The Round of 12 has come and gone, and now it’s time for the eight drivers left in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs to lay down their cards at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The gambling capital of the world plays host this week, and odds are that one of the playoff drivers will punch their ticket to the Championship 4.
But as Coach Lee Corso would say, not so fast my friends.
Back in the spring here, Josh Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team shocked the world by outlasting the field at this very racetrack. So, you got to watch the underdogs close this week. There’s a chance that somebody that didn’t make it to the Round of 12 or just didn’t make the playoffs entirely will win this race.
Let’s just hope you know how to hold ‘em and fold ‘em well enough to make a quick cash grab this weekend.
Fantasy/Betting Breakdown: 2025 Bank of America ROVAL 400
| Right On The Money | Lick Your Wounds |
| Shane van Gisbergen: 72 points scored | Austin Cindric: -13.1 points scored |
| Chase Elliott: 43.4 points scored | |
| Chris Buescher: 44 points scored | Riley Herbst: 5.4 points scored |
2025 DraftKings Rules of the Road
Drivers will be awarded points based on their finishing position, position differential, fastest laps and laps led. The driver who wins the race scores 45 fantasy points, while second place gets 42 points, third gets 41 points and so on, at least through the top 10. The 11th-place finisher scores 32 points, 21st gets 21 and 31st gets 10.
However, any spots drivers lose or gain on the track are added or subtracted from their score. If the driver leads a lap, they will earn 0.25 points for each lap led and 0.45 points for each fastest lap.
Fantasy Forecast
Denny Hamlin $11,000
I really feel like this year might be the last that we’re all saying it’s Hamlin’s year. Sure, he kind of failed to be clutch out at Kansas Speedway a couple of weeks ago.
Sure, he’s lost a championship in every way imaginable, and he and the sanctioning body may be at odds, but he has to be running for a title at Phoenix Raceway in a few weeks. It’s poetic that way.
I feel like his best chance to win is most certainly here at Las Vegas, as he’s won here before, and he’s run so well at intermediate tracks all season long.
This is not the same Hamlin that we’ve encountered for the past two decades, and I feel like his run to his first championship starts this week.
Ryan Blaney $10,500
Perhaps the greatest threat to Hamlin winning it all is undoubtedly the best pick to have behind him this week. Similar to driver No. 11, YRB has been a staple at intermediate tracks this season. He ran decently well at Kansas and Team Penske always brings good cars to Vegas.
I do worry though, that maybe Joey Logano has more momentum in that camp, so he’d be a solid addition also, but I’m thinking Blaney is the bigger threat.
Buyer beware, though. He finished 35th here in the spring due to a multitude of issues, starting with a loose wheel and ending with a vicious crash with Noah Gragson and Bubba Wallace.
Alex Bowman $8,000
Kind of unbelievable still that neither Kyle Larson nor William Byron have a playoff win yet. It’s also kind of unbelievable that I’m taking the No. 48 instead of either of those guys this weekend.
But as always, hear me out.
Bowman has quietly been soldiering on since his elimination at Bristol Motor Speedway a few weeks ago. He’s only got one bad finish in his last three races, and he did rather well at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL last week, which is a track he struggles on.
Plus, he finished seventh here in the spring and looked at times like the best Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the track. I think at this salary, he’s got some good stuff on the cheap for you this week.
Josh Berry $7,100
Guys, you know I have to roll the dice on the red No. 21 this weekend.
After all, that win here in the spring did wonders for this team right up until the playoffs started. I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of that upset this week, I really don’t.
But you know this has to be the most confident this Wood Brothers crew has been in weeks at this point and I think it carries over to a sneaky top-10 finish.
Ryan Preece $6,900
Say hello to the dark horse of the week.
I have no idea why he’s so cheap this weekend to be honest. I mean sure, his momentum has cooled since the playoffs started and I know he’s not getting the finishes that he was getting early in the year, but come on.
He finished third here in the spring and has been a mainstay on these intermediate tracks all season, most of the time running in the top five to 10.
His average finish on these tracks is even more reason to believe in No. 60 this week, at 11.4.
Shane van Gisbergen $6,500
Yep, I’m rolling with SVG on an oval again!
However, I got a little more ammunition than I usually do. I’ve actually seen some progress out of this team on ovals in the last few weeks. Starting at Richmond Raceway, the Kiwi Superstar has been cropping up in the top 20 at intermediate and short tracks on the regular.
Will this probably end with those who say SVG stinks on ovals being correct? Probably. Is it still a good pick? Also probably.
Prop Bets and Locks
- Desert Drivers Parlay: This parlay is about as much of a slam dunk as you can find this week. It simply requires that Logano, Hamlin and Larson all finish in the top five. Considering the fact that they are all multi-time winners here at Vegas, and the odds are +600, this falls into the “you’d be crazy not to” category.
- Ross Chastain +1600 to win: I know I picked Preece to be the spoiler this week, but this certainly would be great to see happen. Imagine if you will, that Logano is in second place, a Championship 4 berth once again at his fingertips in Las Vegas, and who’s the guy he’s chasing? It’s the man he booted from the playoffs last week, of course. Would be pure cinema, and a whole lot of fun money going into your bank account.
- Logano +110 vs. Christopher Bell -150: I feel like a lot of people aren’t really thinking that Bell is championship material this season, and I’m starting to lean that way. He doesn’t have the mojo he had early this year, and he’s a master at finishing second here. I also believe a massive let down may be coming for this team. I look for Logano to beat him, and you should too in this intriguing H2H matchup.
Garrett joined Frontstretch as a news writer in 2023, and became a fantasy racing and betting writer in 2024. Hailing from the heart of coal country in southern West Virginia, he's a married father of three and currently enrolled in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at New River Community Technical College in Beaver, WV.
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