Busch Brothers Earn Front Row At Home Track In Las Vegas

 

It was brotherly love, briefly, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch became the first brothers since 2000 to sweep the front row in qualifying for a NASCAR race, but Kyle Busch's blown motor will prevent the Las Vegas drivers from starting next to each other at their home track.

Kyle Busch blew a motor in his Toyota during Friday's practice session, changed the engine, then ran a pole-winning lap of 185.995 mph to knock his big brother off the pole. Kurt Busch ran a lap at 185.707 mph.

But under NASCAR rules, Kyle Busch will have to drop to the back of the field at the start of Sunday's race. Third-place qualifier Jimmie Johnson will slide onto the front row next to Kurt Busch during the warm-up laps.

Kyle Busch wasn't worried about having to drive to the front.

"Unfortunately for myself, I won't be in the cool photo next to my brother at the drop of the green flag," said Kyle Busch, who celebrated the pole-winning run by crashing a Victory Lane wedding ceremony between race fans and stepping in as the best man.

The 1-2 qualifying effort marked the first time brothers have swept the front row since Rusty and Kenny Wallace at Martinsville in 2000. Bobby and Terry Labonte also took the top two starts at the 1998 Daytona 500.

The motor change spoiled what would have undoubtedly been an intense fight to lead the first lap, so Kurt Busch wasn't bothered that Kyle will fall to the back of the field.

"It would have been great to go after it and see who would leave the first lap, but you can't get caught up in all that," Kurt Busch said.

David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose qualified fourth and fifth, but also had to change their motors after their laps and will drop to the back of the field. Brian Vickers, who won the pole last week at California but had to forfeit it because of an engine change, and his teammate Scott Speed also switched motors Friday.

In all, five Toyota teams switched motors Friday.

"I don't have any idea," Busch said of the rash of motor problems. Kyle Busch's motor is built by Joe Gibbs Racing, but the others all came from Toyota's factory in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Ryan Newman qualified sixth and was followed by Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.

A total of 51 drivers entered the race, meaning 16 drivers were vying for the eight available spots in the field. Among those to make the race AJ Allmendinger— a year after he missed the event for Red Bull Racing and was temporarily pulled from his ride the next week, Brad Keselowski and Regan Smith, last year's rookie of the year.

Missing the field was Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs, who both raced their way into the Daytona 500 three weeks ago, as well as Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney, Sterling Marlin and Tony Raines.

2009 Shelby 427 Starting Lineup

Start Pos	Car#	Driver	Car	Qual Speed	Qual Time
1	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	185.995	29.033
2	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	185.707	29.078
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	185.688	29.081
4	00	David Reutimann	Toyota	185.624	29.091
5	47	Marcos Ambrose	Toyota	185.459	29.117
6	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	185.395	29.127
7	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	185.382	29.129
8	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	185.312	29.140
9	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	185.280	29.145
10	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	185.217	29.155
11	12	David Stremme	Dodge	185.077	29.177
12	77	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	184.989	29.191
13	25	Brad Keselowski	Chevrolet	184.786	29.223
14	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	184.565	29.258
15	55	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	184.540	29.262
16	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	184.496	29.269
17	96	Bobby Labonte	Ford	184.433	29.279
18	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	184.433	29.279
19	44	A J Allmendinger	Dodge	184.395	29.285
20	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	184.388	29.286
21	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	184.168	29.321
22	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	184.162	29.322
23	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	184.118	29.329
24	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	184.005	29.347
25	1	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevy	183.999	29.348
26	13	Max Papis	Toyota	183.974	29.352
27	8	Aric Almirola	Chevrolet	183.936	29.358
28	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	183.799	29.380
29	34	John Andretti	Dodge	183.786	29.382
30	71	David Gilliland	Chevrolet	183.748	29.388
31	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	183.742	29.389
32	7	Robby Gordon	Toyota	183.486	29.430
33	19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	183.461	29.434
34	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	183.293	29.461
35	6	David Ragan	Ford	183.144	29.485
36	98	Paul Menard	Ford	182.921	29.521
37	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	182.772	29.545
38	26	Jamie McMurray	Ford	182.574	29.577
39	43	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	182.469	29.594
40	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	182.143	29.647
41	07	Casey Mears	Chevrolet	181.928	29.682
42	82	Scott Speed	Toyota	181.257	29.792
43	64	Todd Bodine	Toyota	183.231	29.471
DNQ	28	Travis Kvapil	Ford	183.181	29.479
DNQ	66	Dave Blaney	Toyota	182.673	29.561
DNQ	73	Mike Garvey	Dodge	182.457	29.596
DNQ	41	Jeremy Mayfield	Toyota	182.389	29.607
DNQ	09	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	181.543	29.745
DNQ	36	Scott Riggs	Toyota	180.820	29.864
DNQ	37	Tony Raines	Dodge	180.331	29.945
DNQ	51	Dexter Bean	Dodge	174.154	31.007

