Las Vegas Odds Heavily Favor 1 NASCAR Champion

The Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube takes place on March 6 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX), continuing the west coast swing. One former NASCAR Cup Series champion will enter the weekend as the strong favorite based on the latest odds.

DraftKings released the odds for the Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and listed defending champion Kyle Larson as the favorite at 5-1 odds. He has the advantage over Joey Logano (15-2), Chase Elliott (15-2), Ryan Blaney (10-1), Denny Hamlin (12-1), Kyle Busch (12-1), and William Byron (12-1).

Larson, who logged his first win of the 2022 season on February 27 at Auto Club Speedway, is the favorite after he showed his ability to close out an important race. He held off Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, and Daniel Suarez on the final restart and secured his spot in the playoffs. He also led 28 laps and helped Hendrick Motorsports reach the milestone of 75,000 laps led in the Cup Series, which only extended the organization’s all-time record.

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Larson Won the 2021 Spring Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

When the Cup Series returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2021, another driver stood out as the favorite. Logano had won the 2019 and 2020 spring races at the 1.5-mile oval, and he had the opportunity to go for his third straight.

Logano led seven laps overall in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, but he did not fight for the win. Instead, Larson put on a strong performance, led 103 laps, and won Stage 2. He then built up a 3.2-second lead over Brad Keselowski on the final run to the checkered flag and won his first race for Hendrick Motorsports.

While Larson won the 2021 Pennzoil 400 and then led 95 laps during the playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he did not pull off the season sweep. Hamlin actually turned in a better performance during the September 26 race by leading 137 laps, winning Stage 2, and building up an insurmountable advantage over Elliott.

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Larson & His Fellow Champions Will Have an Expanded Practice

The trip to Las Vegas will feature a change in the practice procedures. The drivers will take part in an expanded session that features all of the stock cars in one group for 35 minutes. This will be a change from the trip to Auto Club Speedway that had two groups for 15 minutes each.

This practice session will take place on Saturday, March 5, at 1:30 p.m. ET. FS2 will provide coverage as the drivers try to avoid the spins that plagued them at Auto Club Speedway.

Immediately after practice comes to an end, the drivers will split into two groups for single-car qualifying. The five fastest from each group will move on to the final round where they will battle for the Busch Pole and spots on the first five rows. FS1 will provide coverage or qualifying.

The last time the drivers headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the playoff race in September, Larson sat on the Busch Pole. He was the winner of the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway, which helped him immensely in the starting order formula used throughout the 2021 Cup Series season. Now he will strive to capture the Busch Pole based on the virtue of speed.

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