NASCAR been racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway since 1998 with Mark Martin winning the inaugural event. Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports drivers hold the top six starting spots on the grid with Denny Hamlin leading a 1-2-3 for JGR.
However, the pole-sitter has only won this race once before, and that was Kyle Busch back in 2009. Recent races have seen an emergence of Penske-powered cars with Joey Logano winning this race one year ago, which vaulted him into the final four and helped him to earn his third Cup title. Earlier this year, Josh Berry in the Penske-aligned Wood Brothers Ford earned his first career win in Vegas, but the Penske cars were the slowest of the eight remaining title combatants.
But what are the betting odds in Sin City?
Leading the way is Kyle Larson at +350. In 13 starts, he holds the best average finish among active drivers at 9.4, along with three checkered flags. However, he hasn’t won a Cup race since before his Indy 500/Coke 600 double in May.
Right behind Larson is the pole-sitter as Hamlin hunts a milestone 60th career win. Hamlin is sitting a +450 odds. He has one previous win in Vegas, which came during the 2021 season.
Christopher Bell is tied with teammate Hamlin at +450, and while he’s never won this race, he has come close before. Bell starts third in Sunday’s race, and he finished second one year ago.
William Byron is next at +550, followed by Chase Briscoe at +800, and Ryan Blaney at +900. Only Byron is a former Vegas winner, but all three start in the top six with Briscoe joining Hamlin on the front row.
The playoff drivers with the worst odds ahead of Vegas are Chase Elliott and defending winner Logano at +1100. While Elliott is 0-16 in Vegas, Logano could be a good bet as the winningest active driver at the track (four wins).
But what about potential spoilers? The top non-playoff driver is Tyler Reddick at +1600, who starts eighth in Sunday’s race. He went rolling upside down in last year’s race, so here’s hoping history doesn’t repeat itself. His teammate Bubba Wallace, who starts seventh, could be another driver to watch at +1800.
If you really want to roll the dice and go for a longshot, there are some options there as well. JGR looks very strong and while he’s yet to win at the Cup level, Ty Gibbs also qualified inside the top ten (P10), and sits at a distant +3500 odds. Berry, the most recent winner in LVMS, is also at +3500.
Here’s a look at how the entire field stacks up for the NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas, per the oddsmakers on DraftKings:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
