2008 UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

2008 UAW-Dodge 400:

Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been ruled by Jimmie Johnson for the last three years. Will Jimmie Johnson win his fourth consecutive Las Vegas race or can another driver knock him off his throne? Anything could happen in Vegas this weekend.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office (800)644-4444

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile "D" shaped race track. LVMS was reconfigured from the previous 12 degrees of banking up to 20 degrees. The extra banking and the new pavement caused speeds to be way up during testing. Las Vegas may now be one of the fastest tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit. We will find out for sure this weekend.

Race Distance:

267 laps = 400 miles

The Big Picture:

Kyle Busch is the only Sprint Cup driver to post two top five finishes in the first two races of 2008. As a result Toyota driver Kyle Busch is the current Sprint Cup point leader.

The top twelve are now:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Ryan Newman -6
3. Tony Stewart -19
4. Kurt Busch -36
5. Carl Edwards -39
6. Kasey Kahne -41
7. Kevin Harvick -67
8. Jimmie Johnson -68
9. Greg Biffle -73
10. Jeff Burton -74
11. Brian Vickers -78
12. Martin Truex Jr. -82

Storylines:

All eyes will be focused on the streaking Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has won the last three Las Vegas races and the last two NASCAR Championships.

Can he win his fourth Las Vegas race in a row? Could his fourth consecutive win springboard him to his third consecutive Championship?

Media Coverage:

TV: Fox Sunday March 2nd 3:30PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 4:30PM Eastern

Recent Events:

2007 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

2007 Polesitter: Kasey Kahne

Previously...:

There was a lot of concern from the drivers coming into the 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400. Higher banking and new pavement brought speeds up. Goodyear brought a harder tire and Mother Nature brought warmer weather. These three factors combined to make for a very fast and very slick race track.

Drivers struggled early and the race started with a rash of cautions. Eventually the drivers settled down and the fastest cars came to the front.

Jimmie Johnson had them all covered and won by over two seconds to claim his third consecutive Las Vegas Sprint Cup victory.

Predictions:

I'm not one to shy away from an obvious favorite. Jimmie Johnson won the last three Las Vegas races. Until someone proves that they can beat him here he has to be the favorite coming into this weekend's race.

My backup pick this week goes to Matt Kenseth. Kenseth was fast at California last week and was the last driver to win in Vegas before Johnson started his streak. Kenseth won this race in 2003 and again in 2004. He makes a great backup pick for this weekend.