Pennzoil 400 Picks, Odds & Predictions 3/5/2023

Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube

Sunday, March 5, 2023

3:30 PM EST

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas Motor Speedway has held a single race each from 1998 to 2017. Since 2018, the track has held two per season and this makes for the 31st race in the history of this series. This is an asphalt racing surface that spans 1.5 miles in a tri-oval shape that has nine degrees of banking in the frontstretch and backstretch with 20 degrees of banking in each turn. The Cup Series had its first race back in 1998, but the track was first opened in 1996. The first driver to win a race here was Mark Martin who led for 82 laps out of 267 and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

This weekend will be something of a homecoming for Kyle Busch, who is on a bit of a hot streak after winning in Fontana. The win gave the Richard Childress Racing driver 19 straight seasons with at least one win, and it was career number 61. While he has only earned one victory in his last 23 Cup starts, Busch has been exceptional on his home track over the years. He's racked up 311 leading laps, three pole wins and 11 top-5 finishes.

Alex Bowman was the winner of this race last spring and it was the only win of the season for him, making that the highlight of the year for him. He led for 16 laps in that race and had three more top-5 finishes in the final 33 events in 2022.

Another driver who has had good luck in Vegas is Joey Logano who won the playoff race here last season. That win gave Team Penske a big advantage going into the final three weeks of the playoffs. That boost was enough to help him in winning his second championship of his career.

All that said, it should be an exciting weekend in Sin City.

Pala Casino 400 Recap

With Kyle Busch starting his new run with Richard Childress Racing three weeks ago, the real start began last weekend when Busch captured his first win of the season at Fontana. Busch was able to grab the lead from Ross Chastain on Lap 165, while grabbing it again on Lap 180 as the race got down to the final 55 laps. He ended up taking home the checkered flag with a 2.998 second lead over Chase Elliott.

That win puts Busch in 9th place all time for wins and has him with the most wins out of active drivers. In addition, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch hold the record for most combined for brothers with 95 which surpassed Bobby and Donnie Allison.

NASCAR Playoff Standings

As we sit, Rickey Stenhouse Jr. still sits in the top spot with 73 points and a win, while Kyle Busch jumped up to the second spot with 67 points and a win. After those two drivers we have Ross Chastain with 92 points, Joey Logano with 91 points and Alex Bowman with 80 points.

Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube Odds

Kyle Busch - +600
Kyle Larson - +700
Ross Chastain - +800
Joey Logano - +800
Denny Hamlin - +1,000
Chase Elliott - +1,000
William Byron - +1,200
Ryan Blaney - +1,200
Martin Truex Jr. - +1,200
Christopher Bell - +1,200
Tyler Reddick - +1,500
Kevin Harvick - +2,000
Alex Bowman - +2,000
Daniel Suarez - +3,000
Bubba Wallace - +3,500
Erik Jones - +4,000
Chase Briscoe - +4,000
Brad Keselowski - +5,000
Austin Dillon - +5,000
Ryan Preece - +6,000

Historically, this race has been a free for all. In the last 9 races, not one front row starter has taken home the win. In addition, There has only been 1 pole sitter that has won this race over the history of this race. Not surprisingly, it was Kyle Busch. It's always a safe bet to go with Kyle Busch in Vegas, and we're going to do the same this weekend.

Tony's Pick: Take Kyle Busch (+650)

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