Kyle Busch and Kenseth the most bet drivers in Las Vegas

Lots of bets to choose from in Las Vegas this week.

NASCAR IN LAS VEGAS UPDATE

At William Hill, the current favorite to win Sunday’s race in Las Vegas is Kevin Harvick (11/2). Kyle Busch, is currently being backed the most by bettors at William Hill by total future tickets (17%) while Matt Kenseth is being backed the most by total dollars wagered (28%) to win Sunday’s race. William Hill has 20+ propositions to wager on for Sunday’s race (attached).

Below are two charts showing the top 10 most popular NASCAR drivers to win this Sunday’s race by total dollars wagered and total number of future tickets at William Hill’s 105 Nevada Sports Books and on the Mobile Sports app.

Top 10 Most Popular NASCAR in Las Vegas Future Bets by total # of tickets to win the 2016 Kobalt 400:

DRIVER  @WILLIAMHILLUS	% of total # of tickets	Current odds to win 2016 Kobalt 400 (3/2/16)
KYLE BUSCH	17%	15/2
MATT KENSETH	15%	9/1
KEVIN HARVICK	8%	11/2
MARTIN TRUEX JR.	7%	10/1
CARL EDWARDS	6%	12/1
DALE EARNHARDT JR.	5%	13/2
DENNY HAMLIN	5%	12/1
KURT BUSCH	4%	12/1
JIMMIE JOHNSON	3%	6/1
KASEY KAHNE	3%	14/1

Top 10 Most Popular NASCAR in Las Vegas Future Bets by % of total dollars wagered to win 2016 Kobalt 400:

DRIVER  @WILLIAMHILLUS	% of total $ wagered	Current odds to win 2016 Kobalt 400 (3/2/16)
MATT KENSETH	28%	9/1
KYLE BUSCH	15%	15/2
KASEY KAHNE	14%	14/1
KEVIN HARVICK	6%	11/2
AUSTIN DILLON	5%	50/1
CARL EDWARDS	4%	12/1
MARTIN TRUEX JR.	4%	10/1
RICKY STENHOUSE JR.	3%	200/1
DALE EARNHARDT JR	3%	13/2
KURT BUSCH	3%	12/1

Toyota Notes & Quotes for Las Vegas

Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin lead team Toyota into Las Vegas.

HE’S COMING HOME: Camry driverKyle Busch heads to his hometown of Las Vegas as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) points leader after earning third-place results in the season’s first two events. The defending series champion also earned his first NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) victory of the season last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch became the only NSCS driver from Nevada to win at the 1.5-mile track when he drove his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 18 M&M’s Camry to victory lane in March 2009 after starting from the pole. He last visited Las Vegas in December, when the series celebrated his first, Toyota’s first and sponsor M&M’s first NSCS championship.

CLOSE TO COLORADO: New Camry team Furniture Row Racing (FRR) is based in Denver, Colorado, just 750 miles northeast of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and one of the closest events to the team’s headquarters. TRD (Toyota Racing Development), U.S.A., builds the team’s engines in Costa Mesa, California and FRR has a technical alliance with fellow Toyota team JGR, based in Huntersville, N.C. Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. sits second in NSCS driver points after finishing runner-up at Daytona and seventh at Atlanta. Last year, Truex earned a career-best result at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas track with a second-place finish and only has one finish outside the top-20 in 10 starts at the race track.

NASCAR GOES WEST: The NSCS and NXS teams head west for the first of three-straight races on the West Coast. With the long distance between the Charlotte-area race shops and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2,200 miles), Phoenix International Raceway (2,060 miles) and California’s Auto Club Speedway (2,370 miles), some teams, like Joe Gibbs Racing, will elect to keep their primary team transporters for Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlinand Matt Kenseth on the West Coast. A secondary transporter with just Camry race cars travels back and forth between the races to swap out cars. The three tracks are each unique from one another – Las Vegas is 1.5-miles with progressive 20-degree banking, Phoenix is a one-mile flat track with 9 to 11-degree banking and California is a two-mile, D-shaped oval with 14-degree banking.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Camry drivers Kyle Busch (first), Martin Truex Jr. (second), Carl Edwards (fourth) and Denny Hamlin (fifth) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings … In addition to Busch’s hometown victory in 2009, Kenseth earned the Camry’s 50th series win with his 2013 triumph at Las Vegas … Kenseth has the most top-five results (six), top-10 finishes (nine) and laps led (516) of active drivers at Las Vegas.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

With two third-place finishes to start the season, what are your thoughts heading back to Las Vegas this weekend?
“It’s much different than Atlanta last weekend, even though both tracks are the same size. Vegas is really grippy with the tire being a little harder compound and you’ve got really good speed, but then in the race it gets sunny and can get loose and slick. Once you get your car handling good, you still have a lot of speed and don’t fall off at places like Atlanta and Texas. I was fortunate enough to win there in 2009, but we haven’t run to my liking there overall, so I’m hoping we can have a strong run there this weekend with our M&M’S Camry and keep the M&M’S 75th anniversary year rolling. I’m hoping we can give everyone something to cheer for this weekend, especially since I wasn’t able to race there last year because of my injury.”

