Harvick, Favored to Win Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas

The 2020 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series kicked off in a big way last week with the Daytona 500 that saw Denny Hamlin collect his second straight checkered flag in that race. Of course, the ending of the 500 came with a worrisome note as Ryan Newman was involved in a bad accident, but he was released from hospital earlier this week. Despite Hamlin’s hot start to the season, he is eighth on the oddsboard to win the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas, with Kevin Harvick having the top odds at +350.

Online sportsbook Bovada has Harvick favored at +350 followed by Kyle Busch at +650, Joey Logano at +825, Martin Truex Jr. at +850, Brad Keselowski at +1000, Kyle Larson at +1100, Chase Elliott at +1200, Denny Hamlin at +1200, Ryan Blaney at +1600 and William Byron at +1600 to round out the the top 10.

Busch or Harvick: Which Favorite Is Providing Better Value?

Although Las Vegas is Kyle Busch’s hometown, the track hasn’t been too kind to the reigning series champion. The 34-year-old won in Las Vegas in 2009 but hasn’t driven to victory lane there since and has had an average finish position of 13.5 over the last 11 runnings, with just four top-five finishes. Additionally, Toyota has won just two of the last eight races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

This must mean that Harvick is the better option of the two and that’s a correct assessment. The 2014 NASCAR champion has won two of the last seven races at this track and has finished in the top 10 in five of those runnings. His two finishes outside the top 10 came in races in which he was involved in accidents. He has also led at least one lap in seven of the last eight races at Las Vegas. If I had to choose either Kyle Busch or Kevin Harvick to win this race, my bet would be on the latter.

Which Drivers are Providing Better Value Than the Faves

There are two drivers who I think are offering better odds than Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick and it just so happens they are teammates. Team Roger Penske’s Brad Keselowski (+1000) and Joey Logano (+825) both have been dominant at this track recently and have a good shot to win again.

Keselowski has won three of the last eight races at Las Vegas and his worst finish since switching to Ford in 2013, a span of nine races, was seventh. Logano has just one win in his 13 career Vegas starts, but he has had an average finish position of 4.5 over the last six runnings and has led at least 20 laps in seven of the last eight races there.

Betting Picks: Keselowski (+1000) and Logano (+825)

These two drivers have combined to win four of the last eight races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and they have finished 10th or better in all of those runnings. Keselowski has also finished in the top five in seven of the last nine. Lastly, Logano and Keselowski have led laps frequently at this track with Logano leading at least one lap in five of the last seven and Keselowski in eight of the last 10.

Here’s a look at the full list of odds to win the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

Odds as of February 23 courtesy of Bovada