This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Course: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Format: 1.5-mile oval
Laps: 267
NASCAR Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube Preview
Daniel Suarez won a three-wide photo finish a week ago at Atlanta to grab his first win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. The race was a wild one with nearly the entire field caught up in contact in the race's many crashes. Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch were the two pipped at the line by Suarez in one of the closest three-way finishes in motorsports history. All drivers now look ahead to a two-race trip westward with a first stop at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube. Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson swept the victories at the track last season, and Alex Bowman's win in 2022 means Hendrick cars have won three of the last four races at the 1.5-mile oval. While Byron and Suarez have one foot each in the playoff field due to their victories, the remainder of the Cup Series garage remains on the hunt. This week's race is the first non-superspeedway race of the year, which means fans can start getting a better feel for who is fast and who still has work to do.
Key Stats at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- Number of races: 32
- Winners from pole: 1
- Winners from top-5 starters: 13
- Winners from top-10 starters: 19
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 5
- Fastest race: 154.849 mph
Previous 10 Las Vegas Winners
2023 fall - Kyle Larson
2023 spring - William Byron
2022 fall - Joey Logano
2022 spring - Alex Bowman
2021 fall - Denny Hamlin
2021 spring - Kyle Larson
2020 fall - Kurt Busch
2020 spring - Joey Logano
2019 fall - Martin Truex Jr.
2019 spring - Joey Logano
The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a track position type of oval. Qualifying well and commanding the race from the start is the surest path to victory. Both winners at the track last season started on the front row and went on to lead more than 100 laps. In fact, since 2016, only one race at Las Vegas was won by a driver starting outside of the top 15. It is essential that teams hit their setups early in the weekend and start up front to have a shot at winning. Very few drivers last season worked their way into the top 10 for the finish if they started outside of the top 15. Long green-flag runs can be common, which enable those teams who get their setups right early to pull away. Teams must be able to make adjustments to improve handling, though. The current generation of car can change heavily through a race, and teams that make the right adjustments at the right times can gain ground quickly. Fantasy players should wait to see practice and qualifying results before setting their lineups this week, and specifically they should look at 10-lap average speeds. Those cars further up that timesheet are likely to be ones that get out of the gate quickest on Sunday.
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DraftKings Value Picks for the Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Kyle Larson - $11,000
Denny Hamlin - $10,700
William Byron - $10,500
Ryan Blaney - $10,200
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Chase Elliott - $9,800
Kyle Busch - $9,700
Christopher Bell - $9,500
Martin Truex Jr. - $9,300
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Tyler Reddick - $8,900
Bubba Wallace - $8,700
Brad Keselowski - $8,500
Alex Bowman - $8,100
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Ty Gibbs - $7,600
Erik Jones - $7,400
John Hunter Nemechek - $6,700
Chase Briscoe - $6,400
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Denny Hamlin - $10,700
Chase Elliott - $9,800
Tyler Reddick - $8,900
Brad Keselowski - $8,500
John Hunter Nemechek - $6,700
Harrison Burton - $5,400
Despite leading 25 combined laps in the first two races of the season, Denny Hamlin (DK $10,700, FD $13,000) has yet to finish in the top 15. Superspeedway success can be fickle, and that is largely what has been Hamlin's lot thus far. Las Vegas should give him a better chance to segregate himself from the competition and start climbing up the championship standings. The same can be said of Chase Elliott (DK $9,800, FD $10,000). The former champion has not been lacking speed, but this week's circuit should give him a chance to differentiate himself. Elliott only raced the spring race at Las Vegas last season, but he has three top-fives and five top-10s from 13 career starts. A traditional 1.5-mile oval should also be good for Tyler Reddick (DK $8,900, FD $11,000). The 23XI Racing team has not been slow so far in 2024 and Reddick won at Kansas (a similar track to Las Vegas) last season. His four Vegas top-10 finishes have all come in the last five visits.
This week's race should be a good opportunity to showcase the progress RFK Racing has made. Brad Keselowski (DK $8,500, FD $8,500) was among the leaders at Daytona and Atlanta, but wasn't able to translate that speed into top finishes due to crashes. This week's venue will put more control of his destiny into his own hands. Keselowski is a three-time Las Vegas winner who led a combined 43 laps in the two races there last season with a best finish of fourth in the fall race. John Hunter Nemechek (DK $6,700, FD $5,800) is another that can prove his potential again this week. Nemechek showed plenty of speed at Daytona, but this week will be a better indication of what the rest of the season my hold for him. Seventh at Daytona is his best finish of the two races so far this year. Harrison Burton (DK $5,400, FD $3,200) is hoping his 11th-place finish from last week brings him more top-20s as the season continues. Burton should be expecting consistent top-20 finishes each week with the occasional top-15 and top-10, but that has been out of reach more recently. He has two top-20s from four starts at Las Vegas, including a 20th-place finish last fall.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Kyle Larson - $11,000
Kyle Busch - $9,700
Alex Bowman - $8,100
Ty Gibbs - $7,600
Michael McDowell - $7,200
Chase Briscoe - $6,400
A shift to a traditional 1.5-mile oval should be a boost for Kyle Larson (DK $11,000, FD $14,000). His best finish in the first two races was 11th at Daytona, and he'll want a quick return to form with a top-five and potential victory this week. He finished first and second in the two races here last year. After narrowly missing a win last week, Kyle Busch (DK $9,700, FD $11,500) is also looking for a better finish this week. Las Vegas is Busch's home track and he won there in 2009. He finished third in the race last fall and had five finishes of fourth or better from the last six. Busch is consistently good at this track, which should make him a wise selection this week. Another wise selection may be Alex Bowman (DK $8,100, FD $8,000). The Hendrick driver underperformed in 2023, which is probably why he trades at a discount here in early 2024. Bowman is ninth in the standings and was the runner-up finisher at Daytona, though. He is a former track winner, and with Hendrick's strength at the circuit, this week could be the chance to get a lot of value from Bowman's relatively low cost.
Further down the price list, another opportunity to grab some value could come from Ty Gibbs (DK $7,600, FD $7,200). The second-year driver finished 10th and 17th in the two races so far this season, and only his prior Las Vegas starts appear to be causing his depressed price. Fantasy players shouldn't expect his average finish 26th at the track to last much longer. Michael McDowell (DK $7,200, FD $6,800) is another driver to consider. Front Row Motorsports has shown improvement early this year and McDowell's eighth-place finish last week is evidence. He has never scored a top-10 at Las Vegas, but for this week's price fantasy players would be more hopeful for a top-15. He finished 17th at the track last fall and if things go his way, he may even have some potential to work his way into the top 10. It also wouldn't be a surprise to see Chase Briscoe (DK $6,400, FD $6,000) in the top 10 Sunday. Briscoe was 10th at Daytona and started inside the top 10 at Atlanta, too. His best Las Vegas finish was fourth in the fall of 2022.
