Don’t look now, but the champ is here.
Kyle Larson’s emphatic, dominant win on a track type that hasn’t been smooth sailing for him this year was a heck of a statement that he’s ready to go back-to-back for the Cup Series title. Can he continue the momentum at a similar venue this weekend?
Like Kansas a week ago, Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile intermediate circuit, but it does have significantly different bump characteristics. The style of racing is similar; many of the in-car challenges for these drivers are not.
In DFS, this is yet another 267-lap race, which proved a week ago to still be painful to fade if they’re heavily concentrated in one spot. It’s quite possible with the top-four race favorites starting in the top six. As was the case last week, I’ll accept place-differential options where I can find them. Passing is possible.
The green flag for Sunday’s race is expected at 5:40 p.m. EST on USA Network.
Every week, DraftKings Daily Fantasy has NASCAR contests for all three of the top touring series. Here are my favorite picks for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Las Vegas DraftKings NASCAR DFS Studs to Target
Kyle Larson ($11,500)
I’ll be honest. I didn’t think Kyle Larson had last week’s dominant run in him.
Sweeping the stages and winning the race at Kansas, he’s positioned himself incredibly well at a track where he’s a favorite no matter what. Since the start of 2023, Larson has the series’ best average finish at Vegas (4.7) with two wins and the most laps led (630).
As you’d guess, he’s also now in a good spot in my blended speed rankings for the week. He was actually only second in median lap time last week at Kansas, but that’s good enough to blend third overall after a fifth-place median lap time here in the spring.
I will say that, if you’re looking to fade Larson, he’s made several mistakes in races this year pushing on a razor’s edge. If he crashes out of Sunday’s race, bold DFS players that fade him would be handsomely rewarded.
Denny Hamlin ($11,000)
This feels like Groundhog Day, but I’d still favor Hamlin over Kyle Larson despite what we saw last week.
Hamlin had the third-best median lap — and has had a top-three median lap time at all six intermediate tracks in my sample this year. He’s also third in average finish (9.1) in the aforementioned period at Vegas and has won the last two races here.
I sort of wish qualifying was washed out because Hamlin went out there and won the pole on Saturday, so he’s no secret or second fiddle to Larson anymore. It’ll be fascinating to see how the field plays these top two in single-entry GPPs. My gut tells me both is a mistake.
Las Vegas DraftKings NASCAR DFS Mid Tier Picks
Joey Logano ($9,500)
Man, it might be legitimately over for the field if Joey Logano has intermediates squared away.
The short-track specialist this season has been dead to rights on them all season but posted a ninth-place median lap time a week ago at Kansas. He finished 20th after a flat tire, though.
Las Vegas (16th) in March was actually Logano’s best speed ranking on this track type prior to that Kansas effort, and he’s finished 15th or better in six straight races here. That includes a win in October 2024.
That’s pretty noteworthy from the 23rd starting spot, I’d say.
Chase Elliott ($8,500)
It was a quiet but effective day for he who I’d dub NASCAR’s “Mr. Intermediate” at present.
Chase Elliott is just pretty mediocre on all other types of tracks, but he shined again at Kansas with the seventh-best median lap time, and he finished eighth.
He’s just continued to churn out top-10 speed, flashing for good results at Las Vegas (2nd) and Texas (1st) when the right restart breaks his way.
I think he’s a sleeper again from 15th on the grid.
Las Vegas DraftKings NASCAR DFS Budget Plays
Austin Cindric ($7,900)
I am kicking myself for not writing up Austin Cindric in my picks last week. He was 12th in my blended speed rankings but missed the cut by one driver.
Cindric absolutely starred at Kansas relative to expectations, finishing 2nd with the best median lap time in the field. His Penske Ford’s speed is another reason to be optomistic about Logano at a better track for the driver.
Starting seventh, I think Cindric’s floor might be a bit too low for cash games. There, I’d prefer Josh Berry, starting 36th with a much slower car. But, if you want a car from this tier that could contend for the win, it’s the #2.
Erik Jones ($6,300)
Erik Jones has become a bit of a ringer for this intermediate track type.
He’s posted four straight top-16 finishes on these cookie cutter, 1.5-mile ovals, and that’s come with three straight top-15 median lap times, too. That’s legitimate — and has held even through Toyota’s overall decline after the splitter changes.
Sometimes, he’s just starting too well to consider for DFS upside, but a 21st-place starting spot isn’t too bad. There’s still solid upside for a top 15. He’s scored one in 4 of 11 Las Vegas starts with this current team, which has dramatically improved on speed in 2026.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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