Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

LAS VEGAS – Joey Logano knows the contact with Daniel Suarez wasn’t malicious, but that doesn’t make him feel any better.

Logano’s night took a turn Sunday in Stage 2 when contact with Suarez in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway caused significant damage to the right side and front bumper of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

“He crashed me,” Logano said. “I wasn’t too excited about it. It wasn’t on purpose; he just made a mistake. It’s unfortunate that we were the ones that paid the penalty for his mistake.”

RELATED: Race results | Playoff Pulse

Prior to the incident, Logano rocketed from a 22nd-place starting spot to lead in time to win Stage 1. In all, he led a race-high 105 laps during the 267-lap event.

After the contact with Suarez, Logano’s No. 22 team made repairs under caution from a Lap 189 incident involving playoff driver Kurt Busch. That allowed Logano to rally back for a ninth-place finish and helped him to keep his fifth-place position in the playoff standings.

“We were really good,” Logano said. “We had a car that drove all the way to the lead and led a bunch of laps. We need to be proud of that. We’re not going to let our heads get down on that.”

Although initially hesitant to point fingers, Suarez indicated he had no knowledge Logano was in his vicinity leading to the contact.

“I hate to blame people, but that was my spotter, just didn’t say anything,” Suarez said. “And I apologized to Joey. He’s one of the last guys I’d really want to be in his way. But I don’t know. It’s my bad, though.”

Logano also showed his frustration in-race immediately after the contact, displaying the middle finger to Suarez and forcing the No. 41 car down onto the apron in Turns 1 and 2. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver took no offense to the actions.

“I know I’ve got one from him and he’s going to be good, but I don’t blame him,” Suarez said. “I would do the same thing.”

Posted on by Staff Report

After the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race, here’s a brief look at the playoffs picture. There are two races remaining in the Round of 16 before the field is whittled to 12, with four drivers eliminated from the postseason following Charlotte (Sept. 29).

Winner

Martin Truex Jr. won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, clinching a spot in the Round of 12. The win also gives him five playoff points to add to his total, which now sits at 35. Those playoff points can transferred round to round, up to the Championship 4.

RELATED: Race results 

Who’s hot

Kevin Harvick. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver led a strong 47 laps en route to a second-place finish coming off a dominant win at The Brickyard. He’s rounding nicely into championship form and he’s due for more trips to Victory Lane the rest of the way.

Brad Keselowski. Though he crashed at Indianapolis, the Team Penske driver notched a third top-five finish in the past four races via a third-place run at Vegas. He got hot at this time last year but couldn’t make it all the way to Homestead — this could be the year he once again does.

Who’s not

Erik Jones. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was forced to make a mid-race trip to the garage, putting him several laps down. He finished a dismal 36th and is last place in the playoff standings.

Kurt Busch. A popular sleeper pick, Busch has a hole to dig out of following hard contact with the wall after a blown tire ended his race early for a last-place finish. He’s on the wrong side of the bubble, too.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank Driver Points to cutoff
9. William Byron +13
10. Ryan Blaney +12
11. Alex Bowman +10
12. Aric Almirola +6
————— CUT-OFF LINE —————
13. Ryan Newman -6
14. Kurt Busch -14
15. Clint Bowyer -21
16. Erik Jones -26

Next race

The Monster Energy Series travels to Richmond Raceway for a Saturday night race on Sept. 21 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Who it favors

Kyle Busch. If there’s any respite for Busch after a frustrating day at Vegas, it’s that he’s exceptional at Richmond. The track’s active leader with six wins has a sterling 7.0 average finish at the Virginia track, winning two of the last three.

Who it hurts

Ryan Blaney. The Team Penske driver is plus-12 to the good for now, but his Richmond history is, to put it bluntly, abysmal. Blaney could find himself on the wrong end of the line after Saturday night if he doesn’t better his previous best (18th, with a 26.7 average finish in seven starts) at the short track.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS — It had been almost three months since Martin Truex Jr. last raised a trophy, and while others may have wondered about his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team’s playoff potential, its members never wavered in confidence or pursuit.

And sure enough, they were the ones celebrating in Victory Lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after Sunday night’s South Point 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opener.

RELATED: Race results
SHOP: Truex gear

“Welcome back,’’ an ecstatic Truex screamed to his team on the radio after taking the checkered flag an impressive 4.173-seconds ahead of a fellow playoff competitor, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick.

It was Truex’s fifth victory of the year – best in the field – and an automatic ticket to the next round of the playoffs.

“We took a gamble, qualified 24th,’’ said Truex, who led 32 laps. “For a while, it wasn’t looking too smart with the 4 (Harvick) out front. Got the right adjustments in the end. Had a great car all day long.

“Hell of a way to make a championship run. Get some good bonus points, move on to the next round, see what we can do there.’’

As strong as Harvick’s Ford had been – leading 47 laps – he said afterward he really didn’t have much for Truex in the end.

“I knew the Gibbs cars would be tough,’’ the 2014 Cup champ said. “Martin was just so much better on the second half of the run. He made up that ground there, was able to stay close enough to us. My car started to get loose and push the front. It was just in kind of a four-wheel drift.

“We did some things this weekend that we probably will have to undo going forward. I think we can do a little bit better going forward.’’

The top 10 drivers were all playoff competitors. Three-time Vegas winner Brad Keselowski was third in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott brought his No. 9 Chevrolet home fourth, and Harvick’s Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney, was fifth.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron were sixth and seventh, respectively, followed by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson in eighth, reigning series champion Joey Logano in ninth and Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Newman in 10th.

While the final laps came down to a battle between Harvick and Busch, it was actually Logano who led the most laps overall – 105 of the 267.

“We got shuffled out the back and then got to the outside of the 41 (Daniel Suarez) and didn’t know I was there and he crashed our car,’’ said Logano, whose No. 22 Ford suffered a lot of right side damage after it was squeezed into the wall avoiding Suarez. “We just didn’t have a chance to fix it as good as it needed to be and as good as it was before that. They fixed it as good as they could to recover with a top 10.

“Our car was so fast and I feel like we had a chance of winning it, but we just kind of got shuffled into everything.’’

Logano won Stage 1 and fell second to Truex in Stage 2.

It was a frustrating evening for many of the other playoff drivers as well. Several worked through various obstacles, from a flat tire for polesitter Clint Bowyer (finished 25th) to a crash for Ganassi driver Kurt Busch (39th) to an early race mechanical issue for JGR’s Erik Jones (36th).

First-time playoffs participant and 21-year-old Byron rallied to that seventh-place finish but actually brought out one of the race’s four caution flags on lap 182 after spinning.

Regular-season champion and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch also had a busy day. He went two laps down early after brushing the wall. He made up enough positions on track and earned a spot back on the lead lap, only to have problems with lapped cars as he raced forward.

The frustration was clear after he climbed out of his No. 18 JGR car on pit road, relegated with a 19th-place finish even after he rallied back inside the top 10 at one point in the waning laps.

“Should have run fourth probably, instead of 19th,” Busch said on pit road, his disappointment obvious as he called out the driving technique from slower cars.

The upside for Busch is the bonus points he received for winning the season title will carry over and balance some of the bad luck.

“It’s pathetic to have to lean on insurance,” Busch said. “My premiums are going to go up.’’

The Cup Series moves to Richmond Raceway next week for the second race of the opening playoff round. With the victory at Vegas, Truex has taken a three-point lead on Harvick in the championship standings. Logano is third, seven points behind Truex. Busch is fourth, 19 points off the lead.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, Sept. 16
12:30 a.m., Racing Roots: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., NBCSN/NBC Sports App (re-air)
noon, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, Sept. 17
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, Sept. 18
1 a.m., Proving Grounds: It’s a Good Car, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (re-air)
1 p.m., IMSA Racing: Michelin Pilot Challenge, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Motormouths Call In, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., Wood Brothers, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (re-air)
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
noon, NASCAR Coast to Coast

Thursday, Sept. 19
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, Sept. 20
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
11 a.m., Racing Roots: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., NBCSN/NBC Sports App (re-air)
11:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
1:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green: Richmond, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series GoBowling 250, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
9:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
11:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice
1:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice
6 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series GoBowling 250

Saturday, Sept. 21
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
11 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400

Sunday, Sept. 22
Midnight, Proving Grounds: The Under $40k Special, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Posted on by Staff Report

Mike Stefanik, one of two drivers in NASCAR history to win nine national series or touring championships, died Sunday in a small single-seat plane crash.

