The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season continues today with the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Read on below to see my prediction for who will win the race, as well as my top 10, dark horse, and driver to fade predictions.
Winner: Kyle Larson- Coming off a win last week at Auto Club Speedway, Larson was the mile and a half king last season, winning 6 times on that style track, including the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway, as well as the Spring race here in Las Vegas. Larson also has solid career stats at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with 1 win, 4 top 5’s, and 8 top 10’s in 11 starts. Larson has been bad fast since unloading off the truck for Practice yesterday and I predict that he will continue his winning ways today and bring home the win for the second consecutive week!
Top 10: Ryan Blaney- Team Penske has had a lot of success at Las Vegas Motor Speedway throughout the years and Blaney has been leading the charge of late, as he has 5 top 5’s and 8 top 10’s in 11 career starts here. Blaney showed both great short run speed and long run speed during Practice and he is looking to rebound after an 18th place finish at Auto Club Speedway last week. Blaney will most certainly be a threat to win today, but you can bet the house that Blaney will bring home a top 10 finish today.
Dark Horse: Daniel Hemric- The defending Xfinity Series Champion, Hemric has impressed in both of his Cup starts this season, finishing 12th at the Daytona 500 and 9th at the Wise Power 400 last Sunday. Hemric has a best finish of 17th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2 career Cup starts, but has had 4 consecutive top 5 finishes at this track in the Xfinity Series. Hemric consistently showed top 15 speed across the board in Practice and I predict that he will bring home a 3rd consecutive top 15 finish to start the season today.
Driver to Fade: Ty Dillon- Driving in his first full-time season for Petty GMS Motorsports, Dillon has not had much prior success driving at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with just 1 top 10 and 2 top 20’s in 7 career starts. Dillon was consistently one of the slowest during Practice and Qualifying yesterday and I don’t expect that to change today. Ty Dillon is a lock to finish outside the top 20.