Kobalt Tools 400 Primer - Best Bets For the Match in Sin City

Whatever torch was passed to Trevor Bayne at Daytona was quickly snatched right back by Jeff Gordon on Sunday at Phoenix.

The four-time Sprint Cup champion showed that his career twilight hasn’t quite arrived yet, snapping a 66-race winless streak dating back to Texas in April 2009. That’s a drought of nearly two years, by far the longest of his career.

Rearmed with new crew chief Alan Gustafson, Gordon is a sleeper pick by many to compete for a championship in 2011. His win at Phoenix revamped many onlookers’ expectations and could repeat Sunday at Las Vegas.

Gordon has snapped several long winless streaks by winning on back-to-back weekends, most recently at PIR and Talladega in 2007. Gordon also leads all active drivers with 22 repeat victories. It could be 23 on Sunday.

Last season, Jimmie Johnson’s crew opted to go with four tires instead of two and bested a race-dominant Jeff Gordon. The latter led 219 laps and Johnson passed his mentor on lap 251 to cruise to victory lane.

Gordon has one victory, six top fives and seven top 10s at Las Vegas. He also holds series’ bests in driver rating (117.0), average running position (6.4) and 254 quality passes. If not for a vicious accident in 2008, Gordon would be sitting on six straight top-six finishes. He’s a safe bet for fantasy players if nothing else.

Find the other contenders after the fold!

Johnson did win here last spring and has dominated the intermediate tracks. Johnson has four wins, five top fives and eight top tens in Las Vegas. That, plus his average finish of 9.9, makes him a pretty compelling pick for Sunday’s race.

Las Vegas has always been special for Roush Fenway Racing and Matt Kenseth is typically leading the charge. True to form, the #17 starts from the pole on Sunday and could easily stay there all afternoon. Kenseth has two wins and six top tens at LVMS. Passing Kenseth on Sunday could be quite the task for all involved.

The Kobalt Tools 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway will air at 3 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on FOX.

Who do you see coming out on top?