6 Quick Questions Heading Into The Shelby 427 At Las Vegas

1. Will Matt Kenseth make it a three-peat this weekend at Las Vegas? It is extremely difficult to win two races in a row, but it is much more difficult to win three. With Kenseth’s history at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, plus some momentum on his side, he is probably the odds-on favorite to pull into Victory Lane this weekend.

2. Can Jimmie Johnson rebound from his sluggish start to the 2009 season? After recording a 31st place finish at Daytona and a 9th place finish at California, Jimmie Johnson sits 19th in the points standings. Remember, Johnson had a rough start to the 2008 season, and finished with a Sprint Cup trophy. I expect Jimmie Johnson to catapult into the top 12 in points after a solid top-5 finish in the Shelby 427 Sunday. 

3. Will Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s bad luck end at Las Vegas? Junior has had a mix of terrible luck and poor decisions so far in the 2009 campaign. The much-talked about pit errors and tangle with Brian Vickers at Daytona, and the engine problems last week at California has left NASCAR’s most popular driver 35th in points. Now here comes even more bad news – Junior is notorious for struggling at the intermediate tracks like Las Vegas. If Junior and crew chief, Tony Eury, don’t get it together this weekend, Junior Nation won’t have much to cheer about come time for the Chase.

4. Will Mother Nature have a three-peat? The Daytona 500 was shortened due to rain, and the Auto Club 500 was delayed several times for sprinkling rain. Sure, Las Vegas is in the middle of a desert, but hey…you never know!

5. Will the extra 27 miles added to this event effect race strategy? I am almost sure the extra 27 miles will play a role in fuel mileage. Plus, the longer race will most likely create one more pit stop than normal. And when it comes to pit stops the advantage surely goes to Matt Kenseth and The Killer Bees. That has been the best pit crew bar none thus far in 2009.

6. Can Mark Martin get his second Sprint Cup win at Las Vegas this weekend? You better believe he can! Mark Martin has ran well at Vegas since the first Cup race in 1998, winning that event. Martin has posted 1 win, 5 top-5’s, and 9 top-10s in 11 starts at LVMS. Now that he is driving Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolets, Martin will be a favorite to contend for the win.

Race 3: Las Vegas Motor Speedway Fan Guide

Race fans, we are entering the third race of the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. This week’s event will be the Shelby 427, held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Let’s dive into some fun tidbits about this event and venue.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway History

Just a few miles north of The Strip, Las Vegas Motor Speedway sits like a diamond in the desert. One of the most complete racing complexes in the world, its 1,600 acres include road courses, a three-eighths mile oval, a dirt track and a state-of-the-art drag racing facility.

At its heart, however, is the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway, home of a 400-mile race on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, as well as Busch and Truck Series events.

Construction of the $200 million complex began in 1995.

Nearly 2,000 tons of concrete were originally used to build more than 100,000 seats. Shortly after Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought the track in 1998, it announced plans to add 22,000 seats in the Dale Earnhardt Tower overlooking the frontstretch.

The first NASCAR race held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a Truck Series event in 1996. The Busch Series held a race there in 1997, and a year later the Cup series made its first visit with Mark Martin picking up the victory in 1998.

Construction of the Richard Petty Terrace in Turn 1 was completed in 2006, allowing fans a shot at 14,000 additional tickets and pushing the track's seating capacity to nearly 150,000.

Additionally, the track saw several major changes in 2006, as the entire surface as reconfigured with progressive banking installed, as well as fan-friendly features in the infield and moving pit road closer to the straightaway. Beginning in 2007, officials made grandstand seating during NASCAR weekend smoke-free.

