2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 3: Las Vegas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Kobalt 400

By Richard Tix

Vegas, the Sin City, and home of big time gambling but also the home of Las Vegas Motor Speedway and high prize boxing fights. Now, normally LVMS doesn't host boxing match-ups, but Sunday they did, even if it wasn't a very good one. 

Really, most of the day was dominated by the No. 78, No. 2, and No. 24 who all spent most of the day in the top 3. Between the No. 78 and No. 2 they lead most of the afternoon and it was their race to loose.

Ironically, it was Brad Keselowski who at the time held a late lead and looked to be headed to Victory Lane who ended up losing it. With a comfortable lead something on the No. 2 car gave way and BK started to lose the lead eventually parting the way for Martin Truex Jr to take it from him and win with ease. Even though a win was stolen from the No. 2 it wasn't as if Truex wasn't deserving. In fact he had one of the best cars all day and lead a total of 150 laps on his way to wining stage one, two, and the races. 

Though the race had it's moments, overall it was a race ruled by a few cars and the comers and goers were once again ignored for the most part on TV. The real fireworks came in the final round (excuse my lame boxing pun) while Martin Truex was burning them down on the front stretch in celebration.

During that time Kyle Busch stalked down Joey Logano on pit road and looked to land a nice right hook to JoLo's jaw which initiated an all out brawl (video here at JeffGluck.com). Why you might ask? Well because Rowdy narrowed his focus in on Joey and forgot his whole pit crew was surrounding him.

This time Joey not only stood his ground and didn't run, but actually was trying to get back into the fight even though a much bigger man in a white shirt was holding him back. Meanwhile it looked like Busch eventually hit his head on a car and continued his scuffle with No. 22 pit members.

First, these two are two of the most polarizing drivers in NASCAR. Both have fan bases full of either love or hate characters. Second, both bring in past altercations and fan opinions about them along the way. So, you can imagine how this fight went over on social media. In my opinion I understood Kyle being upset and with JGR previous run in's with Joey can see him overacting. I also can see where Joey was racing hard -- as was Kyle -- and he eventually got loose and into Kyle. It didn't look like Joey tried getting into Kyle but he also wasn't lifting -- nor would most drivers because getting off of it you loose spots. All Joey was doing was chasing it up the track and Kyle was there. This is racing and both had their sides... Sometimes we need this heat to really grab folks attention that might have otherwise turned the channel. 

So, we will head into PIR with some new storylines to watch since Kyle was none to happy with Joey while leaving the track on Sunday. We already know how one JGR would handle Joey -- cough cough Matt. Would Kyle do the same? 

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 3 (Week 2)

1. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- BK was a few laps short of completing a back to back and giving Ford another win to start 2017. 
2. Chase Elliott (LW-4)- He was quiet, but for much of the day ran second or third. Chase ended the day with a 4th place average running position for the second straight race.
3. Joey Logano (LW-5)- JoLo is the only Cup driver to start 2017 with a top 10 in all three races so far.
4. Martin Truex Jr (LW-9)- What a dominate car Truex had on Sunday. Even if it involved a little late luck, Toyota finally broke through at LVMS and broke up the Ford wins.
5. Kyle Larson (LW-6)- Larson made a late move on the front of the pack Sunday. Kyle now has finished second in back to back races and is also second in points.
6. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Well, Harvick ended his day early when he had a tire go down and slammed the wall. He didn't have a comment for Goodyear, but don't let that get to you, he still had to call someone out (safety staff).
7. Kasey Kahne (LW-7)- Kahne's top 10 streak to start the year is done, but he still managed a respectful 12th place finish on Sunday. 
8. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- Blaney is 6th in points right now, yet the third Ford in points. He was fast again at Vegas and finished 7th.
9. Kyle Busch (LW-8)- 2017 has not started off well for Rowdy. However, he was running well late in the race and making a push for a top 5. This is the last break I will give him after poor finishes to start the year.
10. Matt Kenseth (LW-12)- You may have missed him, Kenseth was in a white car at Vegas, but he ended up notching a top 10 by coming on late in the race.
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-NR)- Maybe is he wouldn't have been so dang aggressive at Daytona JMac would have three top 10's to start the year? We will never know that, but it has been one heck of a start for CGR this year.
12. Kurt Busch (LW-3)- Battery issues plagued Kurt Busch all day, but past that he has had a nice start to this season in his return to Ford.

Dropped Out: Trevor Bayne (LW-11)

Just Missed: Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin