In the end Carl Edwards made all the right decisions and got to the checkered flag first.
Qualifying
Ford drivers dominated qualifying with Matt Kenseth and Marcos Ambrose on the front row with Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle sweeping row number two. The only non-Ford in the top five was Kyle Busch's Toyotawhich started fifth.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway was liking NASCAR's 2011 rule change as the top 22 drivers in qualifying all broke the previous track record.
Drop Of The Green
When the green flag flew Matt Kenseth got the jump into turn one and lead the first lap with teammate Greg Biffle snuggled up on his back bumper. Biffle got past Kenseth on the bottom to lead lap three and lead all the way to the first caution.
Storylines
Hometown boys Kurt and Kyle Busch had a rough day. The two came into the race first and second in the points and looking for a strong day at a track where they had found success in the past.
Kurt Busch spun early in the race and never really recovered. Kurt spent his day grinding away and ended up climbing back into the top ten before the checkered flag fell.
Brother Kyle Busch came into the race as the point leader but lost the engine in his Toyota just 107 laps into the race. Kyle ended up with a 38th place finish and dropped like a rock in the points.
Chasing The Checkers
Tony Stewart had the field covered today. He lead the most laps before hitting pit road under green with 32 laps to go. This handed the lead to Juan Montoya who also needed to stop before the checkers.
Stewart took four tires and returned to the action one lap down in 17th hoping that the green stayed out until after the rest of the leaders pitted. Stewart got his wish but when pit stops cycled through Tony Stewart found himself in third place behind Carl Edwards and Juan Montoya who each only took two tires during their stops.
Stewart's pit strategy cost him the win here.
Carl Edwards brought his Ford home for the easy win.
Top Ten
- Carl Edwards
- Tony Stewart
- Juan Montoya
- Marcos Ambrose
- Ryan Newman
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Denny Hamlin
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Kurt Busch
- Brian Vickers
The Points
Tony Stewart leaves Las Vegas disappointed with the finish but he leaves tied with Kurt Busch for the point lead after three races. Kyle Busch fell all the way off the leaderboard to fourteenth.
The Unofficial 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings:
- Tony Stewart
- Kurt Busch
- Carl Edwards -7
- Juan Montoya -7
- Ryan Newman -10
- Paul Menard -17
- Martin Truex Jr. -18
- Denny Hamlin -18
- A.J. Allmendinger -19
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -22
- Mark Martin -22
