NASCAR is a Sin City sensation this week as the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series blow into town. The high speeds are a good fit in a place know for its high stakes lifestyle.
Track Facts
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile track with 20 degrees banking in the corner, nine on the front stretch, plus nine on the back stretch. The tri-oval track measures 2,275 feet on the front stretch, and 1,572 feet on the back.
The first race ran here on March 1, 1998. Some guy named Mark Martin won for Jack Roush on that day. Roush has also seen victory lane with Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Jeff Burton, back in the days when “The Mayor” drove the “99.”
In the track’s early days, there were 12 degrees banking in the corner and three in the back stretch. Prior to the 2007 season, the track was reconfigured to provide for progressive banking.
The venue allows for a seating capacity of 142,000.
Top Performers and Performances
Kyle Busch is the defending champion of this race. Between Kurt’s pole-winning performance on Friday, and Kyle’s speeds on Saturday, don’t you just get a feeling the Busch brothers are jacked up for racing in their hometown.
With three wins at LVMS, Jimmie Johnson the career record holder. Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton have won twice.
Dale Jarrett, Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, and Kasey Kahne have each earned two “P1’s” during the course of their careers.
The Fastest Qualifier? Well, that would be Kurt Busch. He obliterated his younger brother’s standard with a speed of 188.719 miles per hour- set on February 26, 2010.
The Fastest Race was turned in by Mark Martin in that inaugural 1998 event. He ran a speed of 146.554 miles per hour in his Roush Ford for a time of 2 hours, 43 minutes, and 58 seconds.
The record for lead changes is 25- that was done twice. The most recent being the 2005 race won by Jimmie Johnson. The record for the fewest is last year’s race, where the lead changed hands a mere 12 times.
The Las Vegas record for cautions is 14. That happened in the 2009 race. There were only two on two occasions, the most recent being the 2000 race won by Jeff Burton.
30 drivers finished the March 12, 2006 race on the lead lap. Only 10 did so twice, the most recent occurrence being the March 7, 1999 race.
Where and When To Tune In
SPEED gets the conversation started with their NASCAR Race Day show starting at 12 pm Eastern, 9 am Pacific. John Roberts, Kenny Wallace and Kyle Petty host.
Pre-race coverage starts on FOX at 2pm Eastern, 11 am Pacific. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond anchor the show from the Hollywood Hotel.
The green flag drops at 3:16 pm Eastern, 12:16 pm Pacific. Mike Joy, Larry Mc Reynolds and Darrell Waltrip make the call from the booth. Dr. Dick Berggren, Krista Voda, Steve Byrnes and Matt Yocum bring the updates from pit road.
Radio coverage is provided by Performance Radio Network (PRN) and XM Sirius Satellite. Mark Garrow and Doug Rice co-anchor.
Who Will Win?
Decisions, decisions, decisions. This really is, in my opinion, one of those wide open races. This is not a track position race- after all- Kyle Busch, after winning the pole, had to start from the back…and won in 2009. Less than stellar starting grid position never got in the way of wins for the likes of Matt Kenseth, Sterling Marlin or Jeff Gordon either.
When I look at who’s been running well going in, and then looking at who’s been running well throughout practice sessions, there are some names that jump out. A Juan Pablo Montoya win would not surprise me at all. Other than the engine blow-up last weekend, JPM’s been in the mix off the hauler all throughout the young season. The same is pretty much true of 2010’s dynamic duo for Hendrick Motorsports- Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson.
Speaking of HMS, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. merits mention in this conversation. In spite of that little spin in Happy Hour, his practice times are good, and he’ll start towards the front- which never hurts wherever you race. The thing I’ll be watching and asking- can he keep it up for 400 miles? The only Hendrick driver that has to overcome a lousy starting spot is Jimmie Johnson in 20th.
While the Busch brothers, neither one, were all that spectacular in Happy Hour, it doesn’t matter. Kyle’s won here, Kurt wants to win here, and I say never underestimate the power of hunger. After two quiet 14th place runs, you know Shrub is up on the wheel in front of his hometown faithful.
Roush rocks Vegas, though as a team, they’ve been uncharacteristically quiet thus far. Here, it looks like Greg Biffle could be the man from the RFR stable.
Want a dark horse? Joey Logano, Marcos Ambrose and Sam Hornish, Jr. make good candidates. All have reasons to smile, based on performance to this point.
Though he’s points leader, Kevin Harvick has been buried on the speed charts since smacking the wall in opening practice. Up to now, Jeff Burton’s numbers aren’t especially noteworthy. On the other hand, Clint Bowyer topped the field in Happy Hour.
I’m going to reach a little and go with Juan Pablo Montoya to win this race. He’s due. What I like, is he’s loose, feeling good and his comfort level on ovals continues to grow exponentially. You add those sporty ECR engines, and it’s a wicked combo. He’ll have challenges from the likes of Kurt, Kyle, Jimmie, Martin and Gordon, but I have a feeling about this guy.
A JPM win is on its way.
