Results tagged “Las Vegas Motor Speedway” from Haddock in the Paddock

Matt Kenseth was a victim at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It looked like he was on his way to a top-five finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Vegas, perhaps even a win, when Jeff Gordon clipped him and took him out of the race.
Gordon ended up crashing his car on an infield wall and Kenseth limped to a 20th-place finish.
Kenseth said Gordon was breaking a rule, laying back on the restart and creating dangerous racing conditions for the drivers behind him. And Kenseth blamed NASCAR for not enforcing that rule.
“They’ve kind of got a rule that they don’t really, to my knowledge, ever police of laying back more than a car length and Gordon is famous for laying back," said Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "He was laying back a lot, so I laid back so he wouldn’t pass me and then the 99 took off late because he saw everybody laying back."
Carl Edwards, in the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, won the race, his second in a row. He beat Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, and Greg Biffle in the No. 16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.
"I got a run on the 88 and the 24 (Gordon) got a run on me and we kind of split him coming off two and then the 24 just wrecked me," Kenseth said. “We were the same as the 99, but we just got too tight at the end and I couldn’t run with him at the end when we needed to. I just got too tight.”
Kenseth had no kind words for Gordon, even though it looked like Earnhardt Jr. contributed to the collision when he spun his tires on the restart. Gordon took responsibility for causing the crash and suffered a nasty collision that ripped the radiator out of his car.
“It’s disappointing, but it all started back on the restart," Kenseth said. "Jeff is kind of famous for laying back and NASCAR has a rule that you can’t lay back more than a car length or you can be black-flagged, but it’s usually not enforced, so I saw him laying back. I knew he was gonnna get a run on me, so I laid back a little bit. Carl went late and that kind of started the chain and we were three-wide going into one. We came off two and I was up as high as I thought I could get and Jeff just came across. Whether it was on purpose or not, it just kind of wiped us out.”

Roush Fenway Racing had three cars finish in the top 10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Yates Racing had a top-10 car, giving Ford four cars in the top 10. Chevrolet had four cars in the top 10, too. Toyota and Dodge each had one.
Carl Edwards won the race in the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. Greg Biffle in the No. 16 for Roush, was third, David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 Ford for Roush, was a suprising sixth and Travis Kvapil in the No. 28 for Yates Racing, was eighth.
The results in the race were a little misleading. Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth, another driver for Roush, collided bringing out a red flag stopping the race with four laps to go. They would have easily been in the top 10, probably the top five, if they had not crashed.
Still, it was another impressive showing for Ford, especially those from the Roush Fenway Racing team.
"Boy, it will be real interesting to sit down and read everything that everybody is going to write about domination, what the state of competition is in Sprint Cup racing," said Jack Roush, owner of Roush Fenway Racing. "I'll do my very best not to read that.
It was the second straight Cup win for Edwards, who also leads the Cup Series standings after three races.
"We need to just maintain focus," Roush said. "We aren't as good as it would appear to be for having won the last two races, and we weren't as bad as it looked like we were when we couldn't win a race for part of last year."

Jeff Gordon had a chance to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but with five laps to go, he hit Matt Kenseth and spun into an infield barrier that ripped out the radiator in his car.
Gordon said it was the hardest hit he's ever experienced in NASCAR.
“I’m OK but I’m going to be really sore tomorrow," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "It was a really, really hard hit. It took me a while to be able to catch my breath and to get out. I looked down and I saw where the transmission was and it was no longer there. That’s probably the hardest I’ve ever hit and you know it was my fault."
Gordon was trailing Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was in second place at the time, on one of the last restarts in the race. Gordon and Kenseth passed Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth went high, Gordon low, and when they cleared Earnhardt Jr., Gordon slid up into Kenseth.
"We were all pushing so hard there," Gordon said. "I got a little bit tight underneath Matt and turned it up into him. I was trying to stay out of hitting him after he spun and it just turned me sideways. I couldn’t have hit the wall at a worse angle. It really tore the thing up. I’m really disappointed right now in this speedway for not having a soft wall back there. And even being able to get to that part of the wall shouldn’t happen."
Gordon had one message he wanted to relay to Bruton Smith, the owner of the track and founder of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns a number of tracks on the Cup Series circuit.
“I’ve got two things to say: Bruton, you need a soft wall and to change the wall back there on the back straightaway," Gordon said. "Thankfully Hendrick Motorsports and everyone with this DuPont/Nicorette Chevrolet builds an unbelievable race car because that’s the hardest I’ve ever hit.
“But I’m more thankful that I’ve got an awesome team with this DuPont/Nicorette Chevrolet because they build a safe race car. I’ll tell you what, several years ago those types of hits you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