He was 61.

The winningest driver in the history of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Stefanik’s career stretched nearly 30 years. He won the tour championship seven times, and in 1997 and ’98 completed the remarkable feat of winning the Whelen Modified Tour and Busch North – now NASCAR K&N Pro Series East – titles simultaneously.

“Mike Stefanik was one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, but even more so, he was a true representative of our sport,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said. “His tough, competitive nature and excellence on the race track won him the respect and admiration of fans and competitors alike. His career stretched more than 30 years, bridging the generations between Jerry Cook and Richie Evans to our current drivers. He recorded achievements in this sport that are likely untouchable, and his legacy as a champion will endure. We will keep his wife Julie and his family and friends in our prayers.”

RELATED: More from Home Tracks

Stefanik’s nine overall NASCAR championships tied him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans for most in NASCAR history.

Stefanik also won rookie of the year honors at age 41 in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 1999, finishing 13th in points in his only full season in the series.

He was a six-time nominee for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Stefanik had 12 wins and 65 top fives in 164 East starts, finishing second in the championship points in 2005 in his last season in the stock-car series.

RACING-REFERENCE: Mike Stefanik Career

It was the Modifieds where he really made his legacy.

He competed on a limited schedule in tour’s inaugural season in 1985, finishing fifth in his debut at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway. He capped his storied career with four starts in 2014, finishing with a 10th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

He holds the record for most tour wins with 74, nearly 30 more than the second winningest driver. Stefanik set the record for most wins in a season (13 in 1998) and holds the tour record for poles won at 48. He also shares the record with Evans for most consecutive tour races won at five.

Posted on by Staff Report

Erik Jones’ hopes of advancing past the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Playoffs took a hit Sunday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jones’ No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota slowed on the restart for Stage 2, forcing the driver to bring the car down pit road.

RELATED: Las Vegas results

Jones reported over the radio at the time the car’s throttle was stuck in second gear, and after his crew worked on the car in the pits, he was forced to take it to the garage. By the time Jones returned to the race, he was 16 laps down and in last place. He ultimately finished the South Point 400 in 36th, completing 254 of the 267 laps at the 1.5-mile track in Nevada, as teammate Martin Truex Jr. took the checkered flag and solidified his spot in the Round of 12.

“It’s unfortunate … I definitely think we could have run top five,” Jones told NBCSN after the race. “Just go to Richmond and go to work. … We were fast there in spring. Just have to bring a fast car and put it into contention.”

Jones entered the playoffs seeded 10th with 2,005 points, the five bonus points coming from his recent win at Darlington Raceway. He added just two overall points thanks to his 10th-place finish in Stage 1. That puts him at 2,007 points, which lands him 26 points below the cutline in 16th with two races left in the Round of 16.

The Federated Auto Parts 400 is next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway.

Posted on by Staff Report

Martin Truex Jr. took the lead with two laps remaining in Stage 2 of the South Point 400 as Joey Logano got caught up in lapped traffic, and the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota went on to collect his fourth stage win of the season on Sunday.

Logano, who had led 72 laps of the 80-lap stage, finished second in the stage.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five in the stage as the top 11 finishers were playoff drivers.

Erik Jones had trouble with his throttle on the Stage 2 restart, and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota reportedly was stuck in second gear. He came to pit road on Lap 87 for repairs, and then went to the garage.

He returned to the track on Lap 102, but was 15 laps down — last in the 39-car field. He finished the stage 14 laps down.

