NASCAR on a C-Note: On to Las Vegas, with a Benny in my sock; Kyle Busch favored

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There were two headlines I didn't expect to see originating from Fontana last week.

A Kyle Busch victory wasn't quite as shocking as the other (SNOW!), but still, conventional wisdom suggested we give Kyle some time to get comfortable at Richard Childress Racing before setting his cap for Victory Lane.

I spread my hypothetical $100 among six different racers, hoping, at minimum, to break even. Let's just say it wasn't the first skunky 6-pack I've invested in.

Now, what better place to make up for lost wages than Las Vegas?

The game: I might have $100 tucked in my sock, and I just might "find a way" wager all of it on this week's NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Speedway. That C-note can be spent entirely on one driver, or split here and there among multiple racers.

The odds: We use the most recent payoff numbers provided by DraftKings.

How it works: The numbers following each driver (+700, +1,200, etc.) tells you how much you'd win if you put $100 on that particular driver. Therefore, if you spend just $10 on a driver with a +1,200 payout, you get 10% ($120) of that.

Now, let's go to the sock and whip out that Benjamin ...

Kyle Busch collected his 61st career NASCAR Cup Series win at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Kyle Busch collected his 61st career NASCAR Cup Series win at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

WHY THE TIE?What's with the coat-and-tie look for NASCAR broadcasters? | HEY, WILLIE!

NASCAR SPEED FREAKSOther than added respect for Kyle Busch, what did Fontana deliver?

Kyle Busch +600, Kyle Larson +700, Ross Chastain +800, Joey Logano +800, Denny Hamlin +1,000, Chase Elliott +1,000

Man oh man, didn't take long for the Kyle Busch Bandwagon to reach maximum passenger status. Also, go back 12 months, and consider how far Ross Chastain's reputation has come. And Chase Elliott fifth on the list of favorites? I thought it was Billy Clyde's birthright to be among the top two each week.

William Byron +1,200, Ryan Blaney +1,200, Martin Truex Jr. +1,200, Christopher Bell +1,200, Tyler Reddick +1,500, Kevin Harvick +2,000, Alex Bowman +2,000

William Byron at +1,200? "Billy the Kid" hasn't won in nearly a year, spent much of '22 chasing his tail, and started this year with finishes of 34th and 25th. Weird.

Erik (With a K) Jones +4,000, Chase Briscoe +4,000, Bubba Wallace +4,000, Daniel Suarez +5,000, Brad Keselowski +5,000, Austin Dillon +5,000, Ryan Preece +6,000

(Don't tell anyone Daniel Suarez is this low on the board ... I'm hoping to keep him to myself at the cashier's window.)

Ty Gibbs +8,000, Noah Gragson +8,000, Chris Buescher +8,000, Austin Cindric +8,000, Aric (With an A) Almirola +8,000, Ricky Stenhouse +10,000, AJ Allmendinger +10,000, Justin Haley +15,000

Ty Gibbs won the Xfinity race a year ago at Vegas, and frankly, I don't expect him to have odds this high after another month or two. But he's taken some emotional blows, and there's no telling how much that might be affecting him right now.

Michael McDowell +25,000, Harrison Burton +25,000, Ty Dillon +50,000, Todd Gilliland +50,000, Corey LaJoie +50,000, J.J. Yeley +100,000, Cody Ware +100,000, B.J. McLeod +100,000

Smooth-singing Vic Damone, in 1987 with new bride Diahann Carroll.
Smooth-singing Vic Damone, in 1987 with new bride Diahann Carroll.

Let's dim the lights, pull up some Vic Damone on the juke box, light a Lucky, and eyeball those chillin' in the Longshot Lounge. Hear that? Vic is crooning "I Have But One Heart." Well, I have but one hundred, and I ain't spending any of it in this gin joint.

Last Week

I spread around that hundred bucks in so many directions, the odds of totally striking out were presumably very tall. About as steep, say, as a Southern California snow storm.

But just as Pete Maravich wouldn't quit shooting and Reggie Jackson wouldn't quit swinging, we surge ahead.

Let's spend that C-note

Will we ever reach a week where all $100 is dropped on one driver?

Yeah, probably. But it's not this week.

Let's keep beating the drum for Noah Gragson's future. In eight Xfinity starts at Vegas, he never finished worse than sixth. Pretty amazing. Last fall, subbing for Alex Bowman in the No. 48, he finished a respectable 11th at Vegas.

With a potential $800 dangling there, I'm tossing in $10 with Noah's name on it. Also tossing a sawbuck on Erik (with a K) Jones at +4,000.

Next, $20 on Kevin Harvick, $20 on Ross The Boss and the balance, $40, on Kyle Larson. I don't usually like one of the favorites, but the Larson vibe is very strong this week.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Odds for Las Vegas: Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson favored