Carl Edwards survived a wayward tire and a red flag with four laps to go to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
But it might not be over yet.
NASCAR officials found a cover missing from the oil reserve encasment on Edwards' car during post-race inspection. The car, as are all winning cars, is being sent to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., for further inspection.
According to The Sporting News, five Nationwide Series team were penalized by NASCAR for committing similar infractions during the race at Daytona International Speedway. Those teams were penalized 25 points, fined and had their crew chiefs suspended for six races.
If NASCAR confirms its finding on Edwards' car, his team will more than likely face similar penalties to the ones the Nationwide Series teams received.
For the time being, Edwards won his second straight Cup race and leads the Cup Series standings after three races.
"You know, for me personally, there's nothing else I can do in my life that gives me that feeling of anticipation and anxiety and excitement," said Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.
Edwards won the rain-delayed Cup race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana before winning the race in Las Vegas.
"I just enjoy it. I mean, that's it. That's what we do this for, is for the challenge," Edwards said. "Man, I just, I really like it. It's fun for me. I like those moments when, you know, it's really cool to come off turn four, see all those fans standing up. You know you got the best drivers in the world behind you. That's when it's on the line, with two laps to go. I mean, I like it."

Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing were supposed to be the teams to beat in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season.
Well, Penske Racing and Roush Fenway Racing have already done that. It's beginning to look like by the time someone from Hendrick or Gibbs wins a Cup race, it will be too late to matter.
With the Chase, it's never too late.
But still, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin have had their share of problems in the first two races of the year.
Gordon had handling problems at Daytona, and luckily blew an engine on the last lap of the Cup race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, which ended under caution and with Gordon in third.
"I never really get too concerned when it comes to engines. Hendrick Motorsports is so good and so thorough and we have problems, like anybody else, but nobody analyzes them and fixes them faster and better and gives us more confidence every week than what they do," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorspors. "So we certainly hope we don’t have that issue again. None of our other cars had the issue and it might have just been an isolated problem. It was a broken crankshaft; we did find that out. That hasn’t happened to us for about three years.”
Johnson spun out in Daytona, only to rebound with a strong second-place finish at Fontana. But Hendrick drivers don't count strong second-place runs as anything to celebrate, unless the driver is Casey Mears.
Earnhardt Jr. wrecked with Mears, another one of the Hendrick drivers, and Hamlin at Fontana and limped to a 40th place finish. Finding disaster at Fontana is nothing new to Earnhardt Jr., but wrecking with teammates is something a little new.
Hamlin was 41st at Fontana and 17th in Daytona. Not how a Chase driver wants to start the season.
Kyle Busch, the newcomer to Joe Gibbs Racing from Hendrick Motorsports, and Tony Stewart have been the bright spots for either teams. But both drivers have thrown away some opportunities. Busch hit the wall at Fontana and might have turned a winning car into a fourth-place car. Stewart threw away a chance to win the Daytona 500 choosing the wrong drafting line on the last lap.
So much for Hendrick vs. Gibbs.
For the time being, this Cup season belong to Penske and Roush.