Kyle Busch attempted to better his position on track after his early race incident knocked him a lap down, but his strategy to delay his pit stop was foiled when no cautions came during the stage. He finished Stage 2 in 28th place, two laps down.

Polesitter Clint Bowyer also slowed during Stage 2, dropping to 20th and one lap down.

The race is scheduled to end on Lap 267.

Place Driver Team Pts
1  Martin Truex Jr.  Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2  Joey Logano  Team Penske 9
3  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 8
4  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5  Chase Elliott  Hendrick Motorsports 6
6  William Byron  Hendrick Motorsports 5
7  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8  Ryan Blaney  Team Penske 3
9  Kurt Busch  Chip Ganassi Racing 2
10  Alex Bowman  Hendrick Motorsports 1

 

STAGE 1
Joey Logano started the South Point 400 in 22nd but quickly zoomed to the front of the pack and retook the lead for good on Lap 59 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to win Stage 1 for his ninth stage victory of the season.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Logano, the defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion, is also the most recent winner at Las Vegas, having won at the 1.5-mile track in March.

Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez finished 2-3-4 behind Logano in the stage. Suarez and Austin Dillon were the lone non-playoff drivers to score stage points.

Regular season champion Kyle Busch encountered early trouble when he got loose on Lap 5 and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota scraped the outside wall. He made an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 11 for his crew to make repairs and change right-side tires, and went down a lap early. Though he exited pit road 39th out of 39 cars, he finished Stage 1 in 29th and two laps down — lowest among the 16 drivers in the playoffs.

Place Driver Team Pts
1  Joey Logano  Team Penske 10
2  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3  Aric Almirola  Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4  Daniel Suarez  Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5  Austin Dillon  Richard Childress Racing 6
6  Kurt Busch  Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7  William Byron  Hendrick Motorsports 4
8  Martin Truex Jr.  Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 2
10  Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 1
Posted on by Zack Albert

LAS VEGAS — Kyle Busch had rallied into contention for a top-five result in Sunday’s NASCAR Playoffs opener until two late-race encounters with lapped drivers Joey Gase and Garrett Smithley thwarted his momentum at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Busch’s impassioned post-race criticism was met with grumbles in return from Gase and Smithley in a disagreement involving drivers for teams at opposite ends of the Monster Energy Series garage.

Busch, the regular-season champion, opened the playoffs with a 19th-place finish in Sunday’s South Point 400, an outcome that chopped into his playoff-point buffer in the Round of 16. Post-race, he lashed out at the two drivers’ credentials and their difficulties in yielding to his faster No. 18 Toyota.

RELATED: Race results

“I don’t know. I was told he was going to go high. I thought he was going to go high, he went middle because I thought he was going to go high, and killed our day,” Busch told NBC Sports. He was scored one lap down at the finish. “I don’t know. I should’ve run fourth probably, but instead 19th. I don’t know. We’re the top echelon of motorsports and we’ve got guys that have never won Late Model races running out here on the race track. It’s pathetic. They don’t know where to go. So, what else do you do?”

As Busch stormed off, Gase and Smithley gave their views after debriefing with their smaller-budget teams. Smithley placed 35th, 12 laps off the pace in the Rick Ware Racing No. 52 Ford. Gase wound up 38th in the 39-car field, 18 laps down in the MBM Motorsports No. 66 Toyota.

Smithley’s No. 52 was the first to find Busch’s bumper.

“The spotter said that the leaders were coming and he said go to the top side, so we went to the top side and I was committed to that lane,” Smithley told NASCAR.com. “I mean, they’re supposed to go around us. I should’ve just stayed on the bottom, really. I shouldn’t have listened to the spotter, honestly. He did a good job all day long until he told us to go up there, so I don’t know. It is what it is.”

Gase’s encounter came a handful of laps later, as his car and Busch’s squeezed together exiting the fourth turn.

“I mean, as a lapped car you’ve just got to pick which groove you’re going to stay in because you can’t constantly switch for everybody, and I was just staying on high side the whole time and then he just decided to run in the back of me,” Gase told NASCAR.com. “I don’t know. Everyone else figured it out.”