Is there more pressure racing at your hometown track?
“Yeah, Vegas always means a little bit more pressure – more pressure on myself – just because it’s the hometown and you want to win there. Thankfully, I have won there and I’ve knocked that one off the list, but certainly you want to win there every year. It seems like either Carl (Edwards) or Jimmie (Johnson) are better than most there, but I love Vegas, the atmosphere and everything going on around that place. It’s always been a big race for us and the M&M’S team.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What are the team’s goals and objectives heading into Las Vegas this weekend?
“The win in Daytona certainly affords us the opportunity to work and try some things on the intermediate and short tracks, and after Atlanta, it’s nice to know that we have time to work on things and try to dial in this new package a little bit more. NASCAR is giving teams the chance to test on Thursday at Las Vegas and that’s a good chance for us to put down some laps on a track that has a lot of the same characteristics as other mile and a half racetracks on the circuit. It will be good to get back into the normal race week routine and go for another win on Sunday.”

CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What would a win this early in the season mean to you?
“We have had two solid runs to start the season and we head to Vegas with the new downforce package which was a lot of fun in Atlanta. We get to work on a bunch of things in the test sessions. It is always fun to go to Vegas. A lot of fans travel out there from all over, it’s a fun venue and it’s a great race track. We have ARRIS on board – we’ve had a lot of fun with them so far this year and want to get a win and lock ourselves into the Chase. I think this will be the real test to this new package with the newer pavement and higher speeds and hopefully it’s a success.”

MARTIN TRUEX, No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing

Do you have a new strategy for 2016?
“I don’t think we’ll really do anything differently. I think there was a few areas we felt like we needed to be better in – a few areas where we felt like we could be stronger and a lot of that stuff is on the technical side and the car side and certainly being a Toyota team and our relationship with JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), we feel like – Cole (Pearn, crew chief) feels like we’re stronger in every area than we were last year and that’s something in the off-season that we were looking forward to. He feels really good about where we are on that side of things and he feels good and I do as well.”

Are you looking forward to some of these West Coast races?
“Las Vegas will be as wild and slippery ride as it was in Atlanta. It’s a fast track where you have to hold down the throttle for a long time. The track is getting back to where it was before it was repaved. The groove is getting wide and the guys are moving around quite a bit, but it’s still really bumpy in turns 1 and 2. The West Coast swing is usually good and it’s about the only time of the year our guys are on the plus side for sleep. They really enjoy racing somewhat close to home.”

NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS): Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (second), Erik Jones (11th) and Dakoda Armstrong (13th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) point standings … Jones won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas in 2014 … Toyota drivers have four NXS runner-up results at Vegas – Kyle Busch in 2013 and 2014, Denny Hamlin in 2010 and Mark Martin in 2012.

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Is it win or bust every week now with the Chase format?
“You have the driver’s championship that’s decided by the Chase, but the owner’s championship is decided by points format, so I think that the true judge of teams honestly is going to be somewhat the owner’s points. Hopefully we can get the win knocked out of the way and get in the Chase and then we’ll be racing for wins every week and watching to see where the owner’s points are stacking up. You need something to keep you motivated and I think that’s what’s going to keep us motivated.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Are you looking forward to racing at Las Vegas this weekend?
“I’m really looking forward to getting to Las Vegas and continuing the momentum we have built to start the season. I was pleased with the way we performed at our first mile-and-a-half track last weekend and hopefully that will carry over toSaturday. Our communication as a team has gotten better each week, and I can’t wait to see how we do on this first leg of the West Coast swing.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Tundra drivers Timothy Peters (fourth), Ryan Truex (sixth) and Ben Rhodes (eighth) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) point standings … The NCWTS takes the next several weeks off, returning to action at Martinsville Speedway on April 2.

- GOLIN for Toyota Racing

NASCAR Sprint Cup series notes for Las Vegas

NASCAR begins its West Coast Swing this week at Las Vegas.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

NASCAR Goes West
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kicks off its three-race NASCAR Goes West trip with Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). Following its trip to Vegas, the NSCS heads to Phoenix before closing its West Coast road trip at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Kevin Harvick, from Bakersfield, California, dominated last season’s edition of NASCAR Goes West, winning the first two races (Las Vegas and Phoenix) and finishing second in the final contest at Auto Club.

Lower Downforce Package Produced Passing, Happy Drivers At Atlanta
The 2016 lower downforce aerodynamics package did not disappoint at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Passing increased, while drivers expressed enthusiasm about the package.

Drivers made 44 passes for the lead on Sunday, the most ever recorded at Atlanta since the inception of loop data in 2005.

The 3,717 green flag passes on Sunday marked the second-highest total at AMS since the inception of loop data in 2005.

