http://www.thatsracin.com/142/index.xml Motorsports News from ThatsRacin.com en-us Copyright 2008 ThatsRacin.com Las Vegas Motor Speedway 60 Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:44 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive Workbench webmaster@thatsracin.com http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10299.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10299.html Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:39 EST Juan Pablo Montoya jumped to the top of the speed chart as Sprint Cup Series testing wrapped up Tuesday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.<p/>Montoya took his No. 42 Dodge around the 1.5-mile oval at an average speed of 186.761 mph to post the fastest single lap of the two-day session. AJ Allmendinger, in a Toyota, was second fastest at 185.752 mph. Casey Mears, Kasey Kahne and Reed Sorenson rounded out the top five.<p/>Other than putting his name in the headline, though, it’s hard to tell from the speeds list who had the best of it.<p/>“We all have the telemetry or the times and the first thing I do ... is to look at all the laps that every car made,” said Jeff Gordon, whose fastest lap at 183.542 mph had him 22nd on the final cumulative list.<p/>“The only true way you know who's good and who's not is to look at five-, 10- and 20-lap runs of a team or a car,” Gordon said.<p/>“I think there are certain teams that are up toward the top that if they're fast now, they're going to be fast when we come back. There are some guys making qualifying runs that are outside the top 35 in points.<p/>“You've got to be careful about reading too much in that. ...Guys can put up a great first lap, but if they fall off after five laps, we're not going to worry about them too much except maybe for qualifying.” http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10298.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10298.html Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:35 EST Final cumulative top speeds from a two-day Sprint Cup Series test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with position, car number, driver, car make and speed:<p/>1. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 186.761 mph<p/>2. (84) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 185.752<p/>3. (5) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 185.344<p/>4. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 185.217<p/>5. (41) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 185.058<p/>6. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 185.008<p/>7. (66) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 184.824<p/>8. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 184.729<p/>9. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 184.653<p/>10. (20) Tony Stewart, Toyota, 184.603<p/>11. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 184.521<p/>12. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 184.451<p/>13. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 184.250<p/>14. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 184.106<p/>15. (8) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 184.080<p/>16. (07) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 184.068<p/>17. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 183.974<p/>18. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 183.849<p/>19. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 183.830<p/>20. (44) Dale Jarrett, Toyota, 183.730<p/>21. (10) Patrick Carpentier, Dodge, 183.561<p/>22. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 183.542<p/>23. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 183.536<p/>24. (43) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 183.399<p/>25. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 183.169<p/>26. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 183.076<p/>27. (32) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 183.038<p/>28. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 183.107<p/>29. (34) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 182.964<p/>30. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 182.828<p/>31. (40) Dario Franchitti, Dodge, 182.692<p/>31. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 182.692<p/>33. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 182.642<p/>34. (65) Chad McCumbee, Chevrolet, 182.611<p/>35. (78) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 182.315<p/>36. (15) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 182.260<p/>37. (28) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 181.959<p/>38. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 181.763<p/>39. (01) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 181.714<p/>40. (27) Jacques Villeneuve, Toyota, 181.696<p/>41. (70) Jeremy Mayfield, Chevrolet, 181.659<p/>42. (22) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 181.653<p/>43. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 181.519<p/>44. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 181.470<p/>45. (96) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 181.099<p/>46. (7) Robby Gordon, Ford, 180.832<p/>46. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 180.832<p/>48. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 179.444<p/>49. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford, 178.814<p/>50. (21) Jon Wood, Ford, 178.737 http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10272.