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as of Tuesday, March 05, 2013 12:23 PM.



NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Kobalt Tools 400 Preview

Date: Sunday, March 10

Start Time: 3 p.m. ET

Site: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1996) -- Las Vegas, Nev.

Track: 1.5-mile oval - 2,275 feet (Frontstretch); 1,572 feet (Backstretch)

Laps: 267

Miles: 400.5

Capacity: 142,000 (Grandstand Seating)

Total purse:

Payouts:

Year: 16th

On TV: FOX

Announcers:

On Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio

Race record: Mark Martin, 1998 (146.554 mph)

Qualifying record: Kasey Kahne, 2012 (190.456 mph)

2012 Finish

Defending champion: Tony Stewart

Runner up: Jimmie Johnson

Pole winner: Kasey Kahne (190.456 mph)

Top 10:

1. Tony Stewart (Start: 7)

2. Jimmie Johnson (6)

3. Greg Biffle (9)

4. Ryan Newman (18)

5. Carl Edwards (21)

6. Clint Bowyer (5)

7. Paul Menard (26)

8. Jamie McMurray (19)

9. Trevor Bayne (25)

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (4)

Average speed: 137.524 mph

Time of race: 2 hrs., 54 mins., 44 secs.

Margin of victory: 0.461 secs.

Caution flags: 8 for 33 laps

Lead changes: 16 among 11 drivers

Past winners

2012 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 137.524 mph

2011 Carl Edwards, Ford, 135.508 mph

2010 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 141.450 mph

2009 Kyle Busch, Toyota, 119.513 mph

2008 Carl Edwards, Ford, 127.729 mph

2007 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 128.183 mph

2006 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 133.358 mph

2005 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 121.038 mph

2004 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 128.790 mph

2003 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 132.934 mph

2002 Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 136.747 mph

2001 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 136.377 mph

2000 Jeff Burton, Ford, 119.982 mph

1999 Jeff Burton, Ford, 137.537 mph

1998 Mark Martin, Ford, 146.554 mph (race record)

Last race

Race: Subway Fresh Fit 500 (March 3)

Site: Phoenix International Raceway -- Avondale, Ariz.

Miles: 316

Laps: 316

Finish line order: Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Time of Race: 3 hrs., 0 mins., 15 secs.

Average speed: 105.187 mph

Margin of victory: 1.024 secs.

Caution flags: 8 for 43 laps

Lead changes: 12 among 9 drivers

Lap leaders: M. Martin 1-49; J. Montoya 50-56; G. Biffle 57-64; J. Montoya M. Martin 1-49; J. Montoya 50-56; G. Biffle 57-64; J. Montoya 65-69; G. Biffle 70-100; M. Martin 101-126; B. Keselowski 127-142; D. Ragan 143-145; C. Edwards 146-189; J. Johnson 190; D. Reutimann 191; D. Earnhardt Jr. 192-238; C. Edwards 239-316.

Entry list

#1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/McDonald's

#2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Ford/Miller Lite

#5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/Farmers Insurance

#7 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Sany

#9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/Stanley

#10 Danica Patrick (Roscoe, IL) Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com

#11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Office

#13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/GEICO

#14 * Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1

#15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy

#16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/American Red Cross

#17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Olive Branch, MS) Ford/Zest

#18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's

#19 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Toyota/Plinker Tactical

#20 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Toyota/Dollar General

#21 Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) Ford/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire

#22 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Ford/Shell/Pennzoil

#24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger

#27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Schrock

#29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Rheem

#30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Swan Racing

#31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Caterpillar

#32 Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO) Ford/Federated Auto Parts

#33 Landon Cassill (Fairfax, IA) Chevrolet/TBA

#34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/TBA

#35 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/MDS Transport

#36 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/Accell Construction

#38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Long John Silver's

#39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Quicken Loans

#42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Axe Apollo

#43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Farmland

#47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Kingsford

#48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's/Kobalt Tools

#51 Austin Dillon (Welcome, NC) Chevrolet/Tag Heuer

#55 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine

#56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts

#78 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Furniture Row

#83 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper

#87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/Maddie's Place

#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/Amp Energy Orange

#93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper

#95 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Ford/Leavine Family Racing

#98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/Ambient Edge HVAC

#99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Aflac

Leading contenders

Name 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Tony Stewart 3 10 21 7 43 26 7 2 Won
Jimmie Johnson 16 Won Won Won 29 24 Won 16 2
Greg Biffle 40 6 8 16 3 7 10 28 3
Ryan Newman 27 9 43 8 14 25 18 5 4
Carl Edwards --- 14 26 6 Won 17 12 Won 5
Clint Bowyer --- --- 15 36 28 2 8 15 6
Dale Earnhardt Jr 35 42 27 11 2 10 16 8 10
Kevin Harvick 21 5 11 27 4 12 2 17 11
Jeff Gordon 15 4 5 2 35 6 3 36 12
Joey Logano --- --- --- --- --- 13 6 23 16
Martin Truex Jr --- --- 20 12 15 32 20 6 17
Mark Martin 5 30 6 5 10 40 4 18 18
Kasey Kahne 2 38 4 35 6 11 9 14 19
Denny Hamlin --- --- 10 3 9 22 19 7 20
Matt Kenseth Won 8 2 4 20 43 5 11 22
Kyle Busch 41 2 3 9 11 Won 15 38 23
Brad Keselowski --- --- --- --- --- 38 26 26 32

Notes

The Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the third race on the 2013 Sprint Cup Series schedule.

Construction of this racetrack, which is known today as Las Vegas Motor Speedway, began in 1995. Speedway Motorsports Inc. acquired the property in 1998.

This track, which is 1.5 miles in length, has 20 degrees of banking in all four of its turns as well as nine degrees of banking on the frontstretch and backstretch. In 2006, it was reconfigured to include progressive banking.

The first NASCAR race held at LVMS was a K&N Pro Series West event won by Ken Schrader on Nov. 2, 1996. Mark Martin won the inaugural Sprint Cup race there on March 1, 1998. The Cup Series has competed at this track once each year since then.

There have been 15 Sprint Cup races held at Las Vegas. Four driver have competed in all of them: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin.

Jimmie Johnson holds the record for most victories at Las Vegas with four. Johnson won three consecutive races there from 2005-07. His other victory at this track came in 2010.

Tony Stewart, Gordon and Martin have the most top-five finishes at Las Vegas with six each. Martin's 10 top-10 finishes is the best among all drivers who have competed there.

Kasey Kahne has the most poles at Las Vegas with three, including one last year. Kahne's first two poles there came in 2004 (his Cup rookie season) and 2007. He has yet to win a Sprint Cup event at this track.

One year ago, Stewart checked off Las Vegas as one of those tracks on the current Sprint Cup schedule where he had yet to win a race. Darlington Raceway and Kentucky Speedway are the only tracks where he is winless. Kentucky hosted its first event in the series in 2011.

The closest margin of victory for a Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas occurred in 2006 when Johnson nipped Matt Kenseth to the finish line by just 0.045 seconds.

Two drivers who are competing in this weekend's race made their first career Cup starts at Las Vegas: Kyle Busch (2004) and Aric Almirola (2007).

Kahne is the only driver who claimed his first career pole in the series at Las Vegas (2004).

No active driver has scored his or her first Cup win at Las Vegas.

The next Sprint Cup Series event is the March 17 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski is the defending race winner.
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