“It was fun,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after the race. “You know, everybody just wasn't hooked up and hauling tail. You had to drive the cars. The cars were a real challenge, and I had a great time today inside of the car and enjoyed driving it.”

Carl Edwards echoed similar sentiments, saying, “This is real racing. We’re driving hard. You can see the guys out here just digging for everything they’re worth. I’m worn out. That’s a tough race and just a lot of fun.”

L3gendary Company: Johnson Ties Earnhardt On All-Time Wins List
Jimmie Johnson visited Victory Lane in last Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to earn the 76th checkered flag of his career – tying him with Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time wins list.

It took Johnson 509 starts over 15 years to reach 76 wins compared to Earnhardt’s 676 starts over 22 years.

Coincidentally, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second to Johnson on Friday, marking the 40th time Hendrick Motorsports drivers have finished first and second in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Johnson can pass Earnhardt in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he claims a track-record four wins. In 14 Las Vegas starts, the No. 48 Chevrolet driver also owns five top fives and eight top 10s. He won three consecutive races at the Nevada track from 2005-07.

Among active drivers at LVMS, Johnson also boasts the best average finish (11.6) and driver rating, (111.9) and ranks second in average running position (10.1).

Best Of The West: Harvick Hopes For Another Stellar NASCAR Goes West
Kevin Harvick, the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, dominated last season’s NASCAR Goes West trip by winning the first two races at Las Vegas and Phoenix and finishing second in the final event at Auto Club. Combined, he led 400 laps over the three races, far more than second-place in that category (Joey Logano, 82).

Harvick has started off the season strong, placing fourth in the season opener at Daytona and sixth last week at Atlanta. He has led the most laps in the Atlanta race in each of the last three seasons, but failed to win any of them.

In 15 starts at Las Vegas, Harvick has one win, four top fives, six top 10s and an average finish of 13.8. His 98.8 driver rating and 10.9 average running position at the 1.5-mile track ranks third-best among active drivers.

Harvick will make an appearance at an Octagon this weekend in addition to Nevada’s favorite 1.5-mile oval. His KHI Management company manages Miesha Tate, who will fight Holly Holm for the UFC Bantamweight Championship at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Busch Brothers Back At Vegas
Las Vegas natives Kurt and Kyle Busch return to their home track to trade paint this weekend.

The Busch brothers grew up starring at LVMS’ Bullring before moving on to NASCAR’s regional touring series.

Kyle won at Las Vegas in 2009, but Kurt is still looking to wave the checkered flag in front of the home crowd. His best Vegas finish was a third-place showing in 2005.

Both Kurt (2004) and Kyle (2015) have won NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships.

Although Kyle only has one win at his home track, his loop statistics there are excellent. Among active drivers at LVMS, he has the top average running position (11.7) and the second-best driver rating (103.4).

In 14 career starts at Las Vegas, Kurt has tallied one top five, three top 10s and a pole. He has an average finish of 22.1 and an 80.8 driver rating.

Click here for an infographic on the Busch Brothers.

Truex Off To Another Hot Start
Martin Truex Jr. is proving his Championship 4 effort from a year ago was no fluke.

The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing driver placed seventh at Atlanta, one week after finishing second in the Daytona 500.

Since the beginning of the 2015 season, only three drivers have racked up more top-10 finishes than Truex’s 24 – Kevin Harvick (30), Joey Logano (29) and Brad Keselowski (26).

In 10 starts at Las Vegas, Truex has completed all but four of the 2,691 laps for a 99.9 percent lap completion rate. The four laps he didn’t complete were at the 2009 race.

Truex finished runner-up in last year’s Kobalt 400 at LVMS.

“I feel we’re starting out the season stronger than the way we ended last season,” Truex said. “Our new affiliation with Toyota and our alliance with JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) is really working out for us. I feel we’re only going to get better as the season moves on.”

Roush Fenway Racing Shows Some Speed At Atlanta
At Atlanta, Roush Fenway Racing had three drivers finish in the top 15 in Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the first time since Aug. 15, 2014 at Michigan when Carl Edwards started third, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 10th and Greg Biffle in 11th.

This time, Trevor Bayne started third, joined by Stenhouse and Biffle, who were fifth and 15th on the grid, respectively.

Stenhouse finished 10th, his second career top-10 showing at an intermediate track (Chicagoland, 2013). Biffle placed 13th and Bayne came in 22nd.

RFR will continue to look for more speed at Las Vegas where it boasts a track-record seven wins (Matt Kenseth, 3; Jeff Burton, 2; Carl Edwards, 1; Mark Martin, 1).

NASCAR Sprint Series Etc.
Country music star Craig Morgan, an Army veteran will sing the National Anthem prior to the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Pre-race festivities also include a flyover by the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

- NASCAR

Las Vegas sports books post dozens of props for Kobalt 400

Kevin Harvick rolled to his first Las Vegas win last season.

