ON TRACK…..Las Vegas Edition
Up Next- The UW-Dodge 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada. Sunday, March 2, 2008, 1:30 p.m. Pacific, 4:30 p.m. Eastern. TV coverage provided by FOX-TV Network
NASCAR racing debuted in Las Vegas in 1998. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a mile-and-a-half oval track with 20-degree banking in the turns and 9-degree banking on the straights.
Mark Martin won the inaugural event here while driving for Roush Racing. Last season, Jimmie Johnson won his 3rd consecutive race at the “Diamond In The Desert” in 2007, en route to his 2nd consecutive Cup title.
Johnson is also King of The Hill here with 3 Cup victories. Jeff Burton likes it more. Burton has won 2 Cup races and 3 Nationwide races at LMS, including the Sam’s Town 300 in 2007.
For The Record- For qualifying, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Kasey Kahne all have 2 poles at Las Vegas. Kahne’s qualifying speed of 184.856 m.p.h. obliterated his old track record in 2007. For race speed, Mark Martin ran the fastest race here at the first race in Vegas with a speed of 146.554 m.p.h. in 1998.
The 2005 race featured the most cautions with 10. The fewest waved in 2000, just two caution flags came down that day.
2007’s race set the standard for lead changes with 28, 16 drivers took turns setting the pace. The 2000 race saw only 13 lead changes and 7 different leaders before Jeff Burton won the race in the #99 Ford now driven by Carl Edwards.
Track Trivia- This is a veteran’s race. Sterling Marlin is the oldest driver to win a race at age 44 (in 2002), Jimmie Johnson the youngest- with his 2005 victory at the age of 29.
42 of 43 qualifiers finished the race in 2000. 33 is the fewest number to finish, with that happening in 2004.
Trends On Track: After all the noise about Chevy and Toyota in the pre-season, the first two wins of 2008 have come to Dodge and Ford. Jimmie Johnson were dominant at Fontana, but it was Cousin Carl cruising to the finish for his 8th career win- taking the lead from the defending Cup champion with 17 laps to go in the rain soaked Auto Club 500.
It is evident that all the manufacturers are evening up with their new car programs. What you don’t see is one manufacturer or driver being dominant, though Kyle Busch leads in points in both the Cup and truck series…and he’s darn close in the Nationwide.
It should be noted that in pre-season testing, Juan Pablo Montoya, the younger Buscch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards ran the best times.
NASCAR Terminology- Increase your track “cred” with a firm grasp of terms like these. Excuse me while I get my Jeff Hammond on.
Track Bar: This is NOT where you buy Bud at the track. The track bar is a lateral bar that keeps the rear tires centered within the body of the car. The bar connects the frame on one side to the rear axle on the opposite side and can be adjusted in height to alter the handling of the car.
Hood Pins: There are four metal-and-wire hood pins with wire tethers that serve as a safety feature by keeping the hood close.
Rear spoiler: I will resist the temptation to say something about thongs or scant bathing suits here. In NASCAR-speak, a “rear spoiler” is a good thing. This is a metal blade that is attached to the deck lid on the car. The spoiler deflects the air coming off the roof and onto the rear deck lid (remember- that’s the trunk) which, in turn, creates rear down force and more rear traction for the car.
That’s all for this week. Save some barbecue for me Sunday, OK?
