NASCAR: 2021 Las Vegas playoff race – Full starting lineup, odds
By Asher Fair
The starting lineup is set for the first race of the second round of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Who are the favorites to win the round of 12 opener?
The first of four rounds of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is in the books following this past Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the second three-race round of the four-round, 10-race postseason is scheduled to begin this weekend.
The South Point 400 is set to open up the round of 12, just like it did in September 2020; this year’s round of 12 schedule is identical to last year’s.
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Where is the South Point 400?
The South Point 400 is a 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval in Las Vegas, Nevada. This track also hosted a race back in early March, a race which was won by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson.
Las Vegas broadcast information
NBC Sports Network is set to broadcast the South Point 400 live from Las Vegas Motor Speedway beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 26, so be sure to start your free trial of FuboTV today if you have not already done so!
Who is on pole for Las Vegas?
Larson is set to start this race where he left off in March. He earned the pole position for this race based on the starting lineup formula that NASCAR has used in place of qualifying for most of the races that have been contested this year.
The only modification to this formula for the round of 12 is the fact that the 12 remaining playoff drivers are guaranteed to start inside the top 12. Only after those top 12 positions are filled are the remaining drivers considered using that formula.
Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Starting Lineup
1st – Kyle Larson
2nd – Ryan Blaney
3rd – William Byron
4th – Martin Truex Jr.
5th – Kevin Harvick
6th – Denny Hamlin
7th – Alex Bowman
8th – Brad Keselowski
9th – Joey Logano
10th – Kyle Busch
11th – Chase Elliott
12th – Christopher Bell
13th – Tyler Reddick
14th – Matt DiBenedetto
15th – Austin Dillon
16th – Erik Jones
17th – Aric Almirola
18th – Ross Chastain
19th – Chase Briscoe
20th – Kurt Busch
21st – Bubba Wallace
22nd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
23rd – Michael McDowell
24th – Ryan Preece
25th – Chris Buescher
26th – Daniel Suarez
27th – Corey LaJoie
28th – Cole Custer
29th – Ryan Newman
30th – Garrett Smithley
31st – Josh Bilicki
32nd – Anthony Alfredo
33rd – Justin Haley
34th – B.J. McLeod
35th – Cody Ware
36th – Quin Houff
37th – Joey Gase
38th – J.J. Yeley
Las Vegas betting odds
Take a look at the top 10 in betting odds for this Sunday night’s race, courtesy of WynnBET.
- Kyle Larson: +300
- Kyle Busch: +550
- Denny Hamlin: +600
- Martin Truex Jr.: +650
- Chase Elliott: +700
- Kevin Harvick: +800
- Joey Logano: +850
- Ryan Blaney: +1000
- William Byron: +1000
- Brad Keselowski: +1000
Las Vegas betting prediction
Kyle Larson, Kyle Larson, Kyle Larson. Believe it or not, there was a time when he was winless in the 2021 season. The last time that was the case was in early March, and then the Cup Series ran at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Larson dominated the race to secure his first win as the driver of the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in just his fourth start, breaking a team record.
The driver who, entering 2021, had struggled to close out races throughout his career despite leading tons of laps has since added five victories. You simply cannot bet against him at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.
As for drivers to avoid, Kevin Harvick isn’t worth it at +800. His frustration with Chase Elliott was obvious, but for a driver who says he doesn’t have the mental capacity to think about last week, let alone last year, it looked more than anything like his actions after the race at Bristol Motor Speedway were brewing for quite some time.
If Harvick had hung on to beat Larson, Elliott would have been the only one upset; it wouldn’t have mattered to Harvick what happened on-track after their initial contact. Bet on that.
It’s been more than a year since he won a race after winning nine times in a 25-race span last season, and neither he nor any of the Stewart-Haas Racing drivers have shown anything close to winning speed at tracks where the 550-horsepower package is used.
To make matters worse, the March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was one of his most frustrating races of an extremely frustrating 2021 season.
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Make your pick now on WynnBET.