2019 Pennzoil 400 Vegas picks and NASCAR predictions: Fade Kyle Busch, back Clint Bowyer at Las Vegas

It’s a huge week of sports in Las Vegas. On Thursday, the Las Vegas Golden Knights beat Florida, 6-5 in a shootout. On Saturday, Jon Jones triumphed at UFC 235 at T-Mobile Arena. On Sunday, NASCAR at Las Vegas takes center stage with the 2019 Pennzoil 400. The green flag will wave at 3:30 p.m. ET at a track located about 15 miles from many of the world’s biggest sportsbooks. Professional and amateur bettors alike have had plenty of time to digest the latest 2019 Pennzoil 400 odds while they’ve been making picks on hockey, MMA, and much more. For Sunday, Kevin Harvick is the favorite at 9-2 and earned the pole in qualifying, but with five other drivers going off at 8-1 or shorter 2019 NASCAR at Las Vegas odds, picking a winner could be difficult without advice from a qualified expert.

Before locking in any 2019 Pennzoil 400 picks of your own, read the top NASCAR predictions from SportsLine’s Micah Roberts, a legendary Vegas bookmaker who was one of the first to provide expanded NASCAR odds. He pioneered wagering on racing and now makes his NASCAR picks at SportsLine.

Roberts went with Jimmie Johnson as a hefty 25-1 long shot at the season-opening Advance Auto Parts Clash. The result: Johnson survived a huge crash and went on to win the rain-shortened race as Roberts’ followers raked it in. He entered the 2019 NASCAR season after finishing big-time in the black in 2018. Those who wagered $100 on each of his picks last year have $1,750 in profit to show for it. 

His biggest wins came when he went against the grain, taking Keselowski at 12-1 to win the South Point 400 at Las Vegas in the opening race of the NASCAR playoffs and going with Joey Logano, also 12-1, to take the First Data 500 at Martinsville. He also nailed four of Harvick’s nine series victories and three of Busch’s nine wins. 

That continued an astonishing run in which Roberts picked nine of the 10 winners in the 2017 NASCAR playoffs. In 2016, he took Denny Hamlin to win the Daytona 500 at 15-1 and took him again at 40-1 at Watkins Glen later that year. Anyone who’s following his picks is up huge year after year.

Now, he has analyzed Sunday’s 2019 Pennzoil 400 lineup from every possible angle and locked in his 2019 NASCAR at Las Vegas picks. He predicted Harvick to win last year’s Pennzoil 400, so you’ll want to see what he has to say.

We can tell you Roberts is fading Kyle Busch, one of the top Vegas favorites. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is his home track, but he’s had just one win there in 15 Cup starts, and that was a decade ago. There are far better values in a loaded 2019 Pennzoil 400 field than the 5-1 premium he’s commanding.

One shocker: Roberts is high on Clint Bowyer, a long shot who’s listed at 20-1 NASCAR at Las Vegas odds. Bowyer has just one top-10 finish in his seven starts at Las Vegas, but Roberts is eyeing his upside this year as he looks to buck that trend. 

“He was the tester at Las Vegas last month for Stewart-Haas Racing and came right off the gate with an amazing weekend in the new package at Atlanta because of the testing,” Roberts told SportsLine. “He was fastest in both practices last week and finished fifth after starting third. His total is set at 9.5. He offers plenty of value given his 2019 Pennzoil 400 odds.”

Bowyer will start 17th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and finished second in one of the Duels at Daytona this season after beginning in fourth. In his two wins at Martinsville and Michigan last season, he started ninth and 12th, respectively.

Roberts also says two other drivers with 2019 Pennzoil 400 odds of 20-1 or longer will make a strong run at the checkered flag. His picks will shock many, but anyone who backs them could hit it with a massive payday, just like in the season opener. 

So which drivers should you back at the 2019 Pennzoil 400? And which underdogs will shock NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the full projected leaderboard from the nation’s premier NASCAR handicapper, and find out.