It’s Race 2 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season: The Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). With qualifying rained out and the field set by 2019 owner points, is it worth stacking the deck with some big names or are there some hidden gems starting a little deeper in the field? RJ Kraft offers up his race-day lineup and bonus picks below.
RJ Kraft race-day lineup for Pennzoil 400:
1: Kevin Harvick
2: Kyle Larson
3: Ryan Blaney
4: Martin Truex Jr.
5: Joey Logano
Garage: Alex Bowman
Just missing the cut: Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson
To the rear: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell (Read more about that here.)
RELATED: Lap averages, practice results and more | Fantasy preview coming into Las Vegas
Analysis: There was going to be very little that could keep Harvick out my lineup for this race. He was one of the best on 1.5-mile tracks last year, and I expect that to continue. Larson has a solid history at Las Vegas and had the third-best 15- and 20-lap averages in final practice. Team Penske has been a very strong group at Las Vegas in the past, and Blaney looks to have the strongest long-run car of that trio. While the lap averages aren’t too great for Truex, I just trust in his recent Vegas results and his camp’s knack for figuring it out. I weighed Logano vs. Keselowski pretty closely, and my deciding factor was crew chief Paul Wolfe and so with that, I am taking Logano over Keselowski. Their numbers in the last five Las Vegas races are pretty close, and I like that Logano has Wolfe atop the box.
I am making a concerted effort to stay away from Kyle Busch for this race, despite the No. 18 starting on the pole. I don’t like the averages or overall numbers at the track, and with the 2019 champion, I want to be extra selective about where he is deployed. With strong tracks for him coming up (Auto Club Speedway and Phoenix Raceway), I’d like to hold him back for those. I’m also staying away from Denny Hamlin for two reasons: I don’t like his Vegas stats and the following week has historically not been kind to recent Daytona 500 winners. There has been just one race winner (Matt Kenseth, 2009) and only five additional top-five finishes in the past 15 years for drivers immediately after that race win.
In the garage, I am stashing Bowman. He had great long-run averages in practice — highlighted by the best 20-lap average in final practice. A sneaky fact with Bowman as well: He earned the sixth-most points on 1.5-mile race tracks last year, including two top-11 finishes at Vegas.
Bonus picks: I am taking Harvick in Stage 1, Larson in Stage 2, with Harvick and Ford for the win.