There are several stories to watch develop in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Strong Fords
For a second straight week at a 1.5-mile track the Ford camp is looking very good. Ryan Blaney’s pole run was the first of six Ford drivers in the starting top 10 with last week’s Atlanta winner Kevin Harvick outside the front row. The prevailing thought by many over the off-season was that Ford would be chasing Toyota and Chevrolet but so far that has not been the case.
Chevy Challenges
On the other hand the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 hasn’t come out of the box as strong as the manufacturer had hoped in the early going. The Chevy camp has preached patience as they try to find the nuances of the new car and that’s a fair point. There are a pair of Chevys in Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott inside the first 10 starters on Sunday.
Johnson’s Struggles
It’s been 25 races since Jimmie Johnson won a Cup race, the longest drought in his career. Maybe more startling is the fact Johnson only has one top-five since his Dover victory in June of 2017. He’s crashed out of the first two races of the season and is hoping for a much better performance on Sunday to snap his string of frustration.
See Also: Car Chiefs for Johnson, Chastain Ejected
Larson Looks for More
Kyle Larson was tremendous on last year’s West Coast swing with a win and a pair of second place finishes. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has been strong this weekend at Las Vegas and points to the January test at the track as a benefit. He won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race and has his eyes set on a weekend sweep on Sunday.
Busch Boys Come Home
Las Vegas natives Kurt and Kyle Busch are looking to give their hometown fans, family and friends something to sheer for on Sunday. Kurt has not yet won in his career at the 1.5-mile track while Kyle has a Cup win in 2009. Kyle’s Truck Series victory on Friday night gives him a shot at going two for three this weekend.
Pit Road Focus
The first two weeks of the season have been surprisingly low on pit road mistakes as teams adapt to the five member limit over the wall. While there have been some issue, certainly the epidemic of problems predicted by some have not materialized. However, last week’s challenges with the new common air guns by a number of teams including Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing, who was understandably none too pleased with the malfunctions, made headlines. Pit stops will again be under scrutiny on Sunday in Las Vegas.