LAS VEGAS --It's a scalpers paradise in Las Vegas as the top two NASCAR bookmakers in the state — William Hill and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook — have put up at least eight propositions for Sunday's Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where bettors can set themselves up for a nice middle with little risk. The longer you wait, the less opportunity there is to middle the props as they'll all merge closer together once a few limit bets are made.

Las Vegas sports books only offer props like these for NASCAR races twice a year — Daytona 500 also — just because the betting volume is so large compared to the other 34 races. More action means the books can expect less one-way action and decrease their risk on a particular prop. It's the same reason you don't see 350 props in NFL Week 2 like you do in the Super Bowl; that, and also the lengthy time it takes to set them up, and study to post a proper number.

MORE: NASCAR at Las Vegas driver betting breakdown | Odds to win the pole

Here's a look at both sets of numbers (each uses 20 cent splits) which opened Tuesday: 

NASCAR at Las Vegas prop bets

OV/UN FINISH POSITIONS         WILLIAM HILL   WESTGATE

KEVIN HARVICK                               5.5 (-110)       5.5 (ov -120)
He's had 15 top-five finishes in his last 25 races on intermediate tracks, including 2015 Vegas win. Finished sixth last week at Atlanta despite leading race-high 131 laps.
         
JIMMIE JOHNSON                           5.5 (ov -120)    6.5 (-110)
He's gone under 6.5 in eight of his 14 LVMS starts, but under 5.5 only five times. He's also won a track-record four times; comes off Atlanta win and tested well at LVMS in January.

Read More Here.......All the props posted in Las Vegas

Kevin Harvick favored to win second straight Kobalt 400

Kevin Harvick listed at +550 at William Hill sports books.

LAS VEGAS — Kevin Harvick won last years Las Vegas Sprint Cup race and led the most laps last week at Atlanta with the new low downforce package, which were good enough reasons for the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook to make him the 5-to-1 favorite to win Sunday's Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

This will be the 19th Sprint Cup race held at LVMS and has fans flocking to Vegas every March for vacation and some NASCAR. Nothing against places like Darlington, Martinsville or Fontana, but those towns don't exactly evoke excitement once the racing is done for the day.

The thing that also separates Las Vegas from the 35 other Cup dates is legal sports wagering. Dover, Del., which has a form of sports betting (parlays only), doesn't offer NASCAR wagering for its two dates, but Vegas does, and the fans have become quite seasoned at how to bet all the Super Bowl-type propositions.

Read More Here.....Complete list of odds to win (Westgate)

Ryan Newman has eight top-10s in 15 Las Vegas starts

Ryan Newman is 50/1 to win at LVMS Sunday.

This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet SS at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) … Ryan Newman will pilot car No. 520 at the 1.5-mile speedway in Las Vegas. The Cup teams will be on track a day early, Thursday, to participate in a one-day test.

Newman in Sin City … In 15 Sprint Cup Series events, Newman owns one pole award (2005) along with four top-five and eight top-10 finishes. His best result of third came last season with Richard Childress Racing in the Caterpillar Chevrolet. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 11.8 and average finish of 16.3. He’s led a total of 112 laps in competition. In the last five races at LVMS, Newman ranks sixth in most Cup points earned.

The Built for It™ Trials LIVE: India … Caterpillar recently produced a video series showcasing the people of Madhya Pradesh, Cat® dealers and the Cat 424B backhoe as they all joined forces to bring relief to the people in the region. One crucial project involving Cat machines is the building of a water supply chain extending 200 villages in Madhya Pradesh. Part of the project focuses on children and the need to provide proper playgrounds to promote physical exercise and mental well-being. Witness how this team-effort brought joy to over 200 young children in the village of Sirali:#BuildforIt.For more information about Caterpillar, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:

What are the keys to Las Vegas?
“The bumps in Turn 1 at Las Vegas are kind of tricky. You can either drive around them or drive under them. Turns 3 and 4 are pretty smooth, nice and sweeping. It’s mostly the bumps in Turns 1 and 2 that makes for the key to being fast there and repetitively fast. Sometimes you can hit it right and then the next lap, you may not hit it right which creates riding issues making it all pointless. It’s imperative in the race to get over them every time.

“Las Vegas is a fast track and in the past you spent a lot of time wide open. With this year’s package, it is going to be interesting to see how much we have to brake or have to start slowing the car up a bit versus what we’ve done in the past.”

- Richard Childress Racing

Kyle Busch favored to win 2016 Kobalt 400 pole

Kyle Busch has two Cup poles at LVMS.

LAS VEGAS — With so many additional NASCAR fans in town with loads of cash in their pocket, sports books will be amping up their wagering menu with about 90 percent more offerings than a normal Sprint Cup weekend to get some of that additional cash churned through their bet windows. One of those options that will only be offered this weekend is the odds to win Friday's Kobalt 400 pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It's actually quite exhilarating to have a wager on a driver to win the pole, especially while at the track. Friday's first Cup practice (10:30 am PT) will be a huge part of the equation, but odds will be taken off the board while the session is in progress. They'll also be off Thursday morning (9 am PT) during NASCAR's five-hour mandated test session.