Gase and Smithley are both Xfinity Series veterans. The 26-year-old Gase has made 38 premier-series starts, including eight this season, and has 233 Xfinity starts since 2011. Smithley, 27, made his 11th Cup Series start Sunday and has competed full-time in the Xfinity Series since 2016.

Their two teams were parked next to each other in the Las Vegas garage, at the far opposite end of Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing hauler in the parking pecking order. Asked to respond to Busch’s critiques, both drivers acknowledged they were doing all they could with their equipment.

“He’s never been in the position we’ve been in, so he doesn’t know how that goes,” Smithley said. “That’s the way I see it.”

Said Gase: “Any day if he wants to switch cars, I’d be happy to.”

Posted on by Nick Giffen

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

The playoffs for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series kick off this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s important to understand track history when looking to bet outright winners, and Las Vegas offers a very consistent body of work.

Each of the eight races during the Gen-6 car era have been won by top-tier drivers.

• 2013: Matt Kenseth (Toyota)
• 2014: Brad Keselowski (Ford)
• 2015: Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)
• 2016: Brad Keselowski (Ford)
• 2017: Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
• 2018: Kevin Harvick (Ford), Brad Keselowski (Ford)
• 2019: Joey Logano (Ford)

With this consistent history, the plan of attack is to find value in the upper echelon of drivers, and one or two longer shots that have the ability to run like top-tier drivers.

There’s also an ample amount of data from 1.5-mile tracks this year.

Six races have taken place — including one earlier this year at Las Vegas — under the 2019 aero package that includes the aero ducts.

Removing races where drivers experienced issues that gave them an outlying result in green flag speed, here are the top 20 drivers’ average green flag speed rank, and average finish.

Additionally, practice times and track history also factor into predicting finishing position at Las Vegas.

Let’s look at the best values for the South Point 400.

RELATED: Updating winning odds

Brad Keselowski +800, +225 Top-3

Keselowski has three wins and an impressive 3.25 average finish over his last eight races at LVMS. He topped the 15-lap chart in Happy Hour, and had the fastest 10-lap average among drivers who made their 10-lap run later in that session.

Yet he’s somehow only priced at +800 at the DraftKings Sportsbook. For comparison, he’s +650 at William Hill and +500 at Caesars.

Keselowski checks all the boxes: practice speed, track history, and 1.5-mile performance this year. There’s value here down to that +650 number, and +200 for a top-three finish.

Martin Truex Jr. +1400, +350 Top-3

Looking at the table above, Truex hasn’t been spectacular at 1.5-mile tracks this year, but he does have a win at the Coca-Cola 600. Earlier this year at Vegas, Truex posted the fifth-best average green flag speed and finished eighth.

Truex has a strong history at Vegas as well, with no finishes worse than 11th in five races at Vegas during his time running a Gibbs-affiliated Toyota. That includes a win, and two other finishes in the top four.

This race will start at the hottest part of the day in Vegas, but temperatures quickly cool after sundown. March’s race went caution-free outside of the two stage cautions, and still ran 2:38, which would make the race finish just after sundown. Any extra cautions, and this race will finish well after sunset. That will cool off track temperatures by double-digit degrees from race start.

I mention this because Truex is hands down the best night-time driver at 1.5-mile tracks. Martin Truex Jr. has won five of 14 night races at 1.5-mile tracks since 2016. He’s finished top three in four other instances for a 64.3% top three rate.

Truex also had the fastest 10-lap average in the cooler opening practice session on Friday among drivers whose lap came partway through the session. He wasn’t as good in the heat of the day in final practice, but I expect him to improve throughout the evening and be in contention late in the race.

There are concerns here for Truex, but there’s also plenty of upside, and upside wins races. I like Truex down to +1000.

Ryan Blaney +2500

Team Penske has won four of the eight races during the Gen-6 era at Las Vegas. Blaney has yet to win at Vegas, but he has posted strong finishes throughout his career at LVMS. With the exception of his rookie year where he ran part time for the Wood Brothers, Blaney has finished sixth, seventh, fifth, fifth, and 22nd.

