NASCAR Notebook: Las Vegas
Barry F. Hess
March 09, 2007
NASCAR Notebook: Las Vegas
What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
After a week off the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit heads due west for the first of 34 races over the next 35 weeks when they hit Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
And though the Car of Tomorrow is still two weeks away from its debut there will be plenty of new looks and surprises for the 43-car field when they take the green flag at the newly reconfigured track.
After increasing the banking from 12 to 20 degrees, shifting pit road closer to the front stretch and a fresh resurfacing of the track Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials believe the annual race in Sin City will provide a more exciting brand of racing than their track already produced.
While most tracks that undertake such monumental changes usually take a few races to mold into one conducive with what makes a driver feel comfortable there is a general consensus this case will be different.
Of course, as always, Tony Stewart begs to differ but that is neither here nor there.
One driver who has already benefited from the new configuration is Clint Bowyer, who had one of the fastest cars on track during the pre-season test session last month.
Bowyer, who started his season crossing the Daytona finish line up-side-down, is sixth in the point standings and has high expectations of winning his first career Cup win this weekend.
With all three Richard Childress cars running well in the early going don’t be surprised to see Bowyer qualify near the front of the pack and keep his No. 7 Jack Daniels Chevy in contention all afternoon.
Bowyer has proven he belongs at the Cup level and will have the opportunity to prove he belongs in Victory Lane if he can keep his nose clean and take care of an already solid race car.
Carl Edwards entered 2007 with two goals, win the Bush Series Championship and return to the Chase for the Nextel Cup after missing the 2006 version by a large margin.
So far so good in the Busch Series but after getting involved in a late wreck in Daytona and never recovering from going a lap down in California Edwards is currently 25th in points and looking way up at the drivers above him.
Lucky for Edwards he gets to drive his No. 99 Office Depot Ford around Las Vegas Motor Speedway a couple of hundred times this weekend.
Not only does the Roush machine he navigates run notoriously well at mile-and-a-half tracks but Edwards ran very well at the January test session and has gone on the record as to say his season will likely get started this weekend.
Look for Carl to qualify in decent position and shoot to the front once the green flag flies.
Jimmie Johnson heads into this weekend, as he will do five times this year, having taken the checkered flag at the race last year.
After rebounding from Daytona with a third place finish in California Johnson is likely to compete for two in a row.
Look for the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy to make a strong run at the pole and then dominate as he did for so many laps last year.
The 2006 Cup Champion has a strong enough car to pull away from most of the pack if the race goes caution free for large stretches but it will be interesting to see how the new track configuration plays a role as Johnson has voiced some concern about the newly increased banking as it pertains to the handling of his machine.
Nevertheless, Johnson heads to Vegas a heavy favorite, a role he’s mastered over the last three seasons.
Last year Kasey Kahne dominated the mile-and-a-half tracks with wins in four of the 10 races and while Las Vegas was not a track in the win column last year expect Kahne to make a strong run at it this season.
Currently 32nd in points Kahne, who finished in the top 10 last season, needs a strong performance in the desert to keep himself in early contention for his first Cup title.
Kahne, as he did all season a year ago, will challenge for the pole and run fast once the green flag drops.
But with recent engine problems among other issues hindering Ray Evernham owned cars recently Kahne will need a little bit of lady luck on his side if he wants to leave Vegas on a high note.
Prediction
He left Daytona just thousandths of a second away from Victory lane, he left California just four positions shy of the win and he will leave Las Vegas with the checkered flag in hand, talking of course about Mark Martin.
Having rejuvenated a career that quite frankly didn’t need much rejuvenating to begin with Martin sits atop the point standings heading into week three of the season and will remain there by the time the sun sets in Vegas.
Look for Martin to qualify near mid pack but once the race starts expect to see him shoot to the top 10 and make a late charge for the win.
Though he has consistently said he will not run the full schedule this season Martin is a pure racecar driver at heart and once that engine fires his competitive juices will begin to flow and he will be driving for the win.
Junior Struggling to Keep Pace
He is currently 40th in the point standings, has yet to finish inside the top 30 and with just three races remaining until the 2007 owner points are set to kick in he is dangerously close to being forced to qualify on time at Martinsville.
No, we’re not talking about Derrike Cope or Boris Said or even Michael Waltrip.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had nothing but one headache after another, both on and off the track, since the 2007 season got started.
After registering his first DNF in nearly two years at the Daytona 500 Earnhardt did not even make it to the halfway point of the California race before his engine gave way, putting him in one of the biggest early season holes any top driver has dug for himself in recent memory.
Combine that with the ongoing contract struggles he’s having with step-mother Teresa Earnhardt and the normally jubilant and positive Earnhardt has not looked, spoken or, most importantly, driven like the guy millions of race fans around the country have grown to know and love.
Sure, a season can not be judged after just two races but with invariables like the Car of Tomorrow and unpredictable short tracks like Bristol and Martinsville on the forefront there is no telling what type of season it’s going to be and the further ahead of the curb teams are the better position they put themselves in to make a run for the title when September roles around.
And if Junior and the No. 8 team have been anything thus far it has not been in front of the curb but rather squinting from afar just to try and get a peek.
Junior left Daytona complaining about a lack of engine power, which obviously was not solved in time for California a week later.
Having stated on numerous occasions his desire to own the majority of DEI is, in part, to move the company in a much different direction as far as equipment is concerned it is becoming obvious that Junior clearly recognizes the flaws in his team and at the moment can do little about it but drive around in circles until his car gives way.
This combination is ultimately leading toward the inevitable, a parting of the ways with DEI.
But whether that decision is made during this season or not it is likely to manifest itself on the track and that will only mean more bad news for Junior fans.
And while he may put a few races together here and there to at least remain inside the top 35, it certainly appears as though 2007 will be the first and last for Junior.
The first year he has not been competitive at racing’s highest level and the last he will spend driving with the letters DEI on the sides of his race car.
Random Thoughts
Scott Pruett will tell you his chances of winning a NASCAR race last week in Mexico were spoiled after his own teammate wrecked him. Here is a newsflash for you Scott Pruett, you were being chased by a superior car but did not give him enough space to make the pass when it was clear he was going to get around you…which he did anyway.
And why?
Because let’s face it that was probably the best chance you will ever have at winning any kind of race with the name NASCAR in front of it and you were not about to let someone try and take that away from you even if they were better.
And yet you have the nerve to criticize a teammate, in principle alone mind you, as Montoya actually runs a full schedule and not just one insignificant race of 35, for taking that away from you?
A race car driver knows when his stuff is better, he knows when its not and he knows how to avoid situations like what happened last weekend. So please Pruett, take your fifth place finish and go disappear into the Mexican sunset because hearing you whine about being spun out is enough to make me want to throw up.
Replacing a star like Mark Martin is damn near impossible but don’t look now but David Regan is doing about as well as one can do in such a situation. Fifth in points for a driver who was not even approved to race at mile-and-a-half tracks late last year is not bad. If he can keep it up it will be more surprising then what Denny Hamlin accomplished last season.
Currently 14th in points Robby Gordon and the lone single car team owner in all of NASCAR is making a competitive run early on. With Roush/Yates power under his hood look for him to make a serious run at a position inside the Chase.
Wow, did I really waste all that space up there on Scott Pruett??? Sorry about that fans, won’t happen again. My only hope is you didn’t fall asleep trying to remember who he was before you got to this part of the column!
What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
After a week off the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit heads due west for the first of 34 races over the next 35 weeks when they hit Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
And though the Car of Tomorrow is still two weeks away from its debut there will be plenty of new looks and surprises for the 43-car field when they take the green flag at the newly reconfigured track.
After increasing the banking from 12 to 20 degrees, shifting pit road closer to the front stretch and a fresh resurfacing of the track Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials believe the annual race in Sin City will provide a more exciting brand of racing than their track already produced.
While most tracks that undertake such monumental changes usually take a few races to mold into one conducive with what makes a driver feel comfortable there is a general consensus this case will be different.
Of course, as always, Tony Stewart begs to differ but that is neither here nor there.
One driver who has already benefited from the new configuration is Clint Bowyer, who had one of the fastest cars on track during the pre-season test session last month.
Bowyer, who started his season crossing the Daytona finish line up-side-down, is sixth in the point standings and has high expectations of winning his first career Cup win this weekend.
With all three Richard Childress cars running well in the early going don’t be surprised to see Bowyer qualify near the front of the pack and keep his No. 7 Jack Daniels Chevy in contention all afternoon.
Bowyer has proven he belongs at the Cup level and will have the opportunity to prove he belongs in Victory Lane if he can keep his nose clean and take care of an already solid race car.
Carl Edwards entered 2007 with two goals, win the Bush Series Championship and return to the Chase for the Nextel Cup after missing the 2006 version by a large margin.
So far so good in the Busch Series but after getting involved in a late wreck in Daytona and never recovering from going a lap down in California Edwards is currently 25th in points and looking way up at the drivers above him.
Lucky for Edwards he gets to drive his No. 99 Office Depot Ford around Las Vegas Motor Speedway a couple of hundred times this weekend.
Not only does the Roush machine he navigates run notoriously well at mile-and-a-half tracks but Edwards ran very well at the January test session and has gone on the record as to say his season will likely get started this weekend.
Look for Carl to qualify in decent position and shoot to the front once the green flag flies.
Jimmie Johnson heads into this weekend, as he will do five times this year, having taken the checkered flag at the race last year.
After rebounding from Daytona with a third place finish in California Johnson is likely to compete for two in a row.
Look for the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy to make a strong run at the pole and then dominate as he did for so many laps last year.
The 2006 Cup Champion has a strong enough car to pull away from most of the pack if the race goes caution free for large stretches but it will be interesting to see how the new track configuration plays a role as Johnson has voiced some concern about the newly increased banking as it pertains to the handling of his machine.
Nevertheless, Johnson heads to Vegas a heavy favorite, a role he’s mastered over the last three seasons.
Last year Kasey Kahne dominated the mile-and-a-half tracks with wins in four of the 10 races and while Las Vegas was not a track in the win column last year expect Kahne to make a strong run at it this season.
Currently 32nd in points Kahne, who finished in the top 10 last season, needs a strong performance in the desert to keep himself in early contention for his first Cup title.
Kahne, as he did all season a year ago, will challenge for the pole and run fast once the green flag drops.
But with recent engine problems among other issues hindering Ray Evernham owned cars recently Kahne will need a little bit of lady luck on his side if he wants to leave Vegas on a high note.
Prediction
He left Daytona just thousandths of a second away from Victory lane, he left California just four positions shy of the win and he will leave Las Vegas with the checkered flag in hand, talking of course about Mark Martin.
Having rejuvenated a career that quite frankly didn’t need much rejuvenating to begin with Martin sits atop the point standings heading into week three of the season and will remain there by the time the sun sets in Vegas.
Look for Martin to qualify near mid pack but once the race starts expect to see him shoot to the top 10 and make a late charge for the win.
Though he has consistently said he will not run the full schedule this season Martin is a pure racecar driver at heart and once that engine fires his competitive juices will begin to flow and he will be driving for the win.
Junior Struggling to Keep Pace
He is currently 40th in the point standings, has yet to finish inside the top 30 and with just three races remaining until the 2007 owner points are set to kick in he is dangerously close to being forced to qualify on time at Martinsville.
No, we’re not talking about Derrike Cope or Boris Said or even Michael Waltrip.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had nothing but one headache after another, both on and off the track, since the 2007 season got started.
After registering his first DNF in nearly two years at the Daytona 500 Earnhardt did not even make it to the halfway point of the California race before his engine gave way, putting him in one of the biggest early season holes any top driver has dug for himself in recent memory.
Combine that with the ongoing contract struggles he’s having with step-mother Teresa Earnhardt and the normally jubilant and positive Earnhardt has not looked, spoken or, most importantly, driven like the guy millions of race fans around the country have grown to know and love.
Sure, a season can not be judged after just two races but with invariables like the Car of Tomorrow and unpredictable short tracks like Bristol and Martinsville on the forefront there is no telling what type of season it’s going to be and the further ahead of the curb teams are the better position they put themselves in to make a run for the title when September roles around.
And if Junior and the No. 8 team have been anything thus far it has not been in front of the curb but rather squinting from afar just to try and get a peek.
Junior left Daytona complaining about a lack of engine power, which obviously was not solved in time for California a week later.
Having stated on numerous occasions his desire to own the majority of DEI is, in part, to move the company in a much different direction as far as equipment is concerned it is becoming obvious that Junior clearly recognizes the flaws in his team and at the moment can do little about it but drive around in circles until his car gives way.
This combination is ultimately leading toward the inevitable, a parting of the ways with DEI.
But whether that decision is made during this season or not it is likely to manifest itself on the track and that will only mean more bad news for Junior fans.
And while he may put a few races together here and there to at least remain inside the top 35, it certainly appears as though 2007 will be the first and last for Junior.
The first year he has not been competitive at racing’s highest level and the last he will spend driving with the letters DEI on the sides of his race car.
Random Thoughts
Scott Pruett will tell you his chances of winning a NASCAR race last week in Mexico were spoiled after his own teammate wrecked him. Here is a newsflash for you Scott Pruett, you were being chased by a superior car but did not give him enough space to make the pass when it was clear he was going to get around you…which he did anyway.
And why?
Because let’s face it that was probably the best chance you will ever have at winning any kind of race with the name NASCAR in front of it and you were not about to let someone try and take that away from you even if they were better.
And yet you have the nerve to criticize a teammate, in principle alone mind you, as Montoya actually runs a full schedule and not just one insignificant race of 35, for taking that away from you?
A race car driver knows when his stuff is better, he knows when its not and he knows how to avoid situations like what happened last weekend. So please Pruett, take your fifth place finish and go disappear into the Mexican sunset because hearing you whine about being spun out is enough to make me want to throw up.
Replacing a star like Mark Martin is damn near impossible but don’t look now but David Regan is doing about as well as one can do in such a situation. Fifth in points for a driver who was not even approved to race at mile-and-a-half tracks late last year is not bad. If he can keep it up it will be more surprising then what Denny Hamlin accomplished last season.
Currently 14th in points Robby Gordon and the lone single car team owner in all of NASCAR is making a competitive run early on. With Roush/Yates power under his hood look for him to make a serious run at a position inside the Chase.
Wow, did I really waste all that space up there on Scott Pruett??? Sorry about that fans, won’t happen again. My only hope is you didn’t fall asleep trying to remember who he was before you got to this part of the column!
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