Posted on 03/05/2004 5:23:24 AM PST by steveegg
After taking a week off to get their equipment over to sunny Las Vegas, NASCAR's top 2 divisions are getting ready to go around Las Vegas Motor Speedway's 1.5 mile tri-oval. For the NEXTEL teams, qualifying starts at 6 pm Eastern over on Speed, with the race at 3 pm Eastern Sunday on Fox.
| Rank | ||||||||
| +/- | Driver | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | |
| 1 | +1 | Matt Kenseth | 523 | Leader | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | +4 | Tony Stewart | 435 | -88 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | +5 | Elliott Sadler | 405 | -118 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | +1 | Jeff Gordon | 404 | -119 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | +2 | Kurt Busch | 400 | -123 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | -3 | Kevin Harvick | 399 | -124 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | -6 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 398 | -125 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | +13 | Kasey Kahne* | 385 | -138 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | +2 | Jamie McMurray | 385 | -138 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | +5 | Casey Mears | 367 | -156 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | +6 | Bobby Labonte | 360 | -163 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | +1 | Rusty Wallace | 356 | -167 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | -3 | Joe Nemechek | 347 | -176 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | +4 | Jeremy Mayfield | 339 | -184 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | -6 | Ward Burton | 335 | -188 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | -12 | Scott Wimmer* | 334 | -189 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | -1 | Terry Labonte | 332 | -191 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | +2 | Sterling Marlin | 321 | -202 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | +6 | Jimmie Johnson | 320 | -203 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | +8 | Mark Martin | 316 | -207 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | -9 | Ryan Newman | 307 | -216 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | +4 | Dale Jarrett | 307 | -216 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | -1 | Brendan Gaughan* | 306 | -217 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | -1 | Johnny Sauter* | 297 | -226 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | -6 | Ricky Rudd | 294 | -229 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | +5 | Kyle Petty | 278 | -245 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | -13 | Greg Biffle | 264 | -259 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | +1 | Brian Vickers* | 255 | -268 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | +1 | Ricky Craven | 245 | -278 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | -3 | Kevin Lepage | 219 | -304 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | +11 | Jeff Burton | 218 | -305 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | +3 | Scott Riggs* | 212 | -311 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | -- | Derrike Cope | 210 | -313 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | -10 | John Andretti | 205 | -318 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | -1 | Jeff Green | 204 | -319 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | -- | Ken Schrader | 192 | -331 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | +1 | Robby Gordon | 191 | -332 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | +1 | Michael Waltrip | 170 | -353 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | +4 | Johnny Benson | 152 | -371 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | -8 | Larry Foyt | 146 | -377 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | -4 | Dave Blaney | 118 | -405 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | -- | Bill Elliott | 103 | -420 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | +2 | Carl Long | 98 | -425 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | -4 | Mike Skinner | 97 | -426 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | -4 | Jimmy Spencer | 91 | -432 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | -- | Kirk Shelmerdine | 71 | -452 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | -3 | Andy Hillenburg | 61 | -462 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | -- | Kyle Busch | 40 | -483 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | -- | Morgan Shepherd | 37 | -486 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | -3 | Joe Ruttman | 34 | -489 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 |
| * Denotes Rookie |
LOL hang on to that thought for a week.
Race Wrap-Up
Earnhardt has bad race at Las Vegas -- Tom Gardner - AP
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s hot start is over.
After winning the Daytona 500 and finishing fifth at Rockingham, Earnhardt rode into Las Vegas Motor Speedway leading the NASCAR Nextel Cup points.
He left Sunday evening sitting in seventh, 125 points behind new leader and defending series champion Matt Kenseth, who won the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
The No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet was bad from the start Sunday, spending considerable time in the pits and in the garage on the way to a 35th-place finish. Worse, Earnhardt said the team couldn't even figure out why.
``We were about a second off the pace no matter what we did,'' Earnhardt said. ``I know it's going to be a black Monday at the shop, but I also know we're going to do an awful lot of laps in testing this week at Kentucky (Speedway) to figure out what was wrong.''
With the new, shorter rear spoiler and softer tires, Earnhardt said DEI probably made a mistake in not testing here in January.
``But it's too late now. I know we're going to do what we can do to figure out what we need to do to correct whatever went wrong,'' he added.
The third-generation NASCAR star was disappointed, but not too upset by the bad day.
``We've always been good at Atlanta, so we should be OK,'' said Earnhardt, referring to next Sunday's race. ``I mean, we started last year with two finishes like this and came back strong the rest of the year.''
FILL IT UP: Kevin Harvick was fuming Sunday after running out of gas while running second with five laps remaining.
``What can you say?'' he said. ``We had a top five car and we finished 21st. We need to throw out our computers that figure that stuff and start over.
``We had a great run going with awesome pit stops, but all that is for nothing because we ran out of gas. It's frustrating and we'll make sure it doesn't happen again.''
Todd Berrier, his crew chief, said the team knew Harvick was going to be short on gas.
``There isn't anything we could do about that,'' Berrier said. ``We just ran out, but we were coming in on that same lap. We were just a half-lap short.
``I don't know why all the rest of them could make it and we couldn't. So we've got to refigure some things.''
Harvick led two times for 43 laps, but lost the top spot to Kenseth on the 230th of 267 laps.
OTHER BAD DAYS: Michael Waltrip, whose spectacular cartwheel at Daytona ended his title defense in that race, continued a string of bad luck Sunday. He smacked the wall in the fourth turn in lap 165.
