Kyle Larson put on a dominant performance at the Charlotte Roval as he made his way to the Round of 8 while NASCAR’s postseason rolls on. Now, we reset for the 2024 South Point 400 as the playoffs get down to the end of the season.
Can Larson go back-to-back or will another playoff driver step up to punch their ticket to the championship finale? Let’s dive into the postseason picture.
Playoff Picture Heading Into the 2024 South Point 400
- Kyle Larson +33
- Christopher Bell +13
- Tyler Reddick +10
- William Byron +4
- Ryan Blaney -4
- Denny Hamlin -8
- Chase Elliott -9
- Joey Logano -11
The conclusion of the Round of 12 had plenty of drama as it came down to the wire at the Roval. Tyler Reddick made a desperate dash up through the field to punch his ticket to the Round of 8 and seemingly eliminate Joey Logano.
🏁 "In a way, I feel like we have nothing to lose."
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) October 18, 2024
After making his way into the Round of 8 via the No. 48 DQ, @joeylogano feels "pretty confident" in the speed his @Team_Penske No. 22 team is bringing to the track every week.
More → https://t.co/keYsFmunJW pic.twitter.com/N3QoQtXIfz
However, Alex Bowman ended up disqualified after the conclusion of the race and Joey Logano’s playoff hopes were given new life as the #22 advanced to the third round. I don’t think Logano has enough speed to avoid elimination this time around but we will see.
In my opinion, the four drivers most likely to be eliminated here are Logano, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick, who has struggled mightily in the past few weeks.
2024 South Point 400 Entry List
Shane Van Gisbergen will be making yet another appearance on an oval in the Cup Series as he looks to get ready for the jump to full-time in the 2025 season.
Seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson will also be in the field in the #84 for Legacy Motor Club as the Cup Series takes the track at Las Vegas.
2024 South Point 400 Race Odds and Predictions
Unsurprisingly, Kyle Larson tops the odds list at Las Vegas at +300. The driver of the #5 won here at Vegas earlier this year holding off a hard-charging Tyler Reddick to claim the checkered flag.
He's won three of the last seven races at @LVMotorSpeedway.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 19, 2024
Is @KyleLarsonRacin the driver to beat Sunday? #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/4OnCktGuBB
Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, is next in line at +750 followed by Christopher Bell at +800. Among the playoff drivers, Chase Elliott has the worst odds at +1200 with Ryan Blaney just ahead at +1100.
While Larson has been dominant at Vegas of late, I’m going with the driver who ran best at the most recent intermediate track on the schedule. William Byron ran second to Ross Chastain at Kansas and I expect him to have another fantastic car on Sunday.
I’m taking Byron at +750.
Be sure to check out the schedule below so you don’t miss any on-track action from the weekend.
Saturday 10/19
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 4:20 p.m. CT on USA
Ambetter Health 302 (NASCAR Xfinity Series) – 6:00 p.m. CT on the CW
Sunday 10/20
South Point 400 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 1:30 p.m. CT on NBC
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