Mark Martin won the first Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1998 

 

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Facts

Configuration

Location

7000 Las Vegas Blvd. North, Las Vegas, NV 89115

Completed

1996

Shape

D-shaped Tri Oval

Distance

1.5 miles

Banking

Turns: 20 degrees; Frontstretch: 9 degrees; Backstretch: 9 degrees

Frontstretch Length

2,275 feet

Backstretch Length

1,572 feet

Track Records

Qualifying Record

Kasey Kahne – 184.856 mph (29.212 seconds); Set March 9, 2007

Race Record

Mark Martin – 146.554 mph; Set March 1, 1998

 

Aerial view of Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Previous Winners (1999-2008)

Year	Driver	Car	Avg. Speed
1999	Jeff Burton	Ford	137.537
2000	Jeff Burton	Ford	119.982
2001	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	135.546
2002	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	136.754
2003	Matt Kenseth	Ford	132.934
2004	Matt Kenseth	Ford	128.790
2005	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	121.038
2006	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	133.358
2007	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	128.183
2008	Carl Edwards	Ford	127.729

 

Most Wins

3

Jimmie Johnson

Most Top 5s

5

Mark Martin; Jeff Gordon

Most Top 10s

9

Mark Martin

Most Starts

11

Jeff Burton; Mark Martin; Jeff Gordon; Bobby Labonte

Most Poles

2

Kasey Kahne; Bobby Labonte

Most Laps Led

438

Matt Kenseth

Avg. Start

7.3

 

TV Broadcast Schedule For 2009 Las Vegas Speedway Events

Camping World Truck Series

No events this week

 

Nationwide Series

Friday, February 27, 2009

 

Practice – 1:30 PM EST

 

 

Final Practice – 4:30 PM EST

 

Saturday, February 28, 2009

 

Qualifying – Noon EST

 

 

Race – Sam’s Town 300 - 4:00 PM EST

 

Sprint Cup Series

Friday, February 27, 2009

 

Practice – 3:00 PM EST

 

 

Qualifying – 6:30 PM EST

 

Saturday, February 28, 2009

 

Practice – 1:30 PM EST

 

 

Final Practice – 2:30 PM EST

 

Sunday, March 1, 2009

 

Race – Shelby 427 -  3:30 PM EST

Surprises And Disappointments From The Auto Club 500

There were quite a bit of surprises and disappointments during the 2009 Auto Club 500. Here is a list of what I thought were the biggest surprises and disappointments from last Sunday’s race.

Surprise

Matt Kenseth winning the first two races of the year was a big surprise to me. I know Roush Fenway has been dominate at this event the last several years, but for Kenseth to pull off that win surprised and impressed me. If you would have told me that Kenseth was going to win the race with 30 laps to go, I would have fell out laughing.

Disappointment

As Matt Kenseth was starting a new streak of his own, Kevin Harvick ended one. Harvick’s DNF Sunday night was his first in 81 races. A streak that was only three races shy of the all-time races without a DNF streak.

Surprise

Jimmie Johnson fading off towards the end was definitely a surprise. Usually, the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team is at its best when it comes to the waning laps of a race – not this week. Johnson was running in dominating form during the early and middles stages of the race. When it got down to the last 30 to 40 laps, he began struggling and finished an uncharacteristic ninth.

Disappointment

The only real racing was on pit road. It is a shame that out of 250 laps on the track, the most excitement was the race off pit road. No wonder the Auto Club Speedway has a hard time selling tickets.

Surprise

Tony Stewart finished eight in both races thus far, and is fourth in points – tied with Kurt Busch with 294 points. We all know Stewart is a great race car driver, but to be doing so well with his new team was a surprise to me. I figured some new team struggles would hamper Stewart in the beginning of the season.

Disappointment

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. being 35th in points is a huge disappointment. I am not a Junior fan, but I expected him to be doing much better than this out of the gate. His bad driving hurt him in Daytona, and now his bad luck at Fontana has put him in a big hole to climb out of. It might be a long season for Junior Nation if his fortunes do not reverse soon…. real soon.

Surprise

Seeing Michael Waltrip and Juan Pablo Montoya in the top-10 in points. Waltrip and Montoya have started the 2009 season with strong finishes the first two races. Waltrip has finishes of seventh at Daytona and 15th at Fontana. Montoya has finishes of 14th at Daytona and 11th at Fontana. If these two can keep this up, they could be be contenders for a Chase spot. I doubt it really, but you never know in this sport. As for Waltrip, nothing motivates quite like the threat of firing yourself, huh?

Disappointment

I have been disappointed in how Joey Logano has run so far in 2009. I know the 18-year old is a rookie and has never ran at these tracks, but he has struggled badly. Maybe I am expecting too much from him too early. Logano is currently 38th in owner points. So if he doesn’t get a move on by Martinsville, he will have to qualify to get in the race. That could become a nightmare for the No. 20 Home Depot team.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what kind of surprises and disappointments we find at Las Vegas this Sunday.

