A Quick Question About the Vegas Race

Food for thought:

I'm on the bubble about this one though I'm leaning towards the drivers being responsible since they are the consummate professionals, but who's to blame for all the speeding penalties at Vegas last week?

1. NASCAR for limiting track practice, aside from the race weekend?
2. Vegas for moving that cursed limit line?
3. Or the drivers? Shouldn't they have made the appropriate mental adjustments and played it according the the changing playing field? IE: moving line?

There were an awful lot of foul ups last weekend and I sure was surprised, with Jeff Gordon paying a pretty hefty price for his snafu.

As far as track practice goes, wow, I think it's affecting Jr., but then again, it could be something else.

Any thoughts on any of these issues? Anyone? Someone?

Imagine Kyle Busch As Your Best Man?

For some, Kyle Busch is 'Da Man of today. For others, he's 'Da best man for the day!

Check out fans Damon and Heather Landry getting married at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with Kyle Busch looking on as the Best Man... now would that not be cool? Not to mention that awesome wedding picture backdrop!

(Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images)

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Tidbits

Here are some tidbits about Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Some History
• The first ever NASCAR race was a NASCAR Camping World Series, West. That was won by Ken Schrader on Nov. 2, 1996.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on March 1, 1998. Mark Martin won that one.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was on March 16, 1997, won by Jeff Green.
• The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race was won by Jack Sprague on Nov. 3, 1996.


Notebook
• There have been 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• Five drivers have participated in all 11 races:
Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin.
• Eight drivers have poles, led by Dale Jarrett (Who won the inaugural pole), Kasey Kahne and Bobby Labonte (two each).
• Seven different drivers have won here. Jimmie Johnson has three.
• Only four of the 11 races have been won from a top-10 starting position and none have been won from the pole.
• Four of the 11 races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
• 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).
• Qualifying has never been canceled at Las Vegas.
• Matt Kenseth has a 9.0 average finish in nine Las Vegas races, the best of any driver with more than three starts. He has been running at the finish in all nine of those races and has finished on the lead lap in eight. Kenseth has also led 438 laps at Las Vegas – 179 more than any other driver.
• Roush Fenway Racing had five drivers finish in the top 10 in the inaugural Las Vegas 400 in 1998. In five of the 11 races, the winner at Las Vegas was driving for Roush at the time: Mark Martin (1998), Jeff Burton (1999 and 2000) and Matt Kenseth (2003 and 2004).


Driver Rating at Las Vegas
Jimmie Johnson - 112.0
Jeff Gordon - 111.4
Kyle Busch - 109.8
Matt Kenseth - 107.8
Greg Biffle - 100.2
Mark Martin - 96.8
Jeff Burton - 95.4
Tony Stewart - 92.9
Carl Edwards - 92.3
Kurt Busch - 89.9
Note: These Driver Ratings are compiled from only the last 4 races, from 2005-2008 races, since the inception of Loop Data.
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Can Kenseth Get His Own Three-Peat?

After winning the first two races of the season, Matt Kenseth joined an exclusive list. Before Matt, a driver won the first two races only four times. The most recent was 1997 when Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500 and at Rockingham.

Right now, no driver has ever won the first three races of the season.

Among the previous four, only Gordon won the championship in the season that he opened with two consecutive wins.

Kenseth like Vegas. He might have a shot at this 3-peat! He has two wins at Las Vegas (2003-2004) and has led 438 laps there, more than any other driver.

Since 2005, at Las Vegas, Kenseth has a Driver Rating of 107.8, with an Average Running Position of 10.8 and 90 Fastest Laps Run. All those rank in the top five in the series.


Source: NASCAR Media.