The NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series roll into Las Vegas for their round of 8 openers. With 4 races to go, respectively, if a playoff driver wins this race, then they get first dibs at one of the championship 4 spots at Phoenix. There is no room for error here. Everyone must be at their best to either win or be a person to rely on points to fight for a title.

Xfinity predicted winner: Austin Hill

The penultimate round in the playoffs has been the round of nightmares for Austin Hill's career. Multiple times, he has been in a position to advance, but things didn't go his way. Starting this round, the 21 team is 21 points to the good over the cutline. What could make this year his chance to get to the final 4? Hill's strength has been that he maximized races while not always having the speed they always want. They get top 5s and top 10s while not making mistakes. Austin won at Las Vegas earlier this season by staying disciplined and running down the dominant car with 2 laps to go.

Cup predicted winner: Denny Hamlin

Arguably, one of if not the quickest cars overall in the 2023 NASCAR Cup playoffs is the 11 of Denny Hamlin. In the Southern 500, he led the most laps until a loose wheel late took him out of contention, led late in Kansas but finished 2nd after a mistake on a late restart, won Bristol after an early speeding penalty, finished 5th after contact with his teammate Ty Gibbs, finished 3rd at Talladega after speeding, but finished last at the Roval after a top 10 qualifying effort. While it has not been perfect, Hamlin has been fast at any track he has been and has been confident knowing he could win anywhere at any time. Las Vegas could be where he gets career win number 52. He said on his podcast Actions Detrimental that he feels like Las Vegas is his Kansas 2.0, where he just can get around very well on race day despite whatever practice and qualifying brings. If the 11 is at their best, then they clinch a spot to Phoenix and possibly get Hamlin his 1st championship.