Track owner Bruton Smith, in Las Vegas for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, said he wants to swap races at his Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Labor Day races at the newly named Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, according to The Sporting News.
That would give Auto Club Speedway a race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in October and move the Labor Day NASCAR Cup race, once known as the Southern 500 when it was a Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, back to the South.
"That's exactly what we're proposing," Smith told The Sporting News. "It's the thing to do. I like the reception we got (from NASCAR), because that would help California tremendously.
"I hope that we'll have an answer in the near future. If it happens, it will be next year."
Smith also told The Sporting News that he is interested in purchasing the National Hot Rod Association. A deal involving HD Partners Acquisition Corp. purchasing the NHRA fell through last month.

Kyle Busch won the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was the first pole for Toyota this year and the third for the engiune manufacturer since joining the Cup ranks last year.
Ten Toyota drivers qualified for the Las Vegas race, the most Toyotas in any Cup race to date.
Busch also leads the Cup Series standings, another first for Toyota.
"It's just been crazy the way things have been going," said Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I'm at a loss for words almost because I've talked about how well we're running, and how great things have been going. Sooner or later you wonder when the fall is going to happen. I'm a pretty good surfer, so as long as this wave is here I'm going to ride it.”
Dave Blaney, driver of the No. 22 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing, won the first pole for Toyota at New Hampshire International Speedway. Michael Waltrip, driver of the No. 55 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, won the second pole for Toyota at Talladega Superspeedway.
Of the 10 Toyota drivers who qualified, the most surprising had to be Mike Skinner in the No. 27 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. The car was originally supposed to be driven by Jacques Villeneuve, but he crashed in one of the qualifying races for the Daytona 500. Skinner was supposed to be in the car for the race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, but rain washed out qualifying. This was the first time Skinner was able to qualify the car for a race. He'll start the Vegas race fifth.
"You're in a real unique situation here -- you can't go for it, but you got to go for it," Skinner said. "You're damned if you go for it and damned if you don't in this deal. I don't like to be conservative in qualifying and it's funny because I had to be conservative and go for it all at the same time. It's kind of a strange happening there.”

Carl Edwards, winner of Monday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the newly named Auto Club Speedway, will have an untested car for this weekend's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
But if preseason testing is any indication, Edwards said his Vegas car should be better than his Fontana car.
"Similar to Fontana, we had a really good test at Vegas," said Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "I feel like our Vegas test was better than the California test, so I’m really looking forward to this weekend."
Bob Osbourne, the crew chief for Edwards' team, said because they raced their test car at Fontana, there wasn't enough time to make changes and prepare it for the Vegas race.
"We had a really good test at Las Vegas earlier this month, but since we raced our test car at Fontana last week, we have to bring a brand new car to Vegas because there’s no time for turnaround," Osbourne said. "We didn’t test the car we’re bringing this weekend, but it’s exactly like the car we tested and raced in California. With the new cars, we can’t turn them around as fast as with the old ones, so we went back and built an identical car to our Fontana car."
It took two days to complete the Cup race at Auto Club Speedway. Edwards won the fourth straight February Cup race for Roush at Auto Club Speedway, but a Roush driver has not won a race at Vegas since 2004. Matt Kenseth won that race and Jimmie Johnson, a driver for Hendrick Motorsports, has won the past three.
Edwards has all the confidence in his crew chief to give him another car capable of winning.
"Bob is a really smart guy and has done a great job with my cars lately, so I know whatever we unload will be good,” Edwards said.
Osbourne said he expects the Vegas car to be better than the car the team raced at Fontana.
“Hopefully our car will be just as good as last week’s car – if not better," Osbourne said. "If that’s the case, we should have another good weekend."

