Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images. Pictured: NASCAR Cup Series drivers Chase Elliott (No. 9) and Kevin Harvick (No. 4).
That’s Bristol baby.
Take old-school, short-track racing in Thunder Valley and sprinkle in some playoff intensity and we have the perfect storm for some angry drivers, which is exactly what we saw on Saturday night.
While racing for the lead late in the Bristol Night Race, Kevin Harvick made contact with Chase Elliott, cutting down the left-front tire on the No. 9 Chevy.
After being forced to pit, Elliott came back out on track a couple of laps down, but found himself directly ahead of race leader Harvick.
Not thrilled with their earlier contact, Elliott made it extremely difficult for Harvick to get by, allowing second-place Kyle Larson to catch, and eventually pass the No. 4 Ford for the win with just four laps to go.
This did not sit well with Harvick, who quickly confronted Elliott after the race.
Both drivers are still alive in NASCAR playoffs, so they’ll have to try and put this behind them starting with Sunday’s South Point 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Interestingly for fans and bettors, Barstool Sportsbook posted a driver matchup between Elliott and Harvick for this week’s race, with Chase a -129 favorite over Kevin at -103 odds.
Let’s dive into this intriguing South Point 400 betting matchup, including which side I like for the race in Las Vegas.
NASCAR at Las Vegas Betting Pick
While Harvick was able to go toe-to-toe with Elliott at Bristol, I believe this weekend’s race package will hold him back at Las Vegas.
Last weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series ran what is referred to as the 750-horsepower package, which utilizes more horsepower and lower downforce at shorter tracks, like Bristol.
On the other hand, NASCAR will return to the 550-horsepower package, which offers less horsepower and more downforce, for the South Point 400.
This matters because Harvick really struggled with this package when the Cup Series last visited Vegas back in May. In that race the Stewart-Haas Racing driver finished with just the 20th-best driver rating compared to Elliott’s 10th-best rating.
Elliott was also much better at Michigan last month, finishing with the third-best driver rating and the second-most laps led compared to Harvick’s 12th-best rating and zero laps led.
Michigan might not be a 1.5-mile track like Las Vegas, but it’s the only other track that uses the exact same tire combination that teams will use Sunday, making the performances at these two venues important to compare.
The Bet: Elliott (-129) over Harvick