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10272.html Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:12 EST LAS VEGAS – A mix-up over memorabilia has created hurt feelings with Dale Earnhardt Jr., while his former team claims it’s all a misunderstanding.<p/> Earnhardt Jr. said Monday he’s upset that all signs of his stint at Dale Earnhardt Inc. had allegedly been removed from the shop. First told of the absence of his memorabilia last week, he originally said he didn’t care.<p/> But at the first day of testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. said time to think about it had made him mad. He said the team members that were part of his Daytona 500 victory and two Busch Series championships should be recognized at the shop.<p/> “It sort of hurt my feelings that it’s sort of a hack at even the guys that are still there and have worked on that car,” the driver said.<p/>“To not see the accolades or any sort of appreciation for the work that they did, and they’re still there.”<p/>The absence of Earnhardt Jr.-related items was noticed by media who attended a luncheon at DEI last Wednesday. The driver left his late father’s company at the end of last season, and he’ll drive for Hendrick Motorsports this year.<p/>But Max Siegel, president of DEI, said Monday that the team has Earnhardt Jr. memorabilia on display and “about nine of his old cars” had been moved off the showroom floor to make room for the luncheon.<p/> “There seems to be some confusion over memorabilia and merchandise,” Siegel said.<p/>“We no longer have a relationship with Dale Jr. or Budweiser, so we have no license, agreement or business reason to sell any of that merchandise in our gift shop. But as far as memorabilia, more than half of the showroom floor is dedicated to Dale Jr.’s history here.” http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10269.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10269.html Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:55 EST Speeds from Monday’s Sprint Cup test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with position, car number, driver, car make and speed:<p/>1. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 183.580 mph<p/>2. (20) Tony Stewart, Toyota, 182.426<p/>3. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 182.119<p/>4. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 181.830<p/>5. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 181.482<p/>6. (07) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 181.360<p/>7. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 181.318<p/>8. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 181.099<p/>9. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 181.032<p/>10. (66) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 181.002<p/>11. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 180.923<p/>12. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 180.874<p/>13. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 180.844<p/>14. (5) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 180.796<p/>15. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 180.668<p/>16. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 180.584<p/>17. (43) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 180.548<p/>18. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 180.542<p/>19. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 180.367<p/>20. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 180.252<p/>21. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 180.150<p/>22. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 180.120<p/>23. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 180.108<p/>24. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 180.084<p/>25. (8) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 179.970<p/>26. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 179.671<p/>27. (65) Chad McCumbee, Chevrolet, 179.653<p/>28. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 179.575<p/>29. (44) Dale Jarrett, Toyota, 179.575<p/>30. (15) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 179.575<p/>31. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 179.515<p/>32. (70) Jeremy Mayfield, Chevrolet, 179.468<p/>33. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 179.444<p/>34. (41) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 179.420<p/>35. (28) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 179.348<p/>36. (7) Robby Gordon, Ford, 179.039<p/>37. (01) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 178.926<p/>38. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 178.921<p/>39. (22) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 178.891<p/>40. (32) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 178.790<p/>41. (78) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 178.743<p/>42. (96) J.J. (Yeley, Toyota, 178.636<p/>43. (10) Patrick Carpentier, Dodge, 178.359<p/>44. (84) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 178.277<p/>45. (34) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 178.136<p/>46. (27) Jacques Villeneuve, Toyota, 178.018<p/>47. (21) Jon Wood, Ford, 176.725<p/>48. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 176.551<p/>49. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford, 175.747<p/>50. (40) Dario Franchitti, Dodge, 175.410 http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10268.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/10268.html Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:04 EST Strong winds made for challenging conditions on the first of two days of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway test. <p/>Rookies Sam Hornish Jr. Dario Franchitti and Regan Smith and second-year Cup driver David Ragan all damaged cars in on-track incidents in the morning session.<p/>Kyle Busch’s lap at 183.580 mph in his No. 18 Toyota in the afternoon session was the day’s best, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart at 182.426 mph.<p/>Carl Edwards, in a Ford, was next at 182.119, with Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounding out the top five. http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/9164.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/9164.html Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:34 EST AVONDALE, Ariz. - Nextel Cup driver Kyle Busch took an unexpected early exit from a planned Super Late Model feature race late Saturday night at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.<p/> Busch, who had to start from the rear of the field, had moved into a battle for second place with driver Shelby Thompson on Lap 96 of 150 when Thompson wrecked Busch.<p/> Track spokesman Jeff Motley said track rules require all cars involved in a caution to restart at the rear of the field, but both drivers refused. Track officials halted the race and issued an ultimatum to both drivers - they could move to the rear of the field or leave the track.<p/> Thompson elected to move to the rear of the field, while Busch drove to the pits and quit the race. Busch soon took a helicopter ride to the Las Vegas airport and returned to Phoenix for Sunday's Cup race. <p/> Busch ended up credited with a 19th-place finish, while Taylor Barton won the race and Thompson finished 17th. The 22-year-old Las Vegas native has already won Craftsman Truck and Busch series races at Phoenix this weekend. http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/7330.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/7330.html Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:48 EDT LAS VEGAS – Pole-winner Travis Kvapil broke away from a tight pack with four laps to go and held on Saturday night to win the Smith’s Las Vegas 350, while former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve was 21st in his Craftsman Truck Series debut.<p/> Kvapil pulled away from Johnny Benson and Jon Wood at the end to match Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday for the series lead with his fourth victory of the year.<p/> “It was sort of an amazing finish,” Kvapil said. “Those last handful of laps I was running wide open on the outside of turns one and two, but the 23 (Benson) could run wide open on the bottom. It just made for some great racing.<p/> “The 21 (Wood) got loose once under me and I heard him pedal the gas, doing everything he could to not wreck us but still go for the victory. Those guys did an amazing job, and we ran a great race for everybody.”<p/> Skinner finished 13th to take over the season points lead from Hornaday, who placed 22nd. Skinner, with 3,070 points, has a three-point lead over Hornaday, who fell out of fourth place following a front-tire blowout with 10 laps left.<p/> Benson was second, followed by Wood, Terry Cook and Erik Darnell.<p/> Wood led a race-high 49 laps, while Todd Bodine led 45 laps and Kvapil was in front for 29 – laps 6-22 and the 12 of the final 13.<p/> “We were a little bit tight during the first half of the race,” Kvapil said. “I was trying to run the bottom of the race track through one and two, but my truck wasn’t set up good enough to get through the bumps like I needed.<p/> “So I searched around a little bit. It took me a little while to figure out (how to work turns one and two). I found out that I should run the outside lane; just go around them worked for me. I knew I was better than them through turns one and two after a few laps (after the final restart). It seems like both of them would try and hold the bottom of the racetrack really tight, and I could really keep the momentum up on the outside, roll through and carry a lot of speed.”<p/> Villeneuve qualified seventh on Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile tri-oval, and was running 16th after 30 laps. But the Canadian star got into the rear of Brian Scott’s car on turn two of lap 46 and dropped back to 25th after pitting on lap 48 so his crew could repair the damage. Villeneuve finished a lap down and never cracked the top 20 after the accident.<p/> “I was running high and I ended up getting sideways,” Villeneuve said. “You can actually slide those trucks a lot without crashing (into the wall), so that’s quite good. I’m surprised because it wasn’t a big hit at all, but it did significant damage. I didn’t expect so much damage, so that’s something to learn.” http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/6968.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/6968.html Sat, 15 Sep 2007 10:32 EDT LOUDON, N.H. - Here comes another one.<p/>Former Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League champion Buddy Lazier will make his NASCAR debut in the Sept. 22 Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway driving for Billy Ballew Motorsports.<p/>Lazier has some experience in Trucks, having taken part in a test session with Ballew at Charlotte in 2005, and also competed four times at the track in the IndyCar Series with a best finish of third in 2000.