Can We Talk Fox Into Burying Digger?

When Fox first introduced their new in-track camera called the GopherCam, I really liked it. The new angle was fresh and interesting – plus the camera showed some very neat angles of the race action.

Every time the network switched to the GopherCam, they showed an animation of a gopher in the lower left hand corner popping up out of his hole, then making a couple goofy faces and finally jumping back in his hole after being startled by the cars whooshing by at break-neck speeds.

Next Fox had a contest to come up with a name for the gopher character. The name chosen by the fans and Fox was Digger.

It was all very cute and amusing for a little while.

After last weekend’s race at California, I can honestly say I have had enough of the Digger stuff. It was bad enough that the viewers see this Digger animation 30 times a race, but now Fox has to show a 2-minute cartoon episode during each pre-race show. Digger is featured in the lower left corner whenever the network returns to the race after a commercial break.

Come on Fox! Enough with the Digger stuff. I feel that you have gotten a bit carried away with this and you really need to tone it down. It was amusing the first 100 times, but now it’s getting annoying …. fast.

Kenseth Makes It 2-for-2 With California Win

 

Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth made it two victories in a row Sunday, holding off a late challenge from Jeff Gordon to win the Auto Club 500.

Kenseth took the lead from Gordon in the pits with 38 laps to go in the 250-lap race and stayed ahead of the runner-up in the battle of former Cup champions, pulling away over the last 20 laps.

It is the first time a Cup driver has won the first two races of the season since Gordon did it in 1997 on the way to the second of his four championships.

"It's such a great team," Kenseth said. "I just thank these guys [on the crew]. They gave me a great stop and got me in clean air and that's just a huge difference."

Kenseth and Gordon were much faster than the rest of the field at the end, both of them pulling away from the pack. But Gordon, like Kenseth winless last year, was unable to get to Kenseth's rear bumper and get a real run on the No. 17 Roush Fenway Ford.

"It was a lot of fun," Gordon said. "This is a new team and they showed it tonight. We've still got a little bit of work to do. I'm so excited on one side because we ran so well and we started out the season so great, but I'm still mad on the other side because I felt like we had what it took to win tonight."

It was Kenseth's third victory on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval and the fifth consecutive February victory for team co-owner Jack Roush.

Kyle Busch, who made NASCAR history by winning both the Truck and Nationwide races on Saturday, came up short of the weekend sweep.

"It's never been done before, so you know it's a challenge," Busch said after finishing third. "The last one's always the hard one to get. It's on Sunday and it's the biggest show. Maybe one day."

Greg Biffle was a contender throughout the race, but fell to 12th after being penalized for running over his own air hose on a pit stop on Lap 209. He charged all the way to fourth, but was still upset by his mistake.

"They should fire me," said Biffle, one of four Kenseth teammates. "You just can't make mistakes like that."

Kurt Busch finished fifth, followed by Denny Hamlin, defending race winner Carl Edwards, two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart and three-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who led 74 laps but faded in the late-going.

 

2009 Auto Club 500 Final Results

 Pos     Driver       Lap   Speed  Time  Behind  Led 

1. Matt Kenseth  250 168.828 42.65 0.000  84

No. 17 Carhartt Ford

 

2. Jeff Gordon 250 169.133 42.57 1.464 64

No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet

3. Kyle Busch 250 169.276 42.53 6.980 0 

No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota

 

4. Greg Biffle 250 170.665 42.19 9.132 16 

No. 16 3M Ford

5. Kurt Busch 250 167.993 42.86 11.328 2

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge

 

6. Denny Hamlin 250 168.575 42.71 12.008 0

No. 11 Fed Ex Freight Toyota

7. Carl Edwards 250 167.973 42.86 13.657 1

No. 99 AFLAC Ford

8. Tony Stewart 250 168.646 42.69 16.610 3

No. 14 Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet 

9. Jimmie Johnson 250 169.133 42.57 17.380 74

No. 48 Kobalt Tools / Lowe's Chevrolet 

10. Brian Vickers 250 168.417 42.75 21.325 0

No. 83 Red Bull Toyota

 

11. Juan Montoya 250 168.330 42.77 24.315 1

No. 42 Target Chevrolet

12. Kasey Kahne 250 168.130 42.82 29.316 0

No. 9 Budweiser Dodge

13. David Stremme 250 167.695 42.94 31.174 3

No. 12 Penske Championship Racing Dodge

 

14. David Reutimann 250 168.044 42.85 32.755 0

No. 00 Aaron's Toyota

 

