2006 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400:
After an early-season week off the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup stars are back in action this week for the third race of the season. Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts their only NEXTEL Cup race of the season this week with the 2006 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. The wide speedway has hosted blowouts and thrilling finishes. What should we expect this week? Here is the full preview of this weekend's action.
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. With only 12 degrees of banking in the corners Las Vegas is flatter than even California. The flat track puts a premium on handling. If you can make your car hug the bottom here then you'll go to the front.
Race Distance:
267 laps = 400 miles
The Big Picture:
Still early in the season the points can change a lot. The important thing for teams here is to avoid a costly DNF. No team will clinch a spot in The Chase this week, but a marginal team can make their battle a lot harder with a bad finish.
Top Ten
- Jimmie Johnson -0
- Casey Mears -39
- Matt Kenseth -47
- Kasey Kahne -60
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -68
- Mark Martin -80
- Ryan Newman -82
- Clint Bowyer -84
- Brian Vickers -95
- Elliott Sadler -96
Storylines:
Since this is Kurt and Kyle Busch's hometown this is a good time to review their controversial recent careers. Both drivers have been in hot water in recent months. Kurt hasn't spent much time in front of the camera since his troubles with Jack Roush last season. Kyle has been criticized recently for his over-aggressive driving style.
A little extra media attention might help clear the air.
Media Coverage:
TV: Fox Sunday March 12th 4:00PM Eastern.
Radio: PRN and XM Satellite
Actual Race: 4:35PM Eastern
Posted Awards:
$6,240,498
Previously...:
Last year Jimmie Johnson left Las Vegas with the race win and the point lead. However the car didn't make it through post-race inspection so Jimmie was docked 25 points, enough to drop him back to second in points.
Second place finisher Kyle Busch's car also failed post race inspection.
NASCAR didn't change the final running order but handled the infractions with fines and points penalties.
Predictions:
NASCAR can be a momentum sport so this week I'm going with guys who have been smoking fast recently.
Two weeks ago in California Greg Biffle was dominating the field until his motor let go in the final 100 miles. This week's race is 100 miles shorter so I'm going with Greg to make up for the one that got away in California.
For my backup I've got to go with the blazing hot Jimmie Johnson. So far in 2006 he has a 1.5 average finish plus he won this race last year.