<p/> “The opportunity arose for us to race in Las Vegas and I am extremely excited. They are racers on that team and to me it’s a perfect fit, and I feel right at home with the whole team,” Lazier said. <p/>“I’ve driven at the track in Las Vegas, but with the old configuration so I’ll be studying up on last year’s race and be looking forward to a lot of seat time during practice. Obviously, I’d love to continue racing in a top-tier NASCAR series.”<p/>Lazier joins open wheel drivers Sam Hornish Jr., Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier, who have started to explore NASCAR careers this season. http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3322.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3322.html Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:59 EDT <strong><span class="subhead">Observations</span></strong><p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span>It is unbelievable how hard NASCAR fans look to find evidence that a driver is getting favorable treatment. When a tire rolled from <strong>Jimmie Johnson</strong>'s pit stall on the final stop at Las Vegas, a NASCAR official stopped it and a crew member came to get it. That happens on virtually every pit stop. NASCAR officials are there to ensure safety as well as to look for violations, and it's not safe to have tires rolling loose. Johnson stayed in his pit box until the tire was under control and lost two positions on the track as a result. Nobody else would have been penalized under those circumstances. Johnson got no special treatment, and no call was the right call.<p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span><strong>Tony </strong><strong>Stewart </strong>was among several drivers who said competitors ought to be consulted when tracks consider changes like the ones made at Las Vegas. Boy, is that a bad idea. If drivers built the tracks, you'd have 25 Michigan International Speedways and, maybe, 25 fans, total, across the country. Tracks should be built for the fans. They pay to get in to watch drivers, who get paid to race and meet the challenges put before them.<p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span>You wonder if the people who run International Speedway Corp. tracks are embarrassed when they see how much money Speedway Motorsports Inc. spends to upgrade its facilities. Actually, it's more accurate to say you wonder how they could not be embarrassed by that.<p/><strong><span class="subhead">Elevator</span></strong><p/><strong>EASTERN TIME ZONE</strong> <p/>Barring weather complications in Atlanta, a Nextel Cup race could end before dark in Charlotte on Sunday.<p/><strong>ROBBY GORDON</strong><p/>He's 14th in points after three races, but <strong>Ward Burton </strong>and <strong>Casey Mears</strong> didn't like the way Gordon raced them last weekend.<p/><strong>TOYOTA</strong><p/>You had to expect first-year hurdles, but without <strong>Dale Jarret</strong><strong>t</strong>'s former champion's provisional, six of seven Camrys would have failed to make the Las Vegas field.<p/><strong>ROOKIES</strong><p/><strong>David Ragan </strong>is leading the rookie standings and has the only top-10 finish, a fifth at Daytona, among the candidates.<p/><strong><span class="subhead">By the Numbers</span></strong><p/><strong><span class="subhead">1,421</span></strong><p/>Races since all the top-10 starters failed to finish in the top 10, as happened Sunday at Las Vegas. The last time that happened, according to LTPicks.com, was July 4, 1965, at Daytona.<p/><strong><span class="subhead">47</span></strong><p/>Percentage by which the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 outdrew the NCAA men's basketball tournament selection show in the television ratings. The race got a 6.3 rating for Fox. The selection show got a 4.3 on CBS. It's the third straight year the Las Vegas race has beaten the selection show in the ratings.<p/><strong><span class="subhead">60</span></strong><p/>Forecast chance of rain Friday at Atlanta, meaning some potentially anxious moments for teams needing to make the field through qualifying. Time trials are scheduled for 7 p.m., however, and the weather is expected to get better as the day goes on. : Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, 2 p.m.<p/><strong><span class="subhead">Notes and News</span></strong><p/><strong><span class="subhead">Marlin looking for a change in fortunes</span></strong><p/><strong>Sterling Marlin </strong>seemed ready to break a string of bad luck Sunday, having run in the top 10 pretty much all afternoon in the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400.<p/>But 16 laps from the end, Marlin's No. 14 Chevrolet lost power. The motor was gone, and with it Marlin's chances for a good finish. He wound up 34th.<p/>"You can't always blame things on bad luck, but we've had our share of it since the end of last year," Marlin said.<p/>In his past eight starts, Marlin has encountered some difficulty.<p/>It started at Martinsville, Va., in October, when he was black-flagged and ordered to have something dangling from his car's rear bumper removed. When he pitted, nothing could be found.<p/>He was in a wreck with 16 laps left at Atlanta, got wrecked again the next two weeks at Texas and Phoenix and finished the year with an engine failure at Homestead (Fla.). He had a shot at a top-10 in Daytona this year, but got caught in the last-lap crash and wrecked as he took the checkered flag in 17th. He then cut a tire and crashed at California.