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It was a shocker of a weekend on the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Defending Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson was eliminated from the Playoffs, Chase Elliott was wrecked as he was raced for a win, and Christopher Bell won! Plus, a whole bunch of cars got torn up and a driver was penalized for blocking and his crew chief was suspended. Now it’s time for the next round of the Cup playoffs!
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Las Vegas for the South Point 400 for the first race in the Round of Eight. The odds look a bit different after the race at the Charlotte ROVAL. Yes, Denny Hamlin comes in as the lone favorite at +550. But a few other drivers have begun to push past some veterans we are used to seeing at the top of the odds list.
Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, and others have been slowly replaced by drivers such as Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain. Bell comes in at +800 with Reddick and Chastain bot at +900. None of these three drivers have won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Here are the favorite drivers to win the South Point 400 outright:
Denny Hamlin +550
Christopher Bell +800
Chase Elliott +800
Kyle Larson +850
Tyler Reddick +900
Ross Chastain +900
Hamlin and Kyle Larson are the only two drivers listed above with a Cup win at Texas Motor Speedway. Chastain has been among the favorites several times this season but he seems to be there more often. Bell and Reddick have been inching closer to the top as well over the season. This may indicate that we can look for some value down the list since these drivers have not won at this track. Complete odds are listed below.
2022 South Point 400 Preview
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway / Las Vegas, Nevada
Type: 1.5-mile paved banked tri-oval speedway
Race Distance: 267 laps / 400.5 miles
Defending Track Winner: Alex Bowman
TV/Radio: NBC/Peacock/SiriusXM/MRN & Local affiliates
This is the first race in The Round of 8 – of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Sixteen drivers qualified to race for the Championship and eight have been eliminated so far. This round includes this Sunday in Las Vegas followed by Homestead/Miami for the Dixie Vodka 400. The final race of this round is the Xfinity 500 on the Martinsville short track.
2022 South Point 400 Predictions
Denny Hamlin +550
Denny Hamlin is in a weird spot. The seasoned driver finds himself below the cutline entering the round of eight. However, he’s topping the top of the odds list due to his experience in Las Vegas. He won this race last season and has ten top-ten finishes at this track. Last year he exited early due to a drive train issue but his three Vegas races before that included the win, a 4th place, and a 3rd place run. A win on a track he runs well on can get him above the cutline.
Kyle Busch +1000
Kyle Busch has been one of the best drivers in NASCAR during his stint with Joe Gibbs Racing and Las Vegas Motor Speedway is his home track. He won here in 2009 but since then he’s finished 15th or better twelve times. His last four races here have been finishes of 4th, 3rd, 3rd, and 6th respectively. During the spring Vegas race, he led 49 laps. Busch is moving to a new team next year but he’s still driving some of the best equipment in NASCAR.
Joey Logano +1400
Joey Logano could be the semi-dark horse of this race. At +1400 he’s not a true longshot but the value could be there for some. Logano has raced at this track 18 times as a Cup driver and finished 10th or better eleven times. If this was the MLB his batting average would be over 500 – 611 to be exact! He has two recent wins at the track which came in 2019 and 2020.
Others: Christopher Bell (+800) is a favorite and on a strong run that includes his must-win victory last Sunday. That’s a bunch of emotion expelled that could be hard to repeat. I normally would be all over Alex Bowman (+2000) at Las Vegas as he is the defending track winner. But this is the first time back in the car since suffering concussion-like symptoms and being sidelined for two weeks. Still worth looking at.
Cup Series Playoff Standings
No. 1 Chase Elliott
No. 2 Joey Logano
No. 3 Ross Chastain
No. 4 Christopher Bell
Below Cutline after ROVAL
No. 5 Ryan Blaney
No. 6 William Byron
No. 7 Denny Hamlin
No. 8 Chase Briscoe
2022 South Point 400 Betting Lines
Denny Hamlin +550
Christopher Bell +800
Chase Elliott +800
Kyle Larson +850
Tyler Reddick +900
Ross Chastain +900
William Byron +1000
Ryan Blaney +1000
Kyle Busch +1000
Martin Truex Jr +1200
Joey Logano +1400
Darrell Wallace Jr. +1400
Alex Bowman +2000
Kevin Harvick +2500
Chase Briscoe +3000
Daniel Suarez +4000
Austin Dillon +5500
Austin Cindric +5500
Chris Buescher +7000
Brad Keselowski +7000
Erik Jones +8000
Ty Gibbs +10000
Aric Almirola +12500
AJ Allmendinger +20000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +25000
Michael McDowell +25000
Justin Haley +35000
Harrison Burton +50000
Cole Custer +50000
Ty Dillon +50000
Todd Gilliland +75000
Corey Lajoie +100000
BJ McLeod +100000
J.J. Yeley +100000
Landon Cassill +100000