His 22nd place finish was an aberration. He started 13th and moved into the top six on the first stint of the race before a tire went down thanks to a missing valve stem.

That put him two laps down and he was unable to recover in a race that was void of non-stage cautions. His average driver rating in his other four non-rookie starts is 103. That puts him sixth among all drivers at Vegas, right behind Keselowski, Truex, Harvick, Logano, and Kyle Busch.

Blaney hasn’t been near the top of the speed charts this weekend, but teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have shown top five speed. Teammate Brad Keselowski led all drivers in 15-lap average in final practice. Blaney only ran 10th in that same metric, but only 0.066 seconds per lap slower than his teammate.

Blaney’s history at Las Vegas and his team’s history are enough to throw a small bet on him at this number, available at DraftKings and William Hill Sportsbooks. You can also find him at +2000 at multiple books, but that’s right at the limit of value on Blaney.

Posted on by Staff Report

The extended NASCAR.com staff makes its picks for 2019 title contenders, postseason surprises and who will hoist the Monster Energy Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RELATED: Printable playoff grid | Complete standings look 

ZACK ALBERT

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski. Expecting a veteran feel to this season’s title-eligible quartet, made up of drivers who have snatched up victories in multiples this year.

Sleeper: Kyle Larson. A lengthy winless skid seems like an ominous sign, but it’s balanced by a recent show of strength from the No. 42 team, which is due for a turnaround at the right time.

Early out: Aric Almirola. One top-10 finish in 26 races this year makes the No. 10 tough to count on for a deep playoff run.

Champion: Kyle Busch. The regular-season champ is primed to become the overall champ at Homestead, where the No. 18 team’s benchmark of performance should carry the day.

PAT DeCOLA

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano. NASCAR’s top-tier talents show why they’re the best and ride strong regular seasons into strong playoff runs all the way to Miami.

Sleeper: Kurt Busch. Kurt has quietly been lurking in that next rung under the top dogs all season, could be ready to pounce on any mistakes and sneak into the Championship 4 for another shot at a second title.

Early out: Alex Bowman. Bowman rides into the playoffs with a pretty decent No. 9 seed but has seemed to lose all the momentum he built up that led to his Chicagoland Speedway win.

Champion: Kyle Busch. Everyone seems to think Hamlin will be the favorite if he makes it to Homestead based on his track history, but this feels like Busch’s year. He got hot early on but has been extremely strong all season despite a recent winless streak.

MARISSA FULLER

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano. These four all stand out in their own way this season – Busch and Hamlin will continue their winning ways, Elliott is going to fight for his life and solidify his spot with a win at one of the tracks in the Round of 8, and Logano’s momentum from last year’s title win will follow him back to the Championship 4.

Sleeper: Ryan Newman. The veteran has showed an insane amount of confidence this season and has slowly but surely found himself running up front and closing out races in the right spot at the right time.

Early out: Aric Almirola. The No. 10 driver made it into the NASCAR Playoffs on points, but I think a lack of confidence being winless in the playoffs will hurt him in the long run.

Champion: Denny Hamlin. Redemption is the name of the game for Hamlin, who is hoping to put 2010 behind him, as he and his new crew chief have shown their capabilities and I don’t think they’re done winning. It also helps that the playoff tracks are pretty good to Hamlin.

RJ KRAFT

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano. Hamlin’s and Harvick’s summer hot streaks continue, while Busch and Logano have been the top drivers all season.

Sleeper: Kyle Larson. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s late-summer surge stayed under the radar due to Hamlin, Harvick and Erik Jones’ strong summers.

Early out: Ryan Blaney. He may be the reigning winner at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, but Richmond Raceway is statistically his worst track and despite solid numbers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he has one top 10 on a 1.5-mile track in 2019.

Champion: Kevin Harvick. In addition to winning three of the last seven races, “Happy” always seem to shine when the pressure is on.

STEVE LUVENDER

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott. Oh, and I’ve got a little bit riding on this.