<p/><strong><span class="subhead">McMurray looks to build on top-10</span></strong><p/><strong>Jamie McMurray</strong>'s10th-place finish at Las Vegas was his best finish in 16 races in the No. 26 Ford for Roush Racing."When things are going bad, you just have to keep your head up," McMurray said. "It's harder to do than what you would think, but you just always try to find a positive out of everything that's happened. A lot of times, in our sport, things are out of your control, and there's not a lot you can do about it, so you can't get beat up over that."<p/><strong><span class="subhead">For Jarrett, it's all about improving</span></strong><p/><strong>Dale Jarrett</strong>'s average finish in 38 Nextel Cup starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway is 13.9, the second-best success rate for the former Cup champion. His average of 13.5 in 13 tries at Indianapolis is the only one better.<p/>Jarrett, however, is off to a slow start in Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 44 Toyota. He's used provisionals to start all three races and is looking for a top-20 finish.<p/>"We know the biggest thing is we have to go back and work on our bodies," Jarrett said. "We've got to get some more downforce in these cars. We are just not capable of doing the things that these other guys are doing with their cars."<p/><strong><span class="subhead">Darlington: Oh, say, can you sing?</span></strong><p/>Darlington Raceway is looking for a talented fan to sing the national anthem before the U.S. Auto Club's Silver Crown series race at the South Carolina track May 10.Candidates must submit an audition CD or cassette by mail or an MP3 file by e-mail before March 30. Mail submissions to Darlington Raceway, Attention: Cathy Elliott, P.O. Box 500, Darlington, S.C. 29540, or e-mail to <a href="mailto:celliott@darlingtonraceway.com">celliott@darlingtonraceway.com</a>.<p/>Three finalists will be chosen to come to Darlington for its media day April 11. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The finalists will perform, and Nextel Cup driver <strong>Kasey Kahne </strong>will choose the winner.<p/><strong><span class="subhead">This and that</span></strong><p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span><strong>Laura Lorene Myers</strong>, the widow of NASCAR pioneer <strong>Bobby Myers </strong>and mother of longtime Richard Childress Racing crewman <strong>Danny </strong><strong>"Chocolate"</strong><strong>Myer</strong><strong>s</strong>, died this week in Lexington, N.C. She was 76.<p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span>Thirteen tracks in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series will open their seasons in March, including Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, and Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, S.C. this weekend. Hickory Motor Speedway and Concord Motorsport Park will get going March 24.<p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span><strong>Jeff Gordon</strong>, <strong>Dave Blaney </strong>and <strong>Reed Sorenson </strong>tested tires at Darlington on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Sorenson's teammate, <strong>Juan Pablo Montoya</strong>, took his first laps on the track in Sorenson's car. Nextel Cup Series director <strong>John Darby </strong>said there is no problem with Montoya getting a partial test because Goodyear controls tire tests. http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3308.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3308.html Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:49 EDT The coverage of the Las Vegas 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend scored a 6.3 rating with a 13 share, an increase of two percent from last year’s race. The telecast also outdrew the NCAA Selection Show on CBS by 47 percent.<p/>The figures, released by Nielsen Media Research, show that NASCAR on Fox was the highest-rated sports telecast of the weekend. This was also the third-consecutive year that NASCAR has outdrawn the NCAA Selection Show. http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3305.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3305.html Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:34 EDT That’s Racin’ ranks the top 40 teams in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series following the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Rankings based on team performance and potential. Each team’s previous ranking is in parentheses:) <p/><b>1. (5) Jimmie Johnson – car No. 48</b> <p/>Adapted best to conditions at Las Vegas. That bodes well for the rest of this season. <p/><b>2. (2) Matt Kenseth – car No. 17</b> <p/>Closed out the Las Vegas race with charge that carried him to another top-five finish. <p/><b>3. (3) Mark Martin – car No. 01</b> <p/>This is the first time he’s ever had three straight top-five finishes to start a season. <p/><b>4. (8) Jeff Gordon – car No. 24</b> <p/>Didn’t win at Las Vegas, but this team did show that this car can run up front again. <p/><b>5. (1) Kevin Harvick – car No. 29</b> <p/>Never any kind of factor Las Vegas, which has to be a little troubling for this team. <p/><b>6. (4) Tony Stewart – car No. 20</b> <p/>Hated the way he had to race at Vegas, but still managed to come away with a top 10. <p/><b>7. (6) Jeff Burton – car No. 31</b> <p/>Late mechanical issue ruined what otherwise could have been winning day at Vegas. <p/><b>8. (10) Denny Hamlin – car No. 11</b> <p/>Kept digging and kept digging to get his third-place finish on the new Vegas track. <p/><b>9. (7) Kyle Busch – car No. 5</b> <p/>Given the adversity this team fought at Las Vegas, ninth-place finish wasn’t that bad. <p/><b>10. (9) Kurt Busch – car No. 2</b> <p/>Speeding penalty on green-flag pit stop wiped out changes for a top-10 run at Vegas. <p/>11. (18) Carl Edwards – car No. 99 <p/>12. (14) Ryan Newman – car No. 12 <p/>13. (17) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – car No. 8 <p/>14. (12) Kasey Kahne – car No. 9 <p/>15. (13) Greg Biffle – car No. 16 <p/>16. (11) Clint Bowyer – car No. 07 <p/>17. (15) J.J. Yeley – car No. 18 <p/>18. (16) David Stremme – car No. 40 <p/>19. (20) Elliott Sadler – car No. 19 <p/>20. (25) Bobby Labonte – car No. 43 <p/>21. (19) David Gilliland – car No. 38 <p/>22. (26) Jamie McMurray – car No. 26 <p/>23. (21) Joe Nemechek – car No. 13 <p/>24. (27) Ricky Rudd – car No. 88 <p/>25. (28) Tony Raines – car No. 96 <p/>26. (31) Robby Gordon – car No. 7 <p/>27. (24) Casey Mears – car No. 25 <p/>28. (35) Martin Truex Jr. – car No. 1 <p/>29. (36) Juan Pablo Montoya – car No. 42 <p/>30. (22) David Ragan – car No. 6 <p/>31. (34) Reed Sorenson – car No. 41 <p/>32. (30) Dave Blaney – car No. 22 <p/>33. (23) Johnny Sauter – car No. 70 <p/>34. (37) Sterling Marlin – car No. 14 <p/>35. (32) Jeff Green – car No. 66 <p/>36. (33) Scott Riggs – car No. 10 <p/>37. (38) Ken Schrader/Jon Wood – car No. 21 <p/>38. (39) Dale Jarrett – car No. 44 <p/>39. (NR) Kyle Petty – car No. 45 <p/>40. (29) Brian Vickers – car No. 83 http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3299.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3299.html Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:13 EDT LAS VEGAS -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. was running toward the front pretty much all day until a simple mistake knocked him out of a top-10 finish.<p/>When Kasey Kahne wrecked on Lap 251, Earnhardt Jr. followed Jeff Burton onto pit lane. Burton, however, had a problem with his car and was pitting before pit road was open because he needed to have the problem addressed despite the penalty he would draw.<p/>Earnhardt Jr. was merely coming in for fresh tires and simply didn’t notice the red light indicating pit road wasn’t open. He was put back to 13th for the restart with 11 laps to go an only made it back up to 11th.<p/>“I didn’t even think if it was closed or open,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The No. 31 (Burton) was coming in and I was thinking he was on the lead lap with me. I’m thinking he’s thinking what I’m thinking – let’s get tires and try to win.<p/>“But we had a good car and I am real proud of that. I must happy we got to finish one finally.” Earnhardt Jr. wrecked at Daytona and lost an engine at California. He moved up 12 spots from 40th to 28th in the points with Sunday’s result. http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3298.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3298.html Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:10 EDT Jimmie Johnson’s victory means that cars owned by Rick Hendrick have now won four races at Las Vegas. Roush Racing has five Cup victories here. Every other car owner, combined, has one.<p/>Hendrick cars finished first, second and ninth (Kyle Busch) on Sunday while Roush had Matt Kenseth third, Carl Edwards sixth and Jamie McMurray 10th.<p/>“It was hard to drive by yourself, but it was almost impossible when you were side by side,” said Kenseth, who said his team kept battling all day to make his car better and help him get a great finish on a tough day. “I think the racing is going to be great here in the future. It’s just going to take for them to ease up a little bit on the tire, make it a little softer, where we can race better.” http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3297.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3297.html Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:07 EDT LAS VEGAS -- Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin are the only drivers to finish in the top 10 in each of this year’s first three races, but Gordon found it difficult to be completely happy with a second-place finish Sunday.<p/>“I am happy with the start to the season, but I am disappointed because I thought we had the car to beat today,” the four-time Nextel Cup champion said.<p/>Gordon was among those not pleased with the conditions he had race under on the new Las Vegas track this weekend.<p/>“In turns 3 and 4 I felt like I was on ice from Lap 1 to the last lap,” he said. “When I was behind Jimmie there at the end I was just trying to keep from trying to spin out.”<p/>Gordon said the blame for what happened should be shared by the track, the teams and Goodyear. More importantly, he said, all of those parties need to work together to make it better.<p/>“We have to come up with a solution because there’s not reason for us to show up at a track and be white-knuckle all weekend like we were here,” he said. http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3296.html http://www.thatsracin.com/142/story/3296.html Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:03 EDT LAS VEGAS -- Denny Hamlin said the only place he could see the leaders for much of Sunday’s race was in his rear-view mirror as they came up to try to lap him. But Hamlin hung in and came through the pack in the late going to finish third.<p/>“This was a good run for us, just a good place to start,” Hamlin said. “I don’t feel like we have that feeling back that we had last year. It took us a long time last year before we got on a roll, that’s just a characteristic of our team.”