Las Vegas Lineup, News, Stats

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•NASCAR Pre-race: FOX - 2:30pm/et

•Television Race Coverage: FOX, 3:00pm/et

•In the Booth: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds

•Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda

•Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond

•SPEED's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 12:30pm/et with John Roberts, Kyle Petty, Kenny Wallace

 

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STARTING LINEUP

Las Vegas Motor Speedway
14th Annual Kobalt Tools 400

1. 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford 188.884
2. 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 188.166
3. 99 Carl Edwards Scotts/Kellogg's Ford 188.127
4. 16 Greg Biffle 3M Post-it Ford 187.970
5. 18 Kyle Busch Snickers Toyota 187.565
6. 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 187.318
7. 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Ford 187.253
8. 39 Ryan Newman Haas Automation Chevy 187.220
9. 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota 187.201
10. 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevy 187.195
11. 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevy 187.084
12. 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevy 187.084
13. 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevy 186.903
14. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's / KOBALT Tools Chevy 186.728
15. 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevy 186.528
16. 21 Trevor Bayne(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 186.528
17. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 186.464
18. 27 Paul Menard Moen/Menards Chevy 186.445
19. 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 186.335
20. 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge 186.079
21. 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevy 186.053
22. 22 Kurt Busch Shell/Pennzoil Ultra Dodge 186.002
23. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Clorox Chevy 185.970
24. 47 Bobby Labonte Kingsford Toyota 185.688
25. 0 David Reutimann TUMS Toyota 185.567
26. 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevy 185.478
27. 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota 185.217
28. 33 Clint Bowyer Wheaties Fuel Chevy 185.103
29. 32 Mike Skinner Southern Pride Trucking Ford 184.742
30. 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 184.470
31. 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 184.464
32. 46 J J Yeley Darlington Raceway Chevy 184.200
33. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevy 183.949
34. 36 Dave Blaney Accell Construction Chevy 183.014
35. 34 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford 183.007
36. 60 Landon Cassill Big Red Toyota 182.070
37. 9 Bill Elliott Rydex Chevy 181.977
38. 7 Robby Gordon SPEED Energy Dodge 181.403
39. 38 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford 181.269
40. 71 Andy Lally # Eco-Fuel Saver Chevy 179.414
41. 37 Tony Raines Race Fuel Energy Drink Ford 177.299
42. 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 0.000
43. 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing, LLC Toyota 181.769

 

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Track Specifications:

Track/Race Length: 1.5 mile oval, 267 laps, 400.5 miles (2010)
Track/Race Length: 1.5 mile oval, 285 laps, 427.5 miles (2009)
Front straight: 2,275 feet
Back straight: 1,572 feet
Banking after reconfig 2007: Corners:20°, Front Straight: 9°, Back Straight: 9°
Banking before config 2006: Corners:12°, Front Straight: 9°, Back Straight: 3°
Grandstand Seating: 142,000
Pace Car Speeds: Pit Road - 45 mph; Track 55 mph
Opened: 1996 (First Cup race held in 1998)

 

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Track Records

•2010 Pole Sitter: #2-Kurt Busch, 188.719, finished 35th

•Current Track Config Qualifying Record: Kurt Busch, 2/26/2010, 188.719mph

•Old Track Config Qualifying Record: Kasey Kahne, 3/5/2004, 174.904mph

•Oldest Pole Winner: Dale Jarrett, 44 years, 3 months, 6 days, 3/04/2001

•Youngest Pole Winner: Kyle Busch, 22 years, 10 months, 0 days, 3/02/2008

•2010 Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson, 141.450, started 20th

