Fast Forward ~ The 2014 Kobalt 400 At Las Vegas Fantasy Race Picks And Preview
3/06/2014
Staff
Article
The
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Location:
Las Vegas, Nevada
Length:
1.5 Mile Oval
Banking:
20 degrees in turns 1-2;
20
degrees in turns 3-4;
9 degrees on the
backstretch;
9 degrees on the front
stretch
Pit
Road Speed: 45 MPH
The
Race: The Kobalt 400
267
Laps (400.5 Miles)
2013
Purse: $6,439,381
Defending
Champion: Matt Kenseth, 146.287 MPH
Most
recent winner: Matt Kenseth, 146.287 MPH
Track
Record: Mark Martin, 1998, 146.554 MPH
Event
Record: Mark Martin, 1998, 146.554 MPH
Qualifying
record: Kasey Kahne, 2012, 190.456
TV:FOX, 3:00PM EST
Radio:
PRN (www.GoPRN.com); Sirius XM 90
The
History:
1995
– Construction began.
11/2/1996
- The first NASCAR race, a K&N Pro Series West race won by Ken Schrader
1998
– Speedway MotorSports, Inc. purchases the track.
3/1/1998
– Mark Martin wins the first Cup Series Race at Las Vegas.
3/3/2002
– Sterling Marlin becomes the oldest race winner at the track at 44 years, 8
months, 1 day.
3/12/2006
– The closest margin of victory was set when Jimmie Johnson defeated Matt
Kenseth by 0.045 seconds. (Johnson led only one lap all day, the last one.)
2006
– The track underwent a change to include progressive banking.
3/1/2009
– Kyle Busch becomes the youngest race winner at 23 years, 9 months, 29 days
The
Picks:
Last
week, we had our first winners of the season as PattyKay, Vivian, and Barbara
all started off the season with an early win (Early Wynn?) as they took Kevin
Harvick at Phoenix. This early in the
season, a win will certainly jumble up the points, and that’s exactly what we have. Here they are after the race at Phoenix…
Player |
Selection |
Race Pts |
Previous Pts |
Total Pts |
Behind |
Wins |
DNFs |
Mr. Pole |
2 |
42 |
84 |
126 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
PattyKay Lilley |
4 |
48 |
78 |
126 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Vivian |
4 |
48 |
76 |
124 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
Alabama Fitz |
48 |
38 |
85 |
123 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Barbara |
4 |
48 |
72 |
120 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
Brian Marchetti |
48 |
38 |
78 |
116 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
Mr. Seven |
31 |
38 |
74 |
112 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
Jim Fitzgerald |
11 |
25 |
85 |
110 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
Kevin Abraham |
99 |
37 |
64 |
101 |
25 |
0 |
1 |
Darrell |
11 |
25 |
71 |
96 |
30 |
0 |
1 |
Nate |
11 |
25 |
52 |
77 |
49 |
0 |
1 |
Round
Table Picks:
Here
are our picks for Las Vegas:
KEVIN
ABRAHAM: Las Vegas is the city that thrives on making bets and taking longshots
to win large sums of money. Many will look at this season to date and say that
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., being the points leader, was a
long shot. Many would have thought it would have been Johnson, Kenseth, or even
Gordon. Coming into Vegas the favorites
to win the race are Kenseth, Biffle, Johnson and Kyle Busch. I am looking at a
couple of long shots for this race however, I would like to see Jim’s pick
before sharing mine, though, as he thankfully took Hamlin and allowed me to
gain 12 points on him! I’m still 25 points out of the lead, all due to a wreck
by Danica Patrick in the Sprint Unlimited. I am NOT picking Danica as my long
shot pick this week, even though she has a top 5 at this track in the
Nationwide Series.
JIM
FITZGERALD: So, I actually have to pick my driver before you pick yours? I’m not the one you need to watch out for,
sir. I’m not the point leader! Well, that’s fine. I’ll go out on your limb and go first. I "ain't a-skeered." Let's
think about this in a logical fashion.
Who was one of the best on the 1.5 mile tracks last season? Who is the defending Champion of this race? Look no further than the No. 20 car of Matt
Kenseth and his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Kenseth looks to me very much like he did last season, except he
actually brought the car home at Daytona instead of having engine failure. It's Vegas, and I'm not rolling the dice
on Matt Kenseth. He's an almost sure
thing.
KEVIN
ABRAHAM: Matt Kenseth is a good safe pick. We all know that to win this year's
championship, running safe at Homestead will not earn you the championship.
That is why drivers are going to roll the dice and lock up one a couple of wins
early to make the Chase. This track for years was Roush's playground; however
in recent years it has become more of a track that defines the best drivers of
today. There is something that makes me look at the long shots in my picks, One
of the best drivers of today has had more than his share of bad luck. I
look for and pick 'The Outlaw' Kurt Busch to earn a win on his home track this
week, and prove that SHR was sane to add a fourth team this year.
PATTYKAY
LILLEY: All right, Jim, I'll see your Toyota and raise
you a Chevy. I'm going with the "Mo" this week, and that
makes Dale Earnhardt Jr. my driver of choice. I’ll see you at the
checkers... when you get there.
JIM
FITZGERALD: Well, why not take Dale Jr...I mean, according to half of the online
world he has already won the Championship!
PATTYKAY
LILLEY: You know I don't buy into that Bull; I just like to follow the
Momentum; it usually takes you where you want to go.
KEVIN
ABRAHAM: Or you get hit with a
healthy dose of reality, and something out of control takes down the 'Mo'.
PATTYKAY
LILLEY: Kev, Honey, I have a healthy dose of reality
for you. Check the scores... last year, this year, doesn't
matter. Any questions?
JIM
FITZGERALD: Oh, Snap!
PATTYKAY
LILLEY: Well, these kids will test Mama, and it usually ends with the same
result.
JIM
FITZGERALD: Usually. I still have last year’s cup! Yep, I went there.
ALABAMA
FITZ: Ok, down to business. Some
interesting choices made so far: Kenseth, with a 17/11 start/finish ratio and
the fact that he is the latest winner at Vegas, should be considered...and I
did. Dale Jr. is a good pick and
definitely should be considered since he has a pocketful of "Mo" as
Mama called it...and I did. Kurt Busch
is a gutsy, dangerous pick. Although he
has some strengths, I'm not sure his mind is where it
needs to be due to the fact he is now a sure bet to try the Indy 500 and
Charlotte 600 combo. Based on Matt's
prior so/so performance, I was reluctant to pick him even though he has 2 Top
5's in his last 4 races here, which includes last years
win. Dale Jr. scared me because if he
doesn't qualify well here, he USUALLY doesn't run well here. He does have 4 Top 5's out of his last 5
races at Vegas, but has led only one of those.
BRIAN
MARCHETTI: Are you going to make a pick at some point?
ALABAMA
FITZ: Patience, my bearded friend. I
also looked at Kahne who finished 2nd behind Matt last year, but he had the
pole in 2012 and didn't lead a single lap.
Kyle Busch, even though he seems to qualify well here, usually goes
backwards at Vegas. Not knowing which
Tony would show up eliminated him although he is just ornery enough to upset a
lot of apple carts. My list came down to
Johnson (2010 winner), Edwards (2011 winner), both of whom the same
start/finish ratio of 13/9, and a kid whose performance went from pretty bad to
shining as soon as he put