Last weekend things heated up at Bristol Motor Speedway as Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott exchanged angry words and some finger-pointing. That’s what happens at Bristol! That incident could spill over during the next round of the Playoffs starting this Sunday with the South Point 400 in Las Vegas. As you may have guessed, Kyle Larson comes in as the favorite at -167 with Kyle Busch at +120.
Larson won the spring Las Vegas Race earlier this season by leading 103 laps of the 267 lap race. It was his first win of the year giving him six checkered flags this season. Kyle Busch has one win at his home track in the Cup Series and that came back in 2009. He finished 3 rd at Vegas back in May.
Vegas is a track that is stingy with back-to-back winners. There has not been one since Jimmie Johnson pulled off the three-peat back in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Before that, it was Matt Kenseth (2003/2004) and Jeff Burton the two years prior.
This being a Playoff race, the excitement level will probably pick up compared to most Las Vegas Races which sometimes tend to settle into runs of green flag racing. This week Kevin Harvick is at the bottom of the Playoff bubble and he may have a score to settle with Elliott following last week. Harvick comes in at +200 while Elliott is +150. Here are the favorite drivers, through +170, to win the outright according to Intertops.
Kyle Larson -167
Kyle Busch +120
Denny Hamlin +140
Chase Elliott +150
Martin Truex Jr +170
2021 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: Kyle Larson
TV/Radio: NBCS / MRN
This is the first race of Round two – aka The Round of 12 – of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Sixteen drivers qualified to race for the Championship and four were eliminated following the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol last weekend. This round includes Las Vegas, Talladega, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
No. 1 Kyle Larson
No. 2 Martin Truex Jr.
No. 3 Denny Hamlin
No. 4 Ryan Blaney
No. 5 Kyle Busch
No. 6 Chase Elliott
No. 7 Alex Bowman
No. 8 William Byron
Cup Series Playoff Cut Line (Before Vegas)
No. 9 Joey Logano
No. 10 Brad Keselowski
No. 11 Christopher Bell
No. 12 Kevin Harvick
Eliminated from Playoffs after Round 1
No. 13 Aric Almirola
No. 14 Tyler Reddick
No. 15 Kurt Busch
No. 16 Micheal McDowell
2021 South Point 400 Predictions
Kyle Larson -167
Larson is the favorite to win at Las Vegas. He dominated the last time the Cup Series visited the track and he’s been hard to stop this season. His six wins were already mentioned but he’s also been impressive down the line. Larson has 21 runs in the top-ten with 16 finishes 5th or better. That’s a staggering statistic.
Denny Hamlin +140
Denny Hamlin is second in Playoff standing entering Las Vegas and this is a track that can help him stay far above the cutline. He has 9 races inside the top ten during his Cup Series career and he finished the last two Vegas races in impressive fashion. Last time here he finished 4th and the race prior he finished in the 3rd spot.
Joey Logano +240
Joey Logano is just below the cut-line for the next round in the Playoffs and Las Vegas is a perfect track for him to get a bounce back. Logano has two recent Las Vegas wins in the Cup Series and he’s also one of the highest drivers, among active drivers, at Vegas with an 8.4 average finish.
Others: Kevin Harvick (+200) is looking for a win and some payback against Chase Elliott. Kurt Busch (+500) has been eliminated from the Playoffs following Bristol but he won at Las Vegas only a year ago in 2020.
2021 South Point 400 Betting Lines
Kyle Larson -167
Kyle Busch +120
Denny Hamlin +140
Chase Elliott +150
Martin Truex Jr +170
Kevin Harvick +200
Joey Logano +240
William Byron +240
Ryan Blaney +280
Brad Keselowski +280
Alex Bowman +360
Christopher Bell +440
Kurt Busch +500
Tyler Reddick +900
Austin Dillon +900
Matt Dibenedetto +1100
Ross Chastain +1400
Aric Almirola +1400
Chris Buescher +3000
Chase Briscoe +3000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +3000
Daniel Suarez +3500
Darrell Wallace Jr. +3500
Erik Jones +4000
Cole Custer +4000
Ryan Newman +4000
Michael McDowell +6000
Ryan Preece +8000
Corey Lajoie +10000
Justin Haley +16000
Anthony Alfredo +20000
Josh Bilicki +20000
Quinn Houff +20000
J.J. Yeley +20000
BJ McLeod +20000
Joey Gase +20000
Garrett Smithley +20000
Cody Ware +20000
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