Tony Stewart says the real start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is at the newly named Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
For Jimmie Johnson, it's at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Johnson has won the past three Cup races at Vegas, site of this weekend's NASCAR races. Last year, it was the site of his first win en route to his second straight Cup championship. The year before that, it was the site of his second victory after winning the Daytona 500.
“It would be great to get that fourth win, but we won’t approach this weekend any differently than we would at a track where we’ve never won," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "We go into every weekend hoping to win, but so does every other team out there."
The car his team is taking to Vegas has never raced before. The team tested it at Gateway International Speedway in Missouri last year. Apparently Johnson's team decided not to race the car it tested at Vegas in January.
“I have every confidence in the equipment and the crew to get the job done, but anyone who’s ever been to Vegas will tell you you’ve got to have some luck on your side, too," Johnson said. "If you’ve ever watched a poker tournament on TV, you know even the most experienced players can get beat. We won’t take anything for granted.”
Johnson said at the Vegas test, he could attack the track with his car, and that the track was widening and developing a middle lane, if not an outside lane.
"So as we get into that weekend and all that activity on track, I hope that the track really widens out," Johnson said. "I think it’s going to be a better show for us to put on because we can really be aggressive with the cars. At California Speedway, there’s not a lot of banking to tiptoe around, but at Vegas you can really charge.”
Johnson is coming off a second-place finish at the newly named Auto Club Speedway, formerly California Speedway. He finished 27th at Daytona.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are in Las Vegas testing and preparing for the upcoming season. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sam Hornish Jr. and Denny Hamlin met with reporters during the test session Monday at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Some of the questions directed at Dale Earnhardt Jr. were about the Daytona 500.
Earnhardt Jr. has one Daytona 500 victory to his credit. His father, Dale Earnhardt, won the Daytona 500 only once in his career. And it came late in his career, after repeated near misses and hard luck.
Earnhardt Jr. said racing for as long as his father did without winning the Daytona 500 was one thing that frightened him.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and crew cheif Tony Eury Jr. prepare for testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

"It scared me to death that I would be racing for 20 years still trying to get the win," Earnhardt Jr. said. "How many times will you have the opportunity, be in good cars, to be able to do it? I always worried that I would lose all the Daytona 500s in the cars that I should have won it in. That's kind of how it went for him."
Earnhardt Jr. won his only Daytona 500 driving a car for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team his late father founded. Earnhardt won his only Daytona 500 while driving for Richard Childress Racing. The one race that Earnhardt Jr. remembers being particularly difficult to watch was the 1990 Daytona 500, when Earnhardt cut a tire on the last lap while leading.
"The 1990 Daytona 500, when he cut that tire on the backstretch, that was one of the hardest things to understand," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I was a sophomore in high school, old enough to really kind of understand what was going on around me. I just couldn't believe that – I know there's worse things that can happen to you, and there's people that deal with worse, people that have it hard.
"But, dang, man, I wanted that race so bad. That was such a rough way to go. I didn't know what kind of person he was going to be when he got home, whether my daddy was going to be different the rest of his life."
Apparently, the elder Earnhardt took it well. Well enough as can be expected. It made an impression on Earnhardt Jr. and taught him how to deal with adversity.
"You know, he dealt with it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "That made me admire him more. You know, that made me hopefully a better person just experiencing that and being that close to him and watching him go through it. When I deal with those type of things, when you deal with losses, when things don't go your way, maybe I'm better off having witnessed him do it."
Earnhardt Jr. still has a hard time believing he already has one Daytona 500 victory and he's glad he doesn't have to endure the struggles his father did with that race.
"But, yeah, I mean, I went into my first Daytona 500 with a pretty decent car," Earnhardt Jr. said. "After that we just kept getting better. I think I've had cars that should have won that race about every time I've been in it. That would have been frustrating. That's what I was scared of, that I would look back over 20 years without the trophy saying, 'Dang, I had 18, 15 opportunities, 15 cars that could have won it, and I didn't get it done.' That would be hard to live with.
"But, I tell you, I didn't think I was gonna win it. I damn sure didn't think I was going to win it in my fifth try. That's crazy."