The best way to approach wagering on the pole is to look at last week at Atlanta in the first practice and qualifying, and then mix in some past Las Vegas Motor Speedway qualifying history, as well the past two years of qualifying on intermediate tracks.

MORE: Odds to win Sunday's Kobalt 400

There have been 11 different drivers to sit on the Las Vegas pole, led by Kasey Kahne with three (2004, 2007 and 2012). Kyle Busch won the pole in 2008 and 2009 — he's the only driver in 18 LVMS races to win the race from the pole (2009). Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Chase Elliott is driving this season, set the track qualifying record last season at 194.679 mph.

Read More Here......Odds to win Pole

2016 Las Vegas Kobalt 400 Preview: Use Atlanta as Blueprint

Props galore for NASCAR in Las Vegas this weekend.

LAS VEGAS -- For the 19th straight year, Las Vegas gets the greatest touring show stopping by in March once again as the annual NASCAR weekend is upon us. As a bonus this season, fans will get extra day of action as a NASCAR mandated test session will occur on Thursday. Then the regular schedule begins on Friday with practice and qualifying followed up by Saturday's practices and the Xfinity Series' Boyd Gaming 300 and then Sunday's Kobalt 400.

While the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has the nicest spread among all tracks in the series, complete with its ground-breaking Neon Garage that allows fans watch to watch crews work in the garages above above giant glass windows, the real attraction the Vegas date has that no where else does is legal sports betting.

After 18 years, the regular visitors for the Vegas race have become very adept at how to wager. There are still the occasional first-timers that come to the window not knowing how the betting works, but for the most part they now come in with all their bet numbers written down and fire away. It's been a long education process, but the fans are now seasoned bettors.

Sunday's race will be the highest handled Cup race of the season, almost four times the action the second most wagered race -- Daytona 500 -- takes in. With over 160,000 fans in town just for race action, the handle piles up quickly. And the sports books around town do a great job of providing bettors with a wide array of propositions.

Just about anything that appears in a NASCAR box-score can be wagered on. Lap leaders, cautions, car number to win, manufacturer to win, margin of victory -- anything you can think of that has an official result tied to it, you'll be able to find some action on it. Then of course there's the staple of NASCAR wagering which is simply picking the winner, which almost everyone in the stands seems to have a couple tickets on.

So let's start there. Who will win? Will it be a Chevy for the seventh time in LVMS history, or a Toyota for the third time? Ford has won a track-record eight times, the last coming two years ago by Brad Keselowski (Dodge won once as well with Sterling Marlin).

Last Sunday's Atlanta race won by Jimmie Johnson gave us some great insight to what might happen Sunday at LVMS just because it was the first race of 2016 using the new low downforce package. We saw two races last season with it at Kentucky and Darlington and Joe Gibbs Racing had a huge edge over everyone while winning both races. Team Penske wasn't far behind and the Chevrolet teams like Stewart Haas Racing and Hendrick Motorsports looked a little behind.

Kevin Harvick would lead the most laps (131) at Atlanta, Kurt Busch would lead the second most (62) and Johnson third most (52) -- Chevy looks good. Matt Kenseth would lead 52 laps and Martin Truex 47 for Toyota. It was quite the turnaround from what we saw last season. Chevrolet is no longer behind, and they may have even passed the Gibbs Toyota's with the package. Richard Childress Racing and Chip Ganassi also looked fast for Chevy during Atlanta practices.

Atlanta is a 1.5-mile track like Las Vegas, but it's much faster because of a higher banking. Tire wear shouldn't be as difficult this week, but the Vegas race is 100 miles shorter than Atlanta. There were surprisingly only three cautions at Atlanta which was a big drop-off from Kentucky' s 11 and Darlington's 18 last year. Drivers are obviously more comfortable with this package and know how to roll through the corners now at maximum speed without sliding as much as last year.

Read More Here....Top-5 Prediction on VegasInsider.com

Chase Elliott carries nice Atlanta momentum to Vegas

Chase Elliott is 25/1 to win at LVMS.

Chase Elliott on observing Johnson's test at Las Vegas
“I thought Jimmie (Johnson) had a really good test, which I think was encouraging. He was really fast compared to some of the guys that were there. I think that’s good news. He always has really good feedback and I think it’s good to just kind of go and listen to his communication and how they go about their weekend. You can’t do that in other sports, to go and be able to watch that closely with one of your competitors -- although he’s a teammate, you’ve still got to compete against him. I tried to learn as much as I could and I’m excited to get out there.”

NAPA AUTO PARTS ON THE NO. 24 CHEVROLET SS: NAPA AUTO PARTS will be the primary partner onboard Rookie of the Year contender Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and will be the primary sponsor on the car for 22 additional Sprint Cup Series races this year.