His 37th place marked the third race this season and the sixth in the last seven in which he has finished no higher than 33rd.
Ryan Newman, 12th in points coming into the race, slipped to 21st after a blown right rear tire and a spin relegated him to a 27th-place finish.
Kyle Busch's Nextel Cup debut lasted just 11 laps after he found the turn four wall. The 18-year-old's brother Kurt, 25, finished ninth. Both are Las Vegas natives who have competed at the track in Outlaw events, but Sunday marked their first head-to-head NASCAR competition.
FOOTBALL TO NASCAR, AGAIN: Things are starting to come together for former NFL stars Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach in their efforts to start a NASCAR team.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks announced Sunday their Hall of Fame Racing organization will team with Hendrick Motorsports to run a full-time entry in next year's Nextel Cup series.
The alliance will provide the new team with equipment, resources and technology from the Hendrick team, which fields Cup cars for Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte and rookie Brian Vickers.
``We announced a year ago we wanted to get together on the track,'' Aikman said. ``We started talking with Rick Hendrick. With this relationship ... we will be able to offer our sponsors a solid all-round racing package.
``We have been close several times, but we were unable to push the ball over the goal line.''
Staubach and Aikman led the Cowboys to five Super Bowl title. They joined with veteran Trans-Am Series driver Bill Saunders to form Hall of Fame Racing in 2003.
Aikman, who attended Sunday's race, said the team would concentrate now on picking up sponsors, then on hiring a driver and a crew.
FIELD FILLERS: Three drivers who don't compete in Nextel Cup on a regular basis filled the 43-car field for Sunday's race, but weren't around very long after the green flag waved.
Kirk Shelmerdine managed only eight laps before his engine failed, Morgan Shepherd completed nine laps before calling it quits because of overheating, and Carl Long went out with an oil leak after running just 49 laps and being lapped by the leaders six times.
NEW ROOKIE LEADER:@ Scott Wimmer's status as leader of the rookie ranks ended 39 laps into the third race of the season with a blown engine.
``We had a part failure in the motor,'' he said. ``I felt it shudder at the start-finish line and I thought maybe I had ran over something, and then she blew going into (turn) one. The car was coming around real good, but we got cut a little short today.''
With two straight second-place finishes, Kasey Kahne moved into the rookie points lead and up to eighth in the overall season points, while Wimmer fell to 16th.
Don't forget the Viagra in the nightstand.
Hey I represent that...
Hey I represent that...
as long as its not a polish victory lap, you know backw... aw never mind... you know
Thrills, chills and white-knuckled drivers: that's lightning-fast AMS
By AL LEVINE Most Nextel Cup drivers would flunk a civics test about Atlanta, even those who have raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway years. They wouldn't know what's hanging at the High Museum or how to get to CNN. Any reference to Buckhead might prompt a hunting story. But ask them about their Atlanta racing experience and the answers flow: It's all about speed, white-knuckle stress and fear. They all know that for years Atlanta has been considered NASCAR's fastest track. "Atlanta is the fastest place we go, and it's almost impossible to describe the feeling, launching into turns one and three at more than 200 mph," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "It takes guts to keep your right foot held down." "It's the most white-knuckle track there is on qualifying day," Jeff Gordon said. "Not a lot of us really like qualifying here, because it's so fast," Jeff Burton said. "But when it comes to racing, this is a really popular place." The speed grabs the attention of drivers and spotters. "We race at a lot of tracks where it is easy to lose perspective on how fast these guys actually drive around the race track," said Brett Griffin, who spots for Elliott Sadler. "At Atlanta, you can tell the drivers are hauling the mail, so I try to make sure I stay focused for 500 miles to help keep Elliott safe." As the track has aged since its 1997 reconfiguration, average race-day speeds have decreased. Bobby Labonte set the record of 159.904 mph in 1997. But qualifying speeds remain close to 200 mph. Geoffrey Bodine set the qualifying record with a lap of 197.478 mph in 1997. Ryan Newman won the pole here last fall in 194.295 mph. Qualifying seems to separate the men from the boys at Atlanta. "I don't really care much about qualifying at Atlanta," Gordon said. "When the tires have a lot of grip and you have to put all the power down, it's not the funnest place to qualify. The cars are very temperamental and edgy, and we're hauling it. The car's got to be perfect. When it is, we go fast. When it's not, it's not a fun day. On race day, I love it. It's one of my favorite tracks on race day." So what is it about the track that creates so much speed? "It's the shape, the size, the banking and the transitions from straightaways to the corners," Mark Martin said. "It makes better speed. If you made sharper corners, it wouldn't be as fast. If you had flat straightaways and then corners that were banked up, you'd have to slow down more approaching the corner." Said Kyle Petty said. "[It's like] a ball on a string; the momentum just gets you up. [Since] they reconfigured it and put a dogleg in the front, you build up so much speed going into turn one that you carry it off of turn two and down the backstretch, and then you build it up again." Gordon sounds like an engineer discussing the track's characteristics. "It's fast because of the radius into the corners and the banking," he said. "When they reconfigured that track, they opened up the entries and exits of the corners to where you're not really having to turn the wheel that much. The corners are just big and wide and fast, which they were before, but they're even bigger and wider and faster now." Once racers find a comfort level at the Atlanta track, they find it an enjoyable Sunday drive. "I think it's just the type of asphalt that's on the race track," Burton said. "I like to go fast. It's the stopping fast that I don't like."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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