The Race
The Pennzoil 400
Where
The Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
Before we get into this week’s selections and insight it wouldn’t be fair not to mention the two-day roller-coaster race that was the Daytona 500. First, it is great hearing that Ryan Newman is going to be alright after his vicious wreck on the last lap of the race. If you wagered on Daytona last week, there were so many times where your bets looked great and then in an instant you found yourself ripping up your tickets… like me.
I had Logano at +280 to finish in the top 3. With three laps left he was challenging for first and—just like I just said—in the blink of an eye he was involved in yet another wreck and my hopes were dashed. Denny Hamlin ran a fantastic race en route to his third Daytona win in the last five years and has now gone back–to–back as champ. Don’t expect as much drama this week in Las Vegas although it should still be a solid race from drivers who know this course well.
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NASCAR Odds Favorites for Sin City
+500 Kyle Busch
+500 Kevin Harvick
+500 Martin Truex Jr
+600 Brad Keselowski
+600 Denny Hamlin
+700 Joey Logano
Harry’s Picks to Win the Pennzoil 400
Kevin Harvick
+500 To Win
+125 Top 3 Finish
The 44-year-old Harvick ran well last week in Florida and traditionally races well in Nevada. Harvick won this race in 2015 (while leading 142 laps) and in 2018 (when he led 214 laps). In last season’s race, there were nine different lap leaders with Harvick leading the most (88) out of anyone before finishing fourth behind eventual winner Joey Logano.
Harvick also finished in second place last season in September in Las Vegas in the South Point 400. Needless to say, Kevin Harvick feels comfortable racing here.
Brad Keselowski
+600 To Win
+150 Top 3 Finish
Keselowski did not have a very good start to the season, so I fully expect him to run a bigtime race in Las Vegas. He won this race in 2016 and finished in second last year for Team Penske.
Joey Logano
+700 To Win
+175 Top 3 Finish
You just have the feeling that Joey Logano can’t wait for this race to start since he was so close to winning Daytona for the second time in his career. Instead of the glorious ending he was hoping for, he wrecked just before the race ended. Much like Keselowski, I expect Logano to battle to the very end in this race. Logano finished in second in 2016 and led for 74 laps and then last year he led for 86 laps before taking home the Pennzoil 400’s checkered.
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Harry’s Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Odds for a Top 10 Finish
Jimmy Johnson +125
Johnson has great memories of racing in Las Vegas and there is a distinct possibility that he notches a Top 10 finish this time around. Johnson has the most wins ever at this event with four and has six Top 5 finishes.
Harry’s Longshot Price for the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas
Kyle Larson
+1300 To Win
+325 Top 3 Finish
-180 Top 10 Finish
Larson was in the top 10 for most of the race last week and looked fast doing it. In 2017, Larson finished second here behind Martin Truex and just ahead of Chase Elliott. Larson also scored a third-place finish in 2018. Larson is capable of big things so why not roll the dice while he’s in Las Vegas.
Harry Gagnon spent 14 years as a Vegas Sportsbook Supervisor and holds a Communications degree from SUNY-Oswego. You might know him better as part of the Degenerate Trifecta on the award nominated betting podcast “Against All odds with Cousin Sal” on the Ringer Podcast Network. Feel free to find him on Twitter (@AAOHarry) and tweet him a message if you want to talk casinos, sports, or just shoot the breeze about betting in general cause, hey, that’s what Twitter is for, right?