That front-running battle should continue – and possibly bubble over – at Las Vegas.
Clearly, both want the win. Edwards has gone 0-for-2 in Victory Lane appearances, and Las Vegas is one of his best tracks. Busch is likewise strong here, and looking for his first national series victory at his home track.
The pre-race Loop Data statistics favor Edwards. In four Vegas races since Loop Data’s inception in 2005, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 111.6, an Average Running Position of 7.3, a Pass Differential of plus-34 (passes minus times passed), a series-high 107 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), a series-high Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 94.7% and a series-high 78 Fastest Laps Run. He has also been passed fewer times than any other driver – 89.
Busch is likewise solid at Vegas. He has a Driver Rating of 99.7, an Average Running Position of 12.0, a Pass Differential of plus-49, 50 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 68.4. Busch has also made more passes than any other driver – 159.
Jeff Burton will start his second consecutive series race in the No. 29 Chevrolet, and with good reason.
Statistically, he’s the best at Vegas. In his last two Vegas races, which includes a win in 2007, Burton has a Driver Rating of 114.3, an Average Running Position of 8.5, 64 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 79.1%. He has three career series wins at Las Vegas in eight starts, which is tied with Mark Martin for the all-time lead at the track.
Gaughan, Steve Wallace Bolster RWR Early Results
Now it its sixth year, Rusty Wallace Racing looks prepared to assert itself in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and challenge for top-10 positions in the driver and owner championships.
Drivers Steve Wallace (No. 66 USfidelis Chevrolet) and Brendan Gaughan are meshing well, and it’s showing in their early results.
Gaughan, who will start just his fourth series race Saturday, is eighth in the driver standings and has his No. 62 Chevrolet ranked ninth in the owner standings.
Wallace was running well in the season-opener at Daytona before being relegated to 42nd after an incident on Lap 72 ignited by Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota).
But Wallace, 21, who had been streaky in his consistency during his first two full-time seasons, has settled in over the last year. He rebounded with a 10th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway, finishing one spot behind Gaughan. The finish was his first top 10 on a track longer than 1.5 miles and the fifth in his last 16 races. He’d had only three top 10s in the 73 races before this current run.
Gaughan understands the team’s improvement and the expectations that come with it.
“My goal is to go out there, try to win the Raybestos Rookie title, and also to compete for the championship,” Gaughan said.
“Rusty Wallace has a great race team. David Stremme finished in the top 10 with this team last year. Steven finished 12th in points last year so it’s two great race teams.
“It’s not like I’m jumping into a start up, not like I’m jumping into a third car. (There are) a very mature, very powerful bunch of guys at the shop.
“For the year, I like what I see.”
NNS Etc.
* A “Happy” Anniversary: Kevin and DeLana Harvick will celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary Saturday in Las Vegas. It will be the first time Harvick has raced on his anniversary.
The couple exchanged vows on Feb. 28, 2001 in a Las Vegas ceremony. They didn’t have time for a honeymoon due to Kevin’s full-time double-duty driving in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. But DeLana notes that season was still full of “wedding presents,” including the first of his two NASCAR Nationwide Series championships, his first two NASCAR Sprint Cup wins and the Rookie of the Year honor in the premier series.
And in the fall of that year, the couple put its first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series entry on the track for their team, Kevin Harvick Inc. The team won the series title in 2007.
* Wimmer Hopes To Get Back On Track – Literally: Scott Wimmer (No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet) missed the race last week at California, only the second time he’s suffered a DNQ in his 170-race series career. The last time he didn’t qualify was in the fall of 2000 at Rockingham.
Wimmer hasn’t raced in the series at Las Vegas since 2003 when he earned a top-10 finish. He’s tested at the track over the last several years, however.
* AIPC “Incredible Hero” At LVMS: America’s Incredible Pizza Co. and CJM Racing continues its “Incredible Heroes” program at Las Vegas.
Nevada Highway Patrol Sergeant Charles Lee will represent a group of officers who voluntarily give money from their paychecks to help purchase toys for patients at Sunrise Children’s Hospital and University Medical Center’s respective Pediatric Units.
Update: Bill France Performance Cup
Chevrolet 15
Toyota 13
Ford 10
Dodge 6
Chevrolet is the leading manufacturer at Las Vegas with seven wins, including the last two races in succession.
Jack Roush leads all owners with four wins in Ford but hasn’t won since 2005. Dodge won in 2006 with driver Kasey Kahne.
Toyota has won four times in NASCAR Camping World Truck competition but has yet to win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series or in NASCAR Sprint Cup.
However, Kyle Busch – who will pull double duty this weekend and comes off his historic dual wins last Saturday at Auto Club Speedway – could certainly be a favorite to break that winless streak for Toyota.
Up Next: A Double-Dose Of Open Weeks
Following its second of two West Coast races, the NASCAR Nationwide Series will take two weeks off before resuming March 21 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The series has six open weekends on the schedule overall:
March 7 (NCWTS, NSCS at Atlanta)
March 14 (Open Week for Top 3 Series)
March 28 (NCWTS, NSCS at Martinsville)
May 15 (NCWTS, Sprint All-Star at LMS)
Sept. 19 (NCWTS, NSCS at New Hampshire)
Oct. 31 (NCWTS, NSCS at Talladega)
Fast Facts
The Race: Sam’s Town 300
The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway; 1.5-mile oval
The Date: Saturday, Feb. 28
The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
The Distance: 300 miles / 200 laps
2008 Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Pole: Brian Vickers
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