TESTING: While Elliott did not drive in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway test in January, he was present and taking notes alongside No. 24 team crew chief Alan Gustafson as teammate Jimmie Johnson logged laps. Elliott will participate in the two testing sessions offered Thursday, March 3, at Las Vegas prior to the regular race weekend.

HOME TRACK SUCCESS: Elliott -- a Dawsonville, Georgia, native -- is coming off of his career-best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finish as he heads to a similar track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, this weekend. Elliott earned an eighth-place finish at his home track, Atlanta Motor Speedway, last Sunday. He also took the checkered flag as the highest-finishing rookie driver in the 500-mile race.

TRACK STATS: Elliott has had his share of success in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, owning two top-five finishes at the 1.5-mile oval. In the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 24 Chevy has also recently found speed at the Nevada track as the team, led by crew chief Alan Gustafson, sat on the pole for the 2015 race.

DOUBLE DUTY: Elliott heads into his first full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in 2016 and the 20-year-old rookie isn’t letting off the gas. In addition to racing the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports, Elliott will also run a limited schedule in the NXS, piloting the No. 88 for JR Motorsports. His second NXS race will be Saturday, March 5, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

USAF THUNDERBIRDS: Elliott earned his private pilot’s license in July 2015, but on Tuesday, Feb. 16, the 20-year-old handed over the pilot’s seat to ride along with “America’s Ambassadors in Blue” – the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. Elliott’s ride in the Thunderbirds’ F-16 pulled 9.5 G's moving at approximately 720 mph. This weekend Elliott will be racing in the Thunderbirds’ home town, a mere four miles from their hangar at Nellis Air Force Base. For footage from Elliott's flight, please contact Caitlin Barry.

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. searching for that first Las Vegas win

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 12./1 to win on Sunday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Las Vegas
“We’re going to Vegas. Jimmie (Johnson) tested there and he liked what he saw, so I’m excited to get out there and practice. We practice Thursday … so we’ll get some laps and see if we can’t dial the car in. Vegas is going to be a lot of fun – a lot of bumps going down into Turn 1. You’ll definitely try to run the high side at some point in the race in Turns 1 and 2. I don’t know if the top will work in (Turns) 3 and 4 – sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t – but we’ll definitely be trying everything we can, running every groove, wherever that car wants to run and be comfortable. Hopefully we have as good a car, as fast a car and as good a day (as we did at Atlanta), and try to put it in Victory Lane. I’ve never won there and I’d love to get that victory at Vegas on my résumé.”

LOOKING FOR A WIN: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has yet to score a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS has come close – recording three second-place finishes, most recently in the 2014 event, and finishing inside the top 10 in his last five trips to the 1.5-mile oval.

SHOWING SPEED: Earnhardt ranks at the top of the chart in average speed late in a run at Las Vegas in the last 10 years, according to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, with an average speed of 170.308 mph in the final 25 percent of laps run in a typical green-flag segment. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native is also ranked second-fastest in speed by segment, third-fastest on restarts, fourth in laps spent in the top 15 (2,124) and sixth in green-flag speed, laps led (142) and fastest laps run (124).

VEGAS TEST: Thursday, March 3, will mark the first test session of 2016 for the No. 88 team. Teams will be working on the low-downforce package similar to what was raced last week in Atlanta, where Johnson won and Earnhardt recorded a second-place finish. It marked the 40th one-two finish in Hendrick Motorsports history. Earnhardt heartily approved of the new package, complimenting the rules and the racing after climbing out of his Nationwide Chevy last Sunday.

'DRIVEN TO GIVE GLOVES' 2016 PROGRAM ANNOUNCED: The Dale Jr. Foundation (TDJF) announced that the Driven to Give Gloves program will return for 2016 and focus on four Patient Champions from Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH). The program will feature the auctioning of Earnhardt’s race-worn gloves four times during the 2016 NASCAR season. The signature, skeleton-themed design of his gloves will feature a different color for each of the NCH Patient Champions to raise awareness and funds for the hospital’s clinical and research programs. Nationwide Children’s is America’s largest pediatric hospital and research center with all care provided regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Driven to Give Gloves will kick off in April with Earnhardt wearing gloves accented in blue to raise awareness for autism and funds for research. At the end of the month, Earnhardt will sign the gloves for auction at TDJF’s eBay store with all of the proceeds going to benefit care and research. Visit TDJF’s website for more information.

Jimmie Johnson goes for fifth Vegas win

Jimmie Johnson is 6/1 to win at LVMS.

Jimmie Johnson on winning at Atlanta
“The win in Atlanta was a defining moment in my career. I have so much respect for Dale Earnhardt and to hear Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt-Miller’s
comments, it just was an incredible feeling. I’ve said it many times, but I’m so honored to have driven for one team and one partner – Hendrick Motorsports and Lowe’s – for all 76 wins. We will cherish the win but soon have to shift focus to Vegas.”

