Dale Money | February 22nd, 2020
It was a Daytona 500 that offered plenty of memories, including a photo-finish victory by Denny Hamlin, along with a visit by President Trump to kick the new season off. Good news on the Ryan Newman front. Two days after being involved in that scary wreck on Monday, with people waiting for any good news. Newman was walking out of the hospital hand in hand with his two children. It was announced this week, Ross Chastain will fill in for Newman while he completes his recovery.
So without further ado, let’s delve into the driver options for this upcoming race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I’ve broken down the selections between high-salary drivers and value plays.
High Salary Drivers
Martin Truex Jr (Draft Kings $11,600)
The outright winner at Las Vegas, back in September, he edged out Kevin Harvick. Truex Jr. should be one of the obvious choices when you’re looking to pick that high-priced driver for your lineup this weekend when you consider he has cracked the top 10 in six of the last seven races in Vegas. Truex Jr. will be hoping for a nice rebound after last weekend’s disastrous finish. He was 11th in final practice with a best time of 30.332.
Brad Keselowskil(Draft Kings $11,100)
Keselowski is the gold standard when it comes to winning at this track, having been victorious here three out of the last nine trips. In Keselowski’s past nine Las Vegas races, he has finished top three on six occasions and has not raced any lower than seventh. In his past four races at the track, he is fourth among current drivers in laps led with 92. He would finish 18th in final practice, with a best speed of 177.749.
Kyle Busch (Draft Kings $12,400)
A local driver, Busch cut his teeth at the Bullring along with his brother Kurt. He will be looking to bounce back from the September race, in which he finished 19th. Fortunately for Busch, he has plenty of recent success here, having finished top seven in three of his last four opportunities. Busch would finish 15th and 28th in the first and second practices respectively. He’ll have something to build on after just winning a super late model event at the track a couple days ago.
Value Selections
Aric Almirola (Draft Kings $7,800)
You gotta really like Almirola at this price, especially given his recent results at Las Vegas. In his past five opportunities at the Bullring, he has collected top 10’s on three occasions and has cracked the top eight twice. Almirola has displayed great speed in Friday’s round of practices, finishing first and third quickest respectively.
Jimmie Johnson (Draft Kings $8,400)
Although Johnson isn’t thought of as one of the top dogs anymore, he can still produce serviceable results at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Johnson has racked up a top 15 result in four of his last six opportunities. He had the quickest time in final practice on Friday with a best speed of 179.432. It’s certainly worth considering giving the old goat a shot at this price.
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