Pennzoil 400 Betting Preview/Prop Bet
04 March 2021
The first three races of the NASCAR season have been remarkable for the history of the sport. Drivers that were not expected to finish in the top 10 came in and won the event.
Now, the upcoming race will be held in Vegas. The Pennzoil 400 has many current drivers who typically drive well here, so this should be another exhilarating race for NASCAR fans.
Date: Sunday, March 7, 2021
TV-Time: FOX, 3:00 P.M. Eastern
Venue: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Head-to-Head Matchup to Watch
Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano are two drivers to watch as this race occurs. Logano has just come off a 25th place showing in Miami, so he is not heavily favored.
However, Logano has two straight Vegas wins. Keselowski flirted with the top five Cup Series several times last season and will be looking to get back on track with a win here.
Dunkel Index For This Event
The Dunkel Index is showing these top 10 drivers that could win this event. The following 10 are:
1 Kevin Harvick 87.791
2 Denny Hamlin 88.635
3 Chase Elliott 89.001
4 Joey Logano 92.296
5 Brad Keselowski 93.588
6 Martin Truex Jr 95.606
7 Michael McDowell 97.731
8 Ryan Blaney 98.433
9 Alex Bowman 99.160
10 Christopher Bell 99.602
*index is subject to changes
Drivers Who Could Win
Joey Logano (92.296)
Logano has a pretty good record in Vegas, as mentioned above. Out of active drivers, he finishes at around eighth place in Las Vegas each time.
Kevin Harvick (87.791)
Harvick is the favorite here for Dunkel. He is another name to take a look at and to watch for 2021, especially with three finishes of sixth place or better.
Not only has this been a good start for Harvick, but looking back through 2013, he has won twice and finished inside the top 10 a handful of times here.
Brad Keselowski (93.586)
Kewselowski is a three time winner at Las Vegas Speedway. Could be just the venue to get him going following last week's disappointing 16th-place finish at Homestead.
Potential Winning Pick
Martin Truex Jr 95.606
Is this the time to finally trust Martin Truex Jr.? He is at the top of the betting market, but can he close it out and show signs of control?
Looking at his Vegas performances, he has two wins with two different teams. He also has six top-four finishes dating back to 2015, offering a steady resume.
Fellow teammate Denny Hamlin offers a somewhat favorable edge, but his finishes in Vegas have not been as consistent as Truex Jr.
As the season has shown, this is going to be anyone’s race no matter what happens. If we can look for some consistency among the drivers, Truex Jr. provides the best chances of a victory.
Take Martin Truex Jr. as your winning driver at the Pennzoil 400 this Sunday in Las Vegas.
Prop Bet
Best Finishing Position: Denny Hamlin (-125) Over Kyle Larson
Hamlin made a lot of news in the off-season when he teamed up with Michael Jordan to form 23XI Racing. So far, the results have not been up to the standard of a driver who has 44 wins under his belt, including 3 Daytona 500s. He finished 5th at this year’s 500 and followed that up with a 3rd on the Daytona Road Course. He dropped to 11th at last week’s Homestead-Miami Speedway race.
But Las Vegas Motor Speedway could be the venue where Hamlin jumpstarts his season. In last September’s South Point 400, Hamlin won Stage 1 and finished 2nd in Stage 2 before finishing a solid 3rd in the end. Overall, he led 121 laps before being edged out by Kurt Busch.
Larson’s return to NASCAR with Hendrick Motorsports has been solid if unspectacular. He had his best finish (4th) last week at Homestead, but prior to that was 10th at the 500 and 30th on the Daytona Road Course. Larson’s last 3 races at Las Vegas have resulted in 9th, 8th and 12th-place finishes.
In the head-to-head matchup of Hamlin and Larson at the Penzoil 400, we’ll take Hamlin. The Dunkel Index projects Hamlin to finish 2nd, while Larson is only 20th. Take Denny Hamlin (-125) to finish ahead of Kyle Larson on Sunday.
