This weekend the Nascar Sprint Cup Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the UAW-Dodge 400. A $200 million state of the art facility, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the crown jewel of auto racing. With more than a dozen different venues, ranging from go-karts to Nascar racing on the 1.5 mile superspeedway, there's something for everyone at the complex. The tri-oval features 20-degree banking in all turns and 9-degree banking on the front and backstretch. The track itself recently underwent some reconstruction that gave it a much steeper banking in the corners, which increased the overall speed and made the track much faster than in years past.
One of the keys to the race this weekend is horsepower. Like California, there is a lot of full-throttle racing and the engines will once again be tested because of the high rpm's. Last year, only three cars had engine problems but those were early on in the race. Once again, the engine guys will have to balance power with good fuel mileage. This weekend, drivers will want the car well-balanced so they can go into the corners without drifting up and come out of the corners with enough control to get up to speed quickly. The track hasntt been hard on tires so you may see some fuel mileage strategy as the race draws closer to the end. Like California, this race will more than likely be won by pit strategy because history has shown that at Las Vegas, whoever leads the most laps usually wins the race.
In the ten races that have been held at the Las Vegas Motorspeedway, 3 drivers have won this race more than once. Jimmie Johnson has won the last 3 races here while Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth both have won this race twice. Jeff Gordon, Sterling Marlin and Mark Martin were the other winners, with Marlin being the only driver winning who wasnt a member of either Hendrick or Roush. Johnson should be considered the favorite but don't count out some of the other drivers in the series. Kasey Kahne runs these types of tracks well while your normal culprits of Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch all have had good runs at this track. Because we are early in the fantasy nascar season, don't hesitate to go for a driver that you know has had success or is the hot hand. Yahoo's group A in fantasy nascar has a lot of great drivers who you can plug in later on this season if you start to run low on the Jimmie Johnson's and Jeff Gordon's of the world.
Drivers to Watch
Jimmie Johnson - Johnson comes to Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the winner of three consecutive events at the track, having led 197 laps in those events. He's never finished worse than 16th place in his six events at the track and has averaged a 13.7-position qualifying slot.
Tony Stewart - He's started the season strong with top 10s in the first two races, finishing third at Daytona and seventh at California. He's placed top 10s in two of the past three races at the track. He also recorded top fives in 2004, '03, '02 and '00.
Jeff Gordon - Gordon has earned five top-10 finishes in his 10 career starts at Las Vegas including a streak of three straight top fives. He dominated the field in last year's event, charging up from 36th place to lead 111 laps en route to a second place finish.
Matt Kenseth - He scored a top-five finish at California after flopping in the Daytona opener. Kenseth has excellent success at Vegas, winning twice in '04 and '03. He's also recorded top 10s and four top fives in the last five races at the track, including second in '06 and fourth last year.
Mark Martin - Though he's finished outside the top 15 in the season's first two races, Martin has posted excellent career results at Vegas. He's compiled eight top 10s and five top fives in 10 races at the track, including a fifth in '04, a sixth in '06 and a fifth last year. This will be one of the more promising races to pick Martin with his limited schedule for the second straight year.
My pick - Kyle Busch - Busch enters Las Vegas on the heels of back-to-back fourth-place finishes, having averaged a 19-position improvement from qualifying to complete these dominant rides. The Las Vegas native owns a streak of three consecutive top-10 finishes (two top fives) at the track.
Sleeper pick - Kasey Kahne - He has two pole positions and two top-five finishes — including a runner-up result in his rookie season — in four career trips to LVMS.
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