Johnson on testing at Las Vegas
“The bottom line from the test is we were just fast – really, really fast. When we took downforce off the car, they've lowered the gear ratio, a lot of things to kind of slow the cars down and we're every bit as fast if not faster than (with) the combination they had last year. Obviously when we come back for the race, the sun will be out and hopefully we'll get the fall-off we’re looking for. The track will lose some grip and be slick. It’s a partner race for us, so obviously we want to take home the cool Kobalt wrench trophy Lowe’s creates and there is a lot of pride that comes along with that. The pressure is high for this race. We want to do well for all the people in Vegas supporting the No. 48 team.”

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS, will participate in a Habitat for Humanity build on Las Vegas Motor Speedway property at 6 a.m. local time on Friday. Interested members of the media who wish to cover should contact Amy Walsh.

KOBALT RACE: The black and white colors of Kobalt Tools will adorn Johnson’s Chevrolet this weekend at Las Vegas. In addition, the paint scheme will run at Michigan International Speedway in June, Bristol Motor Speedway in August and Phoenix International Raceway in November.

LOWE’S PARTNERS WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: Johnson will team up with sponsor Lowe’s and Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas to raise the walls of a new home Friday on the midway at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before the Kobalt 400. The event will kick off a new nationwide initiative by Lowe’s and Habitat for Humanity International to build or repair homes for 1,000 families in time for the holidays. Las Vegas native Jamie Gordon, a single mother of two daughters, will be joined by Johnson and nearly 100 Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers to build the frame of her first Habitat home. Johnson will be back at the midway on Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. local time to hand the keys to a new house over to Gordon and her daughters. Lowe’s has partnered with Habitat for Humanity since 2003, committing more than $63 million toward revitalizing neighborhoods and helping nearly 5,500 families build or improve their homes. Individuals interested in volunteering for future Habitat projects can sign up at the build or visitHabitat.org/lowes.

JOHNSON AND KNAUS AT KOBALT KAMPOUT: Johnson and No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus will appear on stage Friday evening at 6:45 p.m. local time for a Q&A at the Kobalt Kampout in the Neon Garage.

VEGAS TIRE TEST: The No. 48 Lowe’s team completed a Goodyear tire test in January at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Johnson and Knaus spent two days testing tires at the 1.5-mile track and were satisfied with the results.

ANOTHER 1.5-MILE TRACK WIN: Johnson currently holds the record for all-time wins on 1.5-mile tracks. He has earned 25 victories, which includes seven at Charlotte Motor Speedway, six at Texas Motor Speedway, five at Atlanta Motor Speedway, four at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and three at Kansas Speedway.

TIED FOR SEVENTH ALL-TIME: The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet SS earned yet another career milestone on Sunday in Atlanta by recording his 76th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win, tying him with Dale Earnhardt Sr. for seventh on the all-time win list. Cale Yarborough is in sixth place with 83 wins. The all-time wins leader is Richard Petty with 200. Johnson's win Sunday made Atlanta the sixth track where he has won at least five times.

JIMMIE JOHNSON WELLNESS CHALLENGE RETURNS: Registration is open for the 2016 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Wellness Challenge. Register now for early-bird pricing and register for all three events to receive a reduced rate. The first event is May 22, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation 5K in Huntersville, North Carolina. Log on to www.jjfwellnesschallenge.org for more details.

Martin Truex Jr. really starting to like Las Vegas

Martin Truex Jr. is 12/1 to win Sunday in Las Vegas.

DENVER, Colo. (March 1, 2016) –Martin Truex Jr.’s past two visits to Las Vegas have been quite memorable even though he never hit the jackpot at one of the local casinos.

More importantly for the Furniture Row Racing driver was posting a runner-up finish at last year’s Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. And during his most recent trip to the city of glitz in December, Truex was at the opulent Wynn Las Vegas ballroom giving a speech after accepting a career-best, fourth-place driver-standing trophy at the annual NASCAR award’s banquet.

Truex returns to the 1.5-mile oval this weekend second in current driver points with finishes of second in the Daytona 500 and seventh at the recent Cup race in Atlanta. His Daytona 500 runner-up (to Denny Hamlin) was the closest finish (0.010 seconds) in the 58-year history of the race.

“I feel we’re starting out the season stronger than the way we ended last season,” said Truex, who will drive the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota in Vegas. “Our new affiliation with Toyota and our alliance with JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) is really working out for us. I feel we’re only going to get better as the season moves on.”

According to the 35-year-old Truex, the new low downforce rules package along with the fast and bumpy Las Vegas track will make for an exciting Kobalt 400 race.

“Las Vegas will be as wild and slippery ride as it was in Atlanta,” said Truex. “Vegas is a fast track where you have to hold down the throttle for a long time. The track is getting back to where it was before it was repaved. The groove is getting wide and the guys are moving around quite a bit. But it’s still really bumpy in turns 1 and 2.”

