Can Kenseth make it three in three as Sprint Cup hits Sin City?
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series hits Las Vegas this weekend, and while you may or may not see some of NASCAR’s elite making gambles at Sin City’s finest establishments, there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing some gambles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.
This year, teams will be playing strategy, as the race has been extended to 285 laps, or 427.5 miles, to pay homage to the Shelby 427 Cobra. The extension of the race could play a part in the outcome, as some drivers could choose to gamble on fuel at the end. As is the case with a trip to the Palms or a wager on one of your favorite sportsbooks, fuel gambles pay off sometimes, and sometimes they backfire.
Can Matt Kenseth make it three wins in a row to start the season? After his victory in an abbreviated Daytona 500, Kenseth won last week’s Auto Club 500, and he‘s won this race twice, in 2003 and 2004. If he happens to qualify poorly, don’t fret Kenseth fans – he’s done so in the first two races, and it hasn’t hurt him, has it?
This might be the week that we finally see a winning performance from Jimmie Johnson. Johnson finished 31st in the season-opening Daytona 500, and though he did lead 74 laps last week in Fontana, he wound up finishing ninth. He comes into this weekend in 19th place in the standings, 172 points behind Kenseth. That’d bother plenty of other people, but given his track record of being able to make up deficits at points much later than this, an early hole isn‘t anything to be worried about for the #48.
JJ has had a lot of success in this race, winning back-to-back-to-back races in Vegas from 2005-07 before Carl Edwards snapped his streak in last year’s race.
In last year’s race, Edwards took the checkered flag ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., but a failed post-race inspection resulted in a loss of 100 points for Edwards, a six-week suspension for his crew chief, and a $100,000 fine.
Hopefully this weekend will be devoid of any such controversies, and hopefully we’ll also avoid a frightening crash like last year, when Jeff Gordon was lucky to walk away with just some soreness after slamming into a wall at 180 miles per hour following a late-race collision with Kenseth.
Who do I think will cross the finish line first on Sunday? I know the #48 has had an uncharacteristic start, but it’s only a matter of time before he’s at his best, and I think this is the week he notches what will be the first of several wins this season.
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