2.3 average finish in his last three starts at Las Vegas, including two runner-up finishes. Larson’s 8.8 average finish in the last 12 races at 1.5-mile tracks ranks fifth among all drivers. He led a race-high 142 laps last weekend at Atlanta with the new rules package (without aero ducts) and finished 12th after a pit road speeding penalty.

Ryan Blaney has posted an 8.4 average finish in five starts at Las Vegas, his best average among all oval tracks. Last year, Blaney won the pole for this event and recorded a pair of fifth-place finishes. His two Vegas finishes are among his five top fives in the last 12 races at 1.5-mile tracks. Last weekend at Atlanta, Blaney led 41 laps with the new rules package (without aero ducts) but finished 22nd after a pit road miscue and a late-race tire problem.

Ryan Newman will be making his first start at Las Vegas with Roush Fenway Racing. He tested the new rules package at LVMS and was fifth fastest on the final day. Newman finished 13th last weekend in his first start at a 1.5-mile track with RFR. In Newman’s previous six starts at Las Vegas with Richard Childress Racing he recorded an average finish of 10.0.

Kevin Harvick won for the second time at Las Vegas last year in this event with a dominating performance, leading 214. However, he was penalized after his Ford was determined to have violations in the rear window area. Harvick was involved in an accident last September at Las Vegas, which is one of his three finishes outside the top five in the last 12 races at 1.5-mile tracks. Last weekend, Harvick led 45 laps, won stage 2 and finished fourth at Atlanta with the 2019 rules package (without aero ducts).

Kyle Busch finished second in this event for one of his eight top 10s in 15 starts at Las Vegas, which includes a win in 2009. Busch, who tested the 2019 rules package at LVMS, finished sixth at Atlanta last weekend in a backup car. His 5.2 average finish in the last 12 races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the start of the 2018 season leads all drivers. In 2017 at Las Vegas, Busch was running in the top five and racing hard for position when Joey Logano got loose and got into him on the final lap. The contact resulted in a 22nd-place finish (his only outside the top 11 in the last six races) and a post-race altercation on pit road.

Paul Menard finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in his first Las Vegas starts with Wood Brothers Racing in 2018. Menard’s other top 10s at LVMS came in 2012-2014 with Richard Childress Racing. Menard tested the 2019 rules package at Las Vegas last month and was sixth fastest on the final day. Menard’s 14th-place finish last weekend at Atlanta lowered his average finish to 16.2 in the last 12 races at 1.5-mile tracks.

Austin Dillon finished 13th and 11th, respectively, last season at Las Vegas. His best finish, and only top 10, came in 2016 in fifth. Dillon tested the 2019 rules package at LVMS and was second fastest in two of the sessions.

Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with four wins at Las Vegas with two of them coming since the track was reconfigured. Last year in this event, Johnson had to start at the rear of the field in the spring after multiple inspection failures and was able to finish 12th. Johnson finished 22nd in September and the 2018 season marked the first time he did not lead a lap at LVMS since 2011. Johnson tested the new rules package at LVMS and was fourth fastest on the final day. Johnson struggled last weekend at Atlanta and finished 24th for his worst finish in the last nine races at 1.5-mile tracks.

Denny Hamlin scored his last of six top 10s at Las Vegas in 2017. He struggled last September and spun off Turn 4 and damaged the splitter with 21 laps to go, ending his day in 32nd. Last weekend, Hamlin started fourth and finished 11th at Atlanta in his first 1.5-mile Cup race with crew chief Chris Gabehart.

Aric Almirola finished in the top 10 in both races last season, his first two Las Vegas starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. He finished sixth last September. Almirola is one of only two drivers (other Martin Truex Jr.) that has finished in the top 10 in the last six races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to Kentucky Speedway last July.

Clint Bowyer recorded his only top 10 in three Las Vegas starts with Stewart-Haas Racing in this event in 2017. Bowyer’s fifth-place finish last weekend at Atlanta was his second consecutive top 10 at a 1.5-mile track. Bowyer tested the new rules package at Las Vegas and was third fastest in the final session.

Kurt Busch will be making his first Las Vegas start with Chip Ganassi Racing. He finished third last weekend in his first 1.5-mile track start with the team at Atlanta. The finish was also his third consecutive top 10 at a 1.5-mile track dating back to Texas last November. Busch tested the new rules package at Las Vegas with CGR and was third fastest in one of the sessions.