15. Michael Waltrip 250 167.950 42.87 35.995 0

No. 55 NAPA Toyota

 

16. Jamie McMurray 250 166.366 43.28 39.015 0

No. 26 Crown Royal Ford

17. David Ragan 249 167.738 42.92 1  0

No. 6 UPS Ford

18. Travis Kvapil 249 168.177 42.81 1  0

No. 28 Farmers Insurance Ford

19. Clint Bowyer 249 168.753 42.67 1  0

No. 33 Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 

20. Bobby Labonte 249 168.224 42.80 1  0

No. 96 ASK.com Ford

21. Reed Sorenson 249 166.871 43.15 1  0

No. 43 Charter Communications Dodge 

22. Marcos Ambrose 249 165.320 43.55 1  0

No. 47 Little Debbie Toyota 

 

23. Sam Hornish Jr. 249 166.474 43.25 1  0

No. 77 AAA Insurance Dodge

24. Casey Mears 249 168.248 42.79 1  0

No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet

 

25. Elliott Sadler 249 166.779 43.17 1  0

No. 19 Best Buy Dodge

 

26. Joey Logano 249 167.275 43.04 1  0

No. 20 Home Depot Toyota

27. Martin Truex Jr. 249 165.746 43.44 1  0

No. 1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet

28. Ryan Newman 248 168.319 42.78 2  0

No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet

 

29. A.J. Allmendinger 248 166.933 43.13 2  0

No. 44 Charter Communications Dodge 

30. Robby Gordon 248 167.602 42.96 2  0

No. 7 Jim Beam Toyota

31. John Andretti 248 166.289 43.30 2  1

No. 34 Window World Chevrolet

 

32. Jeff Burton 247 164.873 43.67 3  0

No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet

33. David Gilliland 246 164.967 43.64 4  0

No. 71 Unsponsored Chevrolet

34. Jeremy Mayfield 245 162.785 44.23 5 0

No. 41 All Sport Energy Drink Toyota

 

35. Aric Almirola 242 80.339 89.62 8  0

No. 8 Guitar Hero Chevrolet

36. Scott Riggs 240 164.911 43.66 10  0

No. 36 Red Bank Toyota

 

37. Paul Menard 221 162.719 44.25 29  0 

No. 98 Menards Ford

38. Kevin Harvick 207 168.118 42.83 43  0

No. 29 Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet

 

39. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 205 116.298 61.91 45  0

No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet

 

40. Mark Martin 179 99.357 72.47 71  1

No. 5 CARQUEST / Kellogg's Chevrolet

 

41. Scott Speed 172 63.852 112.76 78  0

No. 82 Red Bull Toyota

 

42. Dave Blaney 50 107.339 67.08 200  0

No. 66 Unsponsored Toyota

 

43. Joe Nemechek 37 126.214 57.05 214  0

 

No. 87 Unsponsored Toyota

 

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 135.839 mph.

Time of Race: 3 hours, 40 minutes, 51 seconds.

Margin of Victory: 1.463 seconds.

Caution Flags: Five for 43 laps.

Lead Changes: 19 among 11 drivers.

Lap Leaders: J.Johnson 1-43; J.Andretti 44; Ku.Busch 45-46; J.Johnson 47-77; J.Gordon 78-85; G.Biffle 86; C.Edwards 87; J.Gordon 88-127; G.Biffle 128-142; J.Gordon 143; J.Montoya 144; M.Kenseth 145-170; J.Gordon 171; T.Stewart 172-174; M.Martin 175; M.Kenseth 176-195; J.Gordon 196-209; D.Stremme 210-212; M.Kenseth 213-250.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): M.Kenseth, 3 times for 84 laps; J.Johnson, 2 times for 74 laps; J.Gordon, 5 times for 64 laps; G.Biffle, 2 times for 16 laps; T.Stewart, 1 time for 3 laps; D.Stremme, 1 time for 3 laps; Ku.Busch, 1 time for 2 laps; C.Edwards, 1 time for 1 lap; J.Montoya, 1 time for 1 lap; J.Andretti, 1 time for 1 lap; M.Martin, 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 12 in Points: 1. M.Kenseth, 385. 2. J.Gordon, 304. 3. Ku.Busch, 294. 4. T.Stewart, 294. 5. G.Biffle, 268. 6. C.Bowyer, 266. 7. M.Waltrip, 264. 8. D.Ragan, 262. 9. C.Edwards, 260. 10. J.Montoya, 256. 11. E.Sadler, 248. 12. D.Reutimann, 248.