In 10 starts at Las Vegas, Truex has completed all but four of the 2,691 laps for a 99.9 percent lap completion rate. The four laps he didn’t complete were at the 2009 race, meaning he has finished on the lead lap in nine out of his 10 starts at the Las Vegas oval.

“Cole (crew chief Cole Pearn) and his staff have done an amazing job figuring out these tracks,” stated Truex. “One thing about Vegas, it’s not a super difficult track. However, the surface itself is tricky with temperature changes and the sun poking in and out. The track does change a lot with heat temperature. To be aggressive you must have a stable car.”

With the Furniture Row team shop based in Denver, Colo., the three-race western swing – Las Vegas (March 6), Phoenix (March 13) and Fontana, Calif. (March 20) usually means a travel advantage for Furniture Row Racing.

“The west coast swing is usually a good thing to keep all the races together,” said Truex. “It’s about the only time of the year our guys are on the plus side for sleep. They really enjoy racing somewhat close to home. But this year is a little different since they go from Las Vegas to Charlotte for a midweek tire test and then to Phoenix.”

Truex’s Career Record at Las Vegas

Year	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led
2006	27	20	Running, 270/270	0
2007	26	12	Running, 267/267	2
2008	18	15	Running, 267/267	0
2009	25	32	Running, 281/285	0
2010	35	20	Running, 267/267	0
2011	9	6	Running, 267/267	3
2012	10	17	Running, 267/267	0
2013	11	8	Running, 267/267	0
2014	12	14	Running, 267/267	0
2015	8	2	Running, 267/267	3

Las Vegas Totals

Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Laps Led	Laps Completed	AvgSt	AvgFn	DNF
10	0	1	3	0	8	2687 of 2691 99.9%	18.1	14.6	0

Truex’s 2016 Sprint Cup Series Results 

No.	Date	Event	St	Fn	Laps	Led	Status	Points	Standing
1	2/21	Daytona 500	28	2	200/200	2	Running	40/40	2
2	2/28	Atlanta	9	7	330/330	34	Running	35/75	2

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing

 

Denny Hamlin has 12.2 average finish in 10 Las Vegas starts

Denny Hamlin is 12/1 to win at Las Vegas. 

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Kobalt Tools 400
Date/Time: March 6/12:30 p.m. PT
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Quad-oval
Banking: 18-20 degrees
2015 Winner: Kevin Harvick

Express Notes:
Atlanta Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 16th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, unable to make up track position in the 330-lap event on the 1.5 -mile oval won by Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin battled a tight #11 FedEx Ground Toyota throughout the race that saw only three cautions. The long green flag runs took a toll on the ill-handling #11 machine. Hamlin started 12th and immediately began picking off cars, moving up to fourth by lap five. But, as the tires wore, the handling went away and Hamlin struggled to stay on the lead lap one-third of the way through the race, finally going a lap down just prior to halfway. Hamlin was never able to recover from the deficit and finished 16th. The finish dropped Hamlin from the top spot to fifth in the NASCAR standings following Atlanta, eight points behind leader Kyle Busch after two of 26 regular season races.

Las Vegas Preview: The Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 400-mile event on the 1.5-mile oval. Hamlin has two top-five finishes and five top-10 results in 10 previous starts at Las Vegas, including a career-best third-place run in 2007. One year ago, Hamlin started 15th and finished fifth at the track. There will be an open test on Thursday, March 3 for teams to continue to work on the new aerodynamic package instituted at all non-restrictor-plate tracks this year.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Races: 10
Wins: 0
Top-5: 2
Top-10: 5
Average Start: 20.7
Average Finish: 12.2
Laps Led: 4

Hamlin Conversation — Las Vegas:

What are the team’s goals and objectives heading into Las Vegas this weekend?
“The win in Daytona certainly affords us the opportunity to work and try some things on the intermediate and short tracks, and after Atlanta, it’s nice to know that we have time to work on things and try to dial in this new package a little bit more. NASCAR is giving teams the chance to test on Thursday at Las Vegas, and that’s a good chance for us to put down some laps on a track that has a lot of the same characteristics as other mile and a half racetracks on the circuit. It will be good to get back into the normal race week routine and go for another win on Sunday.”

Phoenix JW Marriott Along for the Ride in Las Vegas: The FedEx Office location inside the JW Marriott in Phoenix will be recognized for its outstanding performance with the stores “1059” code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

FedEx Office – Closest to Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 2288 S. Nellis Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89104, (702) 431-5076

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION	START	FINISH	LAPS	STATUS	LED	PTS	TREND
Feb. 21	Daytona 500	Daytona	11	1	200/200	Running	95	1st	▬
Feb. 28	Folds of Honor 500	Atlanta	12	16	328/330	Running		5th	▼
Averages/Totals			11.5	8.5	99.6%		95

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing