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Sprint Cup
CUP: Friday Las Vegas Notebook (UPDATE 4)
NASCAR Sprint Cup activity at Las Vegas Motor Speedway rained out for today...
NASCAR Sprint Cup activity at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been cancelled. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
PHOTOS: Friday Garage Pass Gallery
[FRIDAY 6:46 pm ET]
RAIN MAN— One driver who was OK with Friday’s rainout at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who reckoned he got plenty of track time during six hours of testing Thursday.
“The day went pretty good,” Earnhardt said of Thursday’s marathon test session: “We had pretty good speed right off the trailer and just worked with a lot of things. Everybody had a lot of time yesterday to really kind of get up to speed. By the end of the day, everybody was running about the same times. We had more than enough practice really this weekend so I’m not too worried about what we didn’t get to do today because yesterday was way more than we needed to be honest.”
Earnhardt, who has a pair of top-five finishes already this season, said he’s looking forward to Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Feeling good,” Earnhardt said. “(I) just hope we get a little time just to make sure everything is working right and get a couple laps Saturday just to make sure everything is cool and we’ll be ready to go.”
NASCAR NOTES — NASCAR is teaming up with Autism Speaks for Speeding for a Cure on Tuesday, Mar. 12 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Hosted by ESPN commentator Mike Tirico, the special gala which benefits the autism community will feature NASCAR drivers and executives and help raise funds and awareness for Autism Speaks and Gillen Brewer School, which specializes in educating children with challenging and often multiple disabilities.
NASCAR drivers scheduled to attend include: Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Darrell Wallace Jr., Kyle Larson, Nelson Piquet Jr and NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison. Brian France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, and Artie Kempner, Coordinating Director, NASCAR on Fox, are among the executives scheduled to be honored during the evening’s activities.
NASCAR will honor a group of Airmen from Nellis AFB on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway through its Troops to the Track initiative that invites active duty, wounded warriors, veterans and military families to races throughout the year for NASCAR-style VIP experiences.
Annabeth Barnes, 17, and 18-year-old Jack Madrid will make their NASCAR Drive for Diversity debuts with Rev Racing on March 9 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Barnes and Madrid are scheduled to compete full-time in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, which is comprised of 17 races.
Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Starting Grid
Rain Hands Pole To Keselowski
[FRIDAY 4:07 pm ET]
RAINED OUT — All NASCAR Sprint Cup activity at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been officially rained out. The field will be set per the NASCAR rule book, which means that only Mike Bliss will miss the race.
TROUBLE ALREADY? — It seems insane to talk about points after just two races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, but there are some huge names buried deep in the standings already. Positions 30-34 in the Cup standings include four drivers who made last year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup as well as a past series champion: Kevin Harvick is 30th, followed by Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
Kahne was in a similar position last year and still raced his way into the Chase on the basis of two regular-season race victories, but another bad day on Sunday could leave some of the above-named stars in a deep hole.
Jeff Gordon knows all about that. In 2012, the four-time champion was 23rd in points after two races and didn’t crack the top 12 until the 26th and final race of the NASCAR regular season. Gordon said starting out in a hole is tough on any race team.
“It can either tear you completely a part or make you stronger,” said Gordon. “I think in our case it made us stronger. I think that is just a sign of how strong knit of a team that we are, how we communicate because we were challenged every weekend with good race cars and bad results. We just kept fighting through it.”
But it was not easy.
“In this sport, in this day and age, it’s so competitive, so far back that it is hard to find your way out of that type of a hole if you get into one early in the season,” said Gordon. “You’ve got to perform extremely well, really go on a streak in order to get out of it.”
[FRIDAY 3:11 pm ET]
JGR WEIGHS IN — Denny Hamlin vs. NASCAR continues to dominate the news, as on-track action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is under a delay due to wet weather at the 1.5-mile track.
Joe Gibbs Racing, the team Hamlin drives for, issued the following statement this afternoon:
“We have spoken with NASCAR and will continue to keep an open dialogue with them on this matter, but we will keep those discussions between the parties involved. We will fully support Denny in his appeal process.”
[FRIDAY 12:29 pm ET]
DISSENTING OPINION — Las Vegas Motor Speedway is buzzing about NASCAR fining Denny Hamlin $25,000 for criticizing the Generation-6 race cars last week at Phoenix, and Hamlin vowing to not pay the fine.
SPEED Quotes: Kyle Petty Voices Support For Hamlin
Several of NASCAR’s top drivers are very outspoken on various topics — Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart come to mind here — but Clint Bowyer thinks people need to give the new Gen-6 cars some time to get dialed in.
“This is an important time for us,” Clint Bowyer said Thursday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “We've got a great thing going with this Gen-6 car. Our manufacturers have spent millions of dollars on this race car and we're all proud of it, NASCAR included. Anything is going to take time. Anytime you make something — completely start over from scratch — and do things to make your program better, your sport, or whatever you want to call it, it's going to take time. It's a work in progress. You're not just going to start the very first race out with something new.”
Bowyer, who finished a career-best second in points last year, likened the new car to his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing.
“We didn't go to Daytona last year and win the Daytona 500,” Bowyer said. “Throughout the year, just kept getting better and better and improving on our program and by the end of the year we almost had a shot at winning the championship. The best days for this car are yet to come. And, it's always going to be that way. It doesn't matter what you do.”
[FRIDAY 10:35 am ET]
WEATHER UPDATE — The weather in Las Vegas is miserable right now, with light rain falling and temperatures in the low 50s. But the poor weather should only be a factor for today. According to the National Weather Service, there is a 70 percent chance of rain today, but that drops to 20 percent tomorrow and zero percent for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
There are 44 cars entered for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race, and if qualifying is rained out, the only driver to miss the race would be Mike Bliss.
Congrats to NASCAR Sprint Cup veteran AJ Allmendinger, who will race in the Indianapolis 500 for Roger Penske and at least one other IndyCar race this season, it was announced this morning.
The ‘Dinger had a great run in Phoenix last weekend, where he drove the low-budget No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet SS to an 11th-place finish. Allmendinger will not race on Sunday at Las Vegas; instead, Austin Dillon will pilot the No. 51.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
[FRIDAY 6:46 pm ET]
RAIN MAN— One driver who was OK with Friday’s rainout at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who reckoned he got plenty of track time during six hours of testing Thursday.
“The day went pretty good,” Earnhardt said of Thursday’s marathon test session: “We had pretty good speed right off the trailer and just worked with a lot of things. Everybody had a lot of time yesterday to really kind of get up to speed. By the end of the day, everybody was running about the same times. We had more than enough practice really this weekend so I’m not too worried about what we didn’t get to do today because yesterday was way more than we needed to be honest.”
Earnhardt, who has a pair of top-five finishes already this season, said he’s looking forward to Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Feeling good,” Earnhardt said. “(I) just hope we get a little time just to make sure everything is working right and get a couple laps Saturday just to make sure everything is cool and we’ll be ready to go.”
NASCAR NOTES — NASCAR is teaming up with Autism Speaks for Speeding for a Cure on Tuesday, Mar. 12 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Hosted by ESPN commentator Mike Tirico, the special gala which benefits the autism community will feature NASCAR drivers and executives and help raise funds and awareness for Autism Speaks and Gillen Brewer School, which specializes in educating children with challenging and often multiple disabilities.
NASCAR drivers scheduled to attend include: Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Darrell Wallace Jr., Kyle Larson, Nelson Piquet Jr and NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison. Brian France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, and Artie Kempner, Coordinating Director, NASCAR on Fox, are among the executives scheduled to be honored during the evening’s activities.
NASCAR will honor a group of Airmen from Nellis AFB on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway through its Troops to the Track initiative that invites active duty, wounded warriors, veterans and military families to races throughout the year for NASCAR-style VIP experiences.
Annabeth Barnes, 17, and 18-year-old Jack Madrid will make their NASCAR Drive for Diversity debuts with Rev Racing on March 9 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Barnes and Madrid are scheduled to compete full-time in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, which is comprised of 17 races.
Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Starting Grid
Rain Hands Pole To Keselowski
[FRIDAY 4:07 pm ET]
RAINED OUT — All NASCAR Sprint Cup activity at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been officially rained out. The field will be set per the NASCAR rule book, which means that only Mike Bliss will miss the race.
TROUBLE ALREADY? — It seems insane to talk about points after just two races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, but there are some huge names buried deep in the standings already. Positions 30-34 in the Cup standings include four drivers who made last year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup as well as a past series champion: Kevin Harvick is 30th, followed by Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
Kahne was in a similar position last year and still raced his way into the Chase on the basis of two regular-season race victories, but another bad day on Sunday could leave some of the above-named stars in a deep hole.
Jeff Gordon knows all about that. In 2012, the four-time champion was 23rd in points after two races and didn’t crack the top 12 until the 26th and final race of the NASCAR regular season. Gordon said starting out in a hole is tough on any race team.
“It can either tear you completely a part or make you stronger,” said Gordon. “I think in our case it made us stronger. I think that is just a sign of how strong knit of a team that we are, how we communicate because we were challenged every weekend with good race cars and bad results. We just kept fighting through it.”
But it was not easy.
“In this sport, in this day and age, it’s so competitive, so far back that it is hard to find your way out of that type of a hole if you get into one early in the season,” said Gordon. “You’ve got to perform extremely well, really go on a streak in order to get out of it.”
[FRIDAY 3:11 pm ET]
JGR WEIGHS IN — Denny Hamlin vs. NASCAR continues to dominate the news, as on-track action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is under a delay due to wet weather at the 1.5-mile track.
Joe Gibbs Racing, the team Hamlin drives for, issued the following statement this afternoon:
“We have spoken with NASCAR and will continue to keep an open dialogue with them on this matter, but we will keep those discussions between the parties involved. We will fully support Denny in his appeal process.”
[FRIDAY 12:29 pm ET]
DISSENTING OPINION — Las Vegas Motor Speedway is buzzing about NASCAR fining Denny Hamlin $25,000 for criticizing the Generation-6 race cars last week at Phoenix, and Hamlin vowing to not pay the fine.
SPEED Quotes: Kyle Petty Voices Support For Hamlin
Several of NASCAR’s top drivers are very outspoken on various topics — Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart come to mind here — but Clint Bowyer thinks people need to give the new Gen-6 cars some time to get dialed in.
“This is an important time for us,” Clint Bowyer said Thursday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “We've got a great thing going with this Gen-6 car. Our manufacturers have spent millions of dollars on this race car and we're all proud of it, NASCAR included. Anything is going to take time. Anytime you make something — completely start over from scratch — and do things to make your program better, your sport, or whatever you want to call it, it's going to take time. It's a work in progress. You're not just going to start the very first race out with something new.”
Bowyer, who finished a career-best second in points last year, likened the new car to his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing.
“We didn't go to Daytona last year and win the Daytona 500,” Bowyer said. “Throughout the year, just kept getting better and better and improving on our program and by the end of the year we almost had a shot at winning the championship. The best days for this car are yet to come. And, it's always going to be that way. It doesn't matter what you do.”
[FRIDAY 10:35 am ET]
WEATHER UPDATE — The weather in Las Vegas is miserable right now, with light rain falling and temperatures in the low 50s. But the poor weather should only be a factor for today. According to the National Weather Service, there is a 70 percent chance of rain today, but that drops to 20 percent tomorrow and zero percent for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
There are 44 cars entered for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race, and if qualifying is rained out, the only driver to miss the race would be Mike Bliss.
Congrats to NASCAR Sprint Cup veteran AJ Allmendinger, who will race in the Indianapolis 500 for Roger Penske and at least one other IndyCar race this season, it was announced this morning.
The ‘Dinger had a great run in Phoenix last weekend, where he drove the low-budget No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet SS to an 11th-place finish. Allmendinger will not race on Sunday at Las Vegas; instead, Austin Dillon will pilot the No. 51.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
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