VEEEGGGAASSSS!! Everyone’s favorite city, and if it isn’t, it should be. The South Point 400 is on Sunday night this weekend, as the Cup Series kicks off Round 2 of this year’s Playoffs. Kyle Larson won here in Sin City back in March and is on the pole for this weekend’s race as well. Fitting, isn it? Vegas is a 1.5-mile “low wear” track, and the other similar races to look at from earlier this season are: the first Vegas race (obviously), the Kansas race, and the Charlotte race. By the way, Kyle Larson won two of those, and should’ve won the third, too. Just saying…
*Please note: the picks and suggestions below are my opinions and strategy for the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest. These are not meant to sway your thinking in any way, but rather give you insight into the drivers I am most likely to pick on race day.*
If you enjoy the FREE NASCAR content on this site and everything it has to offer, consider supporting by donating here.
Jordan’s Strategy Breakdown Video
(Hit Play Button To Watch & Click Here to Subscribe to My Channel on YouTube)
Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest Picks for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas
The Safe
Kyle Larson ($12,500) – Often times the rule with the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest is that the pole sitter isn’t the best option to pick due to the place differential scoring, but that kind of gets thrown out the window with Kyle Larson. There’s a decent chance that this #5 Chevrolet wins both Stages, leads the most laps, and wins the race on Sunday night–like Larson did at Charlotte this year–which would still give “Yung Money” a ton of fantasy points in this game despite not getting any place differential points. At the “low wear” 1.5-mile tracks this season, Larson won at Las Vegas, dominated Kansas but fell back late (finishing 19th), and then completely dominated and won at Charlotte.
Kyle Busch ($12,300) – Being back in the 550hp package this season has to be music to Kyle Busch’s ears because he’s so much better in this than the 750hp package. Looking at races under 550hp this year, Rowdy has zero finishes outside of the top 10 and has ended up inside the top 5 in seven of the nine. Additionally, he won at Kansas this year, finished 3rd in the first Las Vegas race, and came home 3rd at Charlotte, too. Busch starts 10th on Sunday night but can challenge for the win in this race, and should be, at minimum, a top 5 finisher. He’s a very strong fantasy pick in the Slingshot game.
Austin Dillon ($8,500) – Surprised to see Austin Dillon in this spot? Don’t be. The #3 Chevrolet has been impressive with this 550hp package this season, with finishes of 13th or better in seven of the nine races. Dillon finished 12th here at Las Vegas in March, and then came home 10th at Kansas and then 6th at Charlotte. He’ll start from 15th here in Sunday night’s South Point 400, and getting top 10 finishing upside from a driver priced under $9,000 in this Slingshot game is very solid value. Flashing back to last season, Austin Dillon finished 11th in the last two “low wear” 1.5-mile track races in the Playoffs, and you could argue that the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets are even faster this season.
The Risky
William Byron ($11,200) – You should know by now that place differential is a huge factor in this Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest, so paying north of $11,000 for a driver starting in the first two rows is risky, but William Byron could end up paying off on Sunday night. He’s never finished better than 7th here in Sin City, but with the 550hp package this season, Byron has been one of the best; the #24 Chevrolet has the 3rd-best average finish (7.4) and 2nd-best average running position (7.2). On the “low wear” 1.5-mile tracks this season, Willy B has came home 8th (Vegas), 9th (Kansas), and 4th (Charlotte). He should get some Stage points on Sunday night to make up for the lack of place differential potential.
Christopher Bell ($9,500) – There are plenty of eyes on the three other Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas right now, but don’t forget that Christopher Bell is still alive in these Playoffs, too. With the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest, a big part of putting together the top lineup for a race is finding value, and at his $9,500 and 12th-place starting spot–giving him some place differential potential–Christopher Bell could be a very valuable fantasy pick on Sunday night. Here at Las Vegas, CBell struggled in both races with Leavine Family Racing last year, but he came home 7th in the first race this season in his Gibbs car. For what it’s worth, Bell finished 3rd and 10th in the final two “low wear” 1.5-mile track races in 2020.
Chase Briscoe ($6,900) – Coming in at a nice salary of $6,900 this weekend is Chase Briscoe who is actually starting to really get things figured out in the Cup Series (relatively speaking). This #14 team had another strong run at Bristol last weekend (finishing 13th) and they now have six top 20 results in the last nine races this season. Looking at similar tracks from earlier this year, Briscoe came home 21st here at Vegas in March, 20th in the Kansas race, and then 23rd at Charlotte. He starts 19th on Sunday night, but if he can stay on the lead lap until the final restart, I could see Briscoe finishing mid-teens.
The Winner
“Race Winner” Pick = Kyle Larson – This doesn’t need an explanation…