Sleeper: Ryan Newman. He appeared to have fallen asleep during a red flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — the only driver to do so — making him the true sleeper.

Early out: Alex Bowman. He won his first career race at Chicagoland leading precisely 88 laps, so really, that’s good enough for 2019.

Champion: Denny Hamlin. If the race is somehow delayed a day, he’ll be crowned champion on his (and, selfishly, my) birthday, Nov. 18.

JONATHAN MERRYMAN

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott. Busch, Harvick and Hamlin are expected to make it, while the next step for Elliott is to advance past the Round of 8.

Sleeper: Ryan Blaney. He’s a sleeper because he hasn’t won this year, but if he can close out races, he will be hard to deal with.

Early out: Kyle Larson. Historically, Round 1 has not been kind to Larson and 2019 has proven to be tough for the No. 42.

Champion: Denny Hamlin. Confidence is as abundant as the No. 11’s speed. This feels like Hamlin’s year.

@NASCARCASM

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson (Sorry, habit), Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin

Sleeper: Kevin Harvick

Early out: Kevin Harvick

Champion: Denny Hamlin. It’s bizarre to have a year where Joe Gibbs Racing is so dominant that a past champion with three regular-season wins IS YOUR SLEEPER, but the JGR big three (If we’re using that designation again this year) will all make their way to Homestead, and it’s absolutely the year of Hamlin, and if I’m wrong, well then I’ll just ask my editor to delete this.

BRAD NORMAN

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. Playoff points reign supreme here, but the No. 9 team has a history of turning it up in the postseason.

Sleeper: Erik Jones. The No. 20 team has the look of a group primed for the Round of 8 — perhaps more.

Early out: Brad Keselowski. Speed abounds at Team Penske, but the No. 2 crew seems just a tick off.

Champion: Martin Truex Jr. Somehow, the 2017 champion enters the postseason under the radar — a situation he and crew chief Cole Pearn will thrive upon on the way to another trophy.

TERRIN WAACK

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano. It was either Logano or Keselowski for Team Penske, but the reigning champ needs at least a chance to repeat.

Sleeper: William Byron. The young driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has the points system figured out, so expect him to get far in the playoffs and perhaps his first win.

Early out: Aric Almirola. Almirola only has one top-five finish this season and hasn’t steered his No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to a top-10 ending in the last eight races — not a good trend.

Champion: Denny Hamlin. It’s about time Hamlin wins a title after 14 full-time seasons, and the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota sure has been proving his capabilities this season with four wins, including the Daytona 500.

ALEX WEAVER

Championship 4: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. These guys are winning consistently throughout the season and know how to dominate on the biggest stage with the most pressure.

Sleeper: William Byron. He and crew chief Chad Knaus are finding their stride and heating up at the right time.

Early out: Clint Bowyer. Bowyer and the No. 14 team have let mistakes determine their season. If they can put together a well-executed race, they may be in. If not, think they’re out early.

Champion: Denny Hamlin. Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart are the two best friends anyone can have right now in the garage. They have found it, and the No. 11 team is having fun winning.

GEORGE WINKLER

Championship 4: Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano. Tough decisions at the top, but I stuck with Team Penske for my last driver in based on the speed the team has shown all season.

Sleeper: Kyle Larson. If he learns to stay out of trouble, Larson has the talent to be a title contender.

Early out: Alex Bowman. He has just one top-10 finish in the nine races since his win at Chicago.

Champion: Denny Hamlin. What a story if Hamlin comes back from a zero-win season to claim a championship in honor of J.D. Gibbs.

CHASE WILHELM

Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing has been the class of the field all season and that will show in the Championship 4, but Chase Elliott is also in there to spoil the party.

Sleeper: William Byron. Byron and Knaus are starting to really click, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the second-year driver make it to the Round of 8.

Early out: Aric Almirola. The 2019 season hasn’t been pleasant for Almirola, so elimination after the first round is very likely unless the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing team can dig deep.

Champion: Chase Elliott. The No. 9 driver is going to go on a heater during this 10-race playoff stretch and beat some seasoned veterans at Homestead.