2017 NASCAR Week 3: Las Vegas

Kobalt 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

By Richard Tix

Well hey would you look at that, it's NASCAR heading back West after a fun start to the 2017 season. Coincidentally rumors started swirling before Atlanta that Las Vegas might be getting a second date on the schedule soon. I'm not sure how I feel about a second date when I would like seeing places like Iowa Speedway and maybe a road course added, but I have always said NASCAR could move the Vegas race to later in the year to switch up the playoff schedule every few years. Really, if I were to choose a West Coast oval to get a second date it would be Auto Club Speedway, but the choice isn't up to me.

Anyways, enough talk about the make up of the schedule, when the time comes that can be talked about more. Lets get into the facts about the West Coast swing and which teams will come out winners before we come back to the south.

So far two Ford's have graced Victory Lane in two races -- both from different teams. Not only that but Fords make up six spots in the top ten in points early in the season. It's too early to make any conclusions, but the West Coast swing will be a big one for Chevy and Toyota as they try and gain back some lost ground. It won't be easy since Ford has won four of the last nine races here at Vegas and Kevin Harvick (now Ford) has had a strangle hold on Phoenix. Spotlight might be on Auto Club for a non Ford to make some noise.

So, my biggest storyline of the West Coast swing will be can guys like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin bounce back? Or will Ford's continue to pave the way with Harvick, Ku. Busch, Keselowski, and Logano gaining more points to separate an early lead from the others?

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Brad Keselowski- BK won last years LVMS Wind 500 brought to you by The Wind.. In all seriousness BK now has two wins in his last three Vegas races. He also has four straight top ten's and a pole to add to those stats.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Junior has six straight top ten finishes at LVMS and eight in his last nine starts here. The only thing missing is a win for the No. 88.
• Jimmie Johnson- Speaking of wins, JJ has four of them at Las Vegas. The last time he won here was 2011 but he does have four top tens (all four 6th or better) in six races since that last win.

The Middle

• Paul Menard- In the last seven races here Menard has six top 15's (the other was a 17th place finish in 2010) and three top ten's. He is often overlooked -- sometimes for good reason -- but at LVMS he is someone to keep an eye on for a strong run.

The Bad

• Aric Almirola- Eight career starts, zero top 15's, one top 20, and only four top 25's. A guy like Aric really should have a few more top 20's at a track if he wants to avoid the "Bad" list.
• Kurt Busch- "Home track." NASCAR really doesn't have any "home" track's or home track advantage, but it is always brought up when speaking about the Busch Brothers here in Vegas. Kurt only has four top ten's in 15 starts at his "home" track.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr- It's only four career starts and last year went better (12th), but Ricky hasn't shown a ton of promise here yet with finishes of 18th, 27th, and 29th to go along with his career best 12th last year.

About the Track: Las Vegas

Track Stats

• In the last eight races we've have had 7 different winners (Keselowski twice). 
• In the last nine races Ford has won four, Chevy three, and Toyota two. 
• Ford has 9 total wins at Vegas. Leading Chevy (7), Toyota (2), and Dodge (1)
• Jimmie Johnson has the most track wins here with 4 (3 straight from 2005-07)
• Only one driver has won from the Pole in 18 races. Kyle Busch in 2009
• 19 total Cup races have been run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Dale Jarrett won the inaugural Pole. Mark Martin Won the inaugural race.
• Jimmie Johnson (4), Matt Kenseth (3), Jeff Burton (2), Brad Keselowski (2), and Carl Edwards (2) are the only drivers to have multiple wins at LVMS. That's 13 wins of 19 races from only five drivers.

Track Info

• Surface - Asphalt
• Length - 1.5 miles
• Banking
• Turns- 12-20 degrees