•Track Race Record: Mark Martin, March 1998, 146.554mph

•Slowest Race Record: Kyle Busch, 2009, 119.513mph

•Worst Starting Spot to Win: Matt Kenseth 2004, started 25th

•Oldest Winner: Sterling Marlin, 44 years, 8 months, 1 days, 3/3/2002

•Youngest Winner: Kyle Busch, 23 years, 9 months, 29 days, 3/1/2009

•There are two current race tracks the Cup Series runs on that Tony Stewart has not won at a Sprint Cup race:
Las Vegas 0 for 12 with a best finish of 2nd in 2000, last race 2/2010 7th
Darlington 0 for 18 with a best finish of 3rd in 2009
After 18 attempts, Stewart won on his 19th try at Auto Club Speedway, Oct 10, 2010
Stewart has won at 20 of 23 tracks he has raced on, didn't win at Rockingham which is no longer active for Cup racing.(10-10-2010)

 

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At Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

" The first NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race won by Ken Schrader on Nov. 2, 1996.
" The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was held on March 1, 1998, won by Mark Martin.
" In 2006, the track was reconfigured to include progressive banking.
" There have been 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
" Five drivers have participated in all 13 races: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin.
" Dale Jarrett won the inaugural pole.
" Nine drivers have poles, led by Dale Jarrett, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch and Bobby Labonte (two each).
" Eight different drivers have won, led by Jimmie Johnson (four). Johnson has won four of the last six races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including last season's event.
" Only five of the 13 races have been won from a top-10 starting position.
" Las Vegas-native Kyle Busch became the first driver to win from the pole, in 2009.
" Five of the 13 races have been won from a starting position of 20th or worse.
" The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 25th, by Matt Kenseth in 2004.
" There has been one green-white-checkered finish at Las Vegas: 2006 (270/267).
" Jeff Burton won consecutive races in 1999 and 2000, and has finished in the top five in two of the last three races (fifth in 2008, third in 2009). Burton has been running at the finish in all 13 of his events.
" In three of the last five races, the margin of victory was under one second.
" Kyle Busch made his first start and Kasey Kahne won his first pole at Las Vegas, in the same event (2004).
" There have been 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in Nevada, one at Las Vegas Park Speedway in 1955 and the rest at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1998-Present).
" 19 drivers all-time in NASCAR's three national series have their home state as Nevada.
" There have been three race winners from Nevada totaling a combined 124 victories in NASCAR's three national series.(NASCAR)(3-1-2011)

 

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pit Stall Selections
Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

 

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NSCS Practice 1

Rank Car# Driver Best Speed, Best Time, Ave Speed
1 17 Matt Kenseth 186.599 28.939 181.495
2 6 David Ragan 186.297 28.986 180.507
3 42 Juan Pablo Montoya 185.957 29.039 181.837
4 99 Carl Edwards 185.893 29.049 185.091
5 16 Greg Biffle 185.675 29.083 180.785
6 9 Marcos Ambrose 185.624 29.091 180.786
7 14 Tony Stewart 185.561 29.101 180.790
8 78 Regan Smith 185.446 29.119 166.548
9 2 Brad Keselowski 185.357 29.133 180.506
10 20 Joey Logano 185.287 29.144 180.518
11 27 Paul Menard 185.249 29.150 182.948
12 48 Jimmie Johnson 185.23 29.153 184.273
13 56 Martin Truex Jr. 185.211 29.156 181.102
14 1 Jamie McMurray 185.090 29.175 181.354
15 39 Ryan Newman 184.989 29.191 180.945
16 43 A J Allmendinger 184.761 29.227 177.936
17 18 Kyle Busch 184.679 29.240 181.066
18 11 Denny Hamlin 184.533 29.263 181.101
19 24 Jeff Gordon 184.533 29.263 173.601
20 31 Jeff Burton 184.508 29.267 179.025
21 4 Kasey Kahne 184.489 29.270 180.693
22 5 Mark Martin 184.388 29.286 179.259
23 29 Kevin Harvick 184.363 29.290 176.175
24 83 Brian Vickers 184.351 29.292 179.267
25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 184.344 29.293 179.184
26 47 Bobby Labonte 184.237 29.310 178.777
27 21 Trevor Bayne 184.150 29.324 181.729
28 00 David Reutimann 183.961 29.354 181.066
29 33 Clint Bowyer 183.905 29.363 179.547
30 13 Casey Mears 183.899 29.364 178.448
31 22 Kurt Busch 183.474 29.432 180.410
32 34 David Gilliland 182.723 29.553 180.682
33 32 Mike Skinner 181.855 29.694 179.038
34 46 J J Yeley 181.739 29.713 180.148
35 87 Joe Nemechek 181.561 29.742 180.039
36 36 Dave Blaney 181.305 29.784 179.286
37 7 Robby Gordon 180.941 29.844 178.141
38 60 Landon Cassill 180.385 29.936 178.792
39 09 Bill Elliott 180.096 29.984 178.943
40 66 Michael McDowell 179.886 30.019 178.905
41 71 Andy Lally 179.587 30.069 175.069
42 38 Travis Kvapil 177.784 30.374 176.502
43 37 Tony Raines 176.794 30.544 175.519
44 92 Brian Keselowski 176.390 30.614 173.530

 

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NSCS Final Practice Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Rank Car# Driver Best Speed, Best Time, Ave Speed

1 17 Matt Kenseth 184.112 29.330 180.894
2 18 Kyle Busch 183.717 29.393 180.980
3 39 Ryan Newman 183.680 29.399 180.262
4 99 Carl Edwards 183.630 29.407 181.965
5 16 Greg Biffle 183.511 29.426 181.613
6 00 David Reutimann 183.349 29.452 180.683
7 56 Martin Truex Jr. 183.312 29.458 180.791
8 14 Tony Stewart 183.069 29.497 181.004
9 20 Joey Logano 182.989 29.510 180.179
10 11 Denny Hamlin 182.964 29.514 178.350
11 9 Marcos Ambrose 182.908 29.523 180.464
12 6 David Ragan 182.859 29.531 180.050
13 22 Kurt Busch 182.859 29.531 180.179
14 5 Mark Martin 182.840 29.534 180.258
15 48 Jimmie Johnson 182.797 29.541 180.049
16 27 Paul Menard 182.753 29.548 181.193
17 43 A J Allmendinger 182.655 29.564 180.780
18 42 Juan Pablo Montoya 182.580 29.576 180.094
19 4 Kasey Kahne 182.562 29.579 180.321
20 1 Jamie McMurray 182.426 29.601 177.433
21 24 Jeff Gordon 182.377 29.609 178.650
22 31 Jeff Burton 182.149 29.646 180.493
23 83 Brian Vickers 182.100 29.654 179.049
24 21 Trevor Bayne 181.928 29.682 180.665
25 2 Brad Keselowski 181.781 29.706 179.452
26 78 Regan Smith 181.775 29.707 179.654
27 29 Kevin Harvick 181.574 29.740 179.969
28 33 Clint Bowyer 181.117 29.815 179.840
29 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 180.814 29.865 179.148
30 47 Bobby Labonte 180.711 29.882 179.367
31 13 Casey Mears 180.614 29.898 179.479
32 34 David Gilliland 180.409 29.932 178.855
33 7 Robby Gordon 180.204 29.966 178.849
34 87 Joe Nemechek 179.880 30.020 179.039
35 71 Andy Lally 179.635 30.061 176.980
36 09 Bill Elliott 179.480 30.087 177.278
37 36 Dave Blaney 179.325 30.113 175.893
38 60 Landon Cassill 178.950 30.176 176.855
39 32 Mike Skinner 178.589 30.237 177.325
40 46 J J Yeley 177.901 30.354 176.518
41 37 Tony Raines 176.887 30.528 174.855
42 66 Michael McDowell 176.603 30.577 174.212
43 38 Travis Kvapil 176.517 30.592 174.879

 

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Goodyear Tires Notes / Fast Facts

Tire:
Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Number of Tires:
Sprint Cup: Left-side -- 1,200, Right-side -- 1,200;
Nationwide: Left-side -- 700, Right-side -- 700

Set limits: Sprint Cup:
5 sets for practice/qualifying and 9 sets for the race;
Nationwide: 2 sets for open test day and a maximum of 6 sets for Friday practice/qualifying/race

Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4374; Right-side -- D-4412

Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 87.3 in.; Right-side -- 88.4 in.

Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 34 psi; Left Rear -- 34 psi; Right Front -- 62 psi; Right Rear -- 58 psi

Minimum Recommended Inflation
Left Front -- 30 psi; Left Rear -- 30 psi; Right Front -- 58 psi; Right Rear -- 54 psi

Estimated Pit Window: Every 50-55 laps, based on fuel mileage (Sprint Cup).

Notes:
Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same tire codes at Las Vegas this weekend . . . this is the first time this left-side tire code (D-4374) has been run, though teams in both of these series did run this right-side code (D4412) at Daytona two weeks ago . . . compared to what was run at Las Vegas last season, this left-side tire features both construction and compound changes to give the cars more grip, as well as a minor right-side construction change to bring it into line with what is run at other mile-and-a-half tracks . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Las Vegas . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

 

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Some Chassis Selections by Teams for this race

#1-Jamie McMurray: Chassis #1102. Kevin "Bono" Manion and the #1 McDonald's team are bringing chassis #1102 to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.
#2-Brad Keselowski: The #2 Miller Lite Dodge team will use chassis PRS-745 during Sunday's Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas. This is a brand-new chassis to the #2 team.
#6-David Ragan: Primary: RK-730 Brand new chassis. Backup: RK-695, Last ran Phoenix in 2010 as the #99 - finished first.
#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 735 for the 400.5-mile race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This is a brand new Stanley Ford.
#14-Tony Stewart: This car debuted last May in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. It qualified 26th and finished 15th in its maiden race. It saw extensive wind tunnel time before returning to action in late July for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There, it qualified 15th and ran most of the race at the lower end of the top-10. But a savvy two-tire pit call on the team's final stop allowed it to rally to a fifth-place finish. Chassis No. 14-591 spent the rest of the 2010 season as a backup, and in the offseason, it received a new body and logged many hours in the wind tunnel. The Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will mark its third career start and its first of 2011.
#17-Matt Kenseth: Primary: RK-733 (brand new chassis)
#18-Kyle Busch: This chassis will make its third-ever start in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas. In its first start last October at Charlotte, Busch started sixth and led a race-high 217 laps before settling for a solid second-place finish. In its most recent start, Busch started seventh and finished 13th in the Kobalt Tools 500k at Phoenix. Busch ran within the top-three for a majority of the race, but late-race fuel strategy forced him to settle for 13th.
#20-Joey Logano: The #20 Home Depot Team is taking chassis #297 this weekend for the 400-mile Las Vegas race. This is a new chassis for the #20 Team. The back-up chassis is chassis #284 which Logano drove last year at Auto Club Speedway to an 11th-place finish and at Phoenix in November to third.
#22-Kurt Busch: and his Steve Addington led "Double-Deuce" team will be racing their "PRS-744" Dodge Charger in this weekend's action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "It's a brand new race car and you know how much Kurt likes the new race cars," said Addington.
#27-Paul Menard: will pilot Chassis No. 328 from the RCR stable. This #27 Chevy is a brand new addition to the RCR fleet, and will see its first laps on the track at LVMS.
#29-Kevin Harvick: Harvick will race chassis No. 325 from the RCR stable this weekend at LVMS. Built new in 2010, he drove this car to a third-place finish in the season finale at Homestead-Miami in November.
#31-Jeff Burton: will race chassis No. 344 from the RCR stable. This is a brand new Caterpillar Chevy that will circle the race track for the first time this weekend.
#33-Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 324 from the RCR stable. This chassis was utilized during two races in last year's Chase for the Sprint Cup where Bowyer scored two top-10 finishes - the first at Auto Club Speedway, where he led 40 laps while finishing second and Texas, where he finished seventh.
#39-Ryan Newman: Chassis 39-31. In 12 starts, the car has one pole and four top-10 finishes. This car debuted in 2009 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Sprint All-Star Race, where Newman started 12th and finished 18th. The car saw action three other times in 2009 - at Chicagoland ; at Michigan and at Charlotte in October. Chassis No. 39-531 returned to action in February 2010 at Auto Club Speedway The car's next start came in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Michigan marked the car's fourth start of the season. Next up for 39-531 was a return trip to Chicagoland. After the Chicago race, a new front clip was placed on the car, echoing a new generation of race cars for SHR. Newman qualified sixth and finished eighth at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Next up was Charlotte, where Newman crashed his superfast race car into the turn-three wall on the second lap of the event, causing major damage to the #39 machine and resulting in a 36th-place finish. After extensive repairs at the race shop, the chassis returned for last year's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Newman finished a strong seventh. During the offseason, the car's front clip was updated for 2011.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Chassis #1105. Brian Pattie and the #42 Target team are bringing chassis #1105 to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.
#43-A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 Richard Petty Motorsports team has prepared chassis No. 736 for this weekend's event at Las Vegas. This Best Buy Ford is a new car and has never been tested.
#48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson will pilot chassis No. 623 in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 400. He last drove that car to a ninth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in Nov. 2010. Backup chassis No. 592 crossed the finish line in the runner up position at Kansas Speedway last October.
#99-Carl Edwards: RK-732 This is a new car.
(from team PR's/sites if reported)(3-4-2011)

 

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Racers duke it out Friday

The day Las Vegas Motor Speedway retired the boxing-style championship belt it has given to its NASCAR Sprint Cup winners the past nine years, a fight broke out at the track.

Veteran Robby Gordon was placed on indefinite suspension by NASCAR Friday night after he allegedly got into a physical confrontation with Nationwide Series driver Kevin Conway, who drove for Gordon’s team in six races at the end of last year.

Conway was not punished by NASCAR.

Gordon will be permitted to race this weekend and practiced Saturday morning for Sunday’s Cup race. Conway will start Saturday’s Nationwide Race in the 42nd spot driving for NEMCO Motorsports.

The rumored scuffle was started by Gordon over what he claims to be $690,000 in sponsorship money owed to him by Conway. Conway claims Gordon owes him about $27,000. Each has filed lawsuits.

 

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Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch 'fine'

LAS VEGAS -- Carl Edwards said Friday he's over his anger toward Kyle Busch for the accident that wrecked Edwards' car at Phoenix.

Edwards started from the pole last week and believed he had a car capable of winning the race until early contact from Busch wrecked his Ford. Edwards fell to a 28th-place finish, while Busch went on to finish second.

The two talked about the incident in Las Vegas, Edwards said.

"I give him a lot of credit for coming over and talking to me and I think we will be fine," Edwards said, adding that Busch claimed he tried several times to call Edwards during the week, but had an old number.

Busch has apologized repeatedly for causing the accident.

Edwards, though, had a range of emotions about the incident. After the accident, when shown a replay, Edwards indicated he wasn't upset with Busch. But once he returned his damaged car to the track, he raced Busch very hard and that aggression seemed to indicate he was indeed angry.

"I wasn't sure what had happened, and the longer I thought about it, the more mad I got," Edwards said. "The farther the day went on, I got to think more about how fast the race car was and I was just mad in general. Then once I saw how well he was running, it made me a little madder."

The one thing Edwards hasn't reconciled is wrecking such a strong car.

"I don't know if I have completely gotten over it yet," he said. "It was hugely disappointing."