Raceday at Vegas: New tires, fast times

A little more to think about while waiting for a green flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the second stop on NASCAR's early season swing through the Pacific time zone:

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. A new tire from Goodyear and cooler temperatures produced more speed in qualifying on Friday. Eighteen cars topped last year’s pole-winning speed, which at the time was a track record. There are likely to be similar conditions for the race.

2. Several teams went right to race setups in practice Friday because of the threat of rain washing out Saturday's practices. So, don’t be surprised to see some teams that didn’t qualify particularly well – Jimmie Johnson's, for instance – to be much better in the race itself.

3. So far, the Hendrick Motorsports cars still look like the class of the field. If one of the HMS drivers – or one using HMS equipment – wins again Sunday, it’s likely to signal yet another big season for the Hendrick armada.

OBSERVATIONS

How much will the change from wing to spoiler disrupt Cup teams this season? Some drivers expect to see big differences in how the cars handle. Others don’t believe the change will alter driving styles significantly. As is usually the case, some teams are already spending time testing the car with a spoiler at non-NASCAR tracks. Will those teams come out ahead of the game? We will know in about a month or so.

Kurt Busch isn’t one to show much emotion Well, he has shown his angry side a time or two. But it was clear on Friday during his media session how much it would mean to him to win a Cup race at Las Vegas. And he seems a little jealous that younger brother Kyle accomplished that goal last season.

This is my first visit to Las Vegas in a several years and I must say the Neon Garage and reworked infield rank among the most fan-friendly track improvements I’ve seen in NASCAR. If you’re a race fan, you can pretty much get a glimpse of everything that happens at a track here.

JUST THE FACTS

Shelby American

Where: Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.

Track type: 1.5-mile, paved, banked quad-oval.

Race distance: 267 laps or 400.5 miles

When: Green flag is 3:16 p.m. Eastern.

Weather: Partly cloudy with high in the mid-60s.

TV: Coverage begins at 3 p.m. on Fox.

Radio: Performance Racing Network.

PICKS

JIM UTTER

There doesn’t seem to be much, if any, drop off in the Hendrick cars this season but that doesn’t mean Jimmie Johnson is going to win every race.

Winner: Jeff Gordon.

BOB HENRY

Playing at home can be significant for athletes in all sports. Why would racing at his home track be any different for this one?

Winner: Kurt Busch.

NOTES

Gordon: Full speed ahead

Jeff Gordon and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team wanted to start the season aggressively. Despite tough outings in the season's first two races, they don't plan to alter their strategy.

"I think for the first five races we're going to be real aggressive to try to get the wins to try to get those bonus points and try things out that are kind of unknowns to us," said Gordon, who finished 26th and 20th in the first two races.

"That's where we're going to take more risk and hope that pays off for us further down the road.

"If we go another week with a bad finish, then we might have to re-evaluate that and start getting a little more conservative and trying to make sure we get to the checkered flag and we get in there with a solid top 10."

Gordon said it's tough to balance racing for wins and bonus points in the Chase, and making sure you qualify for the chase itself.

"It's not easy and we don't have a real set game plan, but right now we feel like these first five races we're going to take more risk," he said.

New attitude at RCR

There's more to fixing problems on a race team than just mechanics. Sometimes a change in attitude is needed, Clint Bowyer says.

Bowyer is one of three Richard Childress Racing drivers in the top five in series points after two races – a great improvement over last season when the same three teams failed to make the Chase.

"I think attitude vs. performance feed off each other. In my opinion, you can't have one without the other," Bowyer said. "Everybody has worked on our attitudes; we have all had an attitude adjustment.

"You know there is a lot of pride in this sport. There is a lot of hard work that goes into what we see on Sunday. When that hard work isn't going according to plan, it is frustrating and it is easy to get down on yourself and everybody."

Talladega test open to public

Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway has opened a planned NASCAR test session next month to the public.

NASCAR is conducting a test session on March 16 to allow Cup teams to practice with spoilers in preparation for the April 25 Aaron’s 499. Officials will also use the test to determine restrictor-plate size and gear ratios for the race.

Testing begins at 9 a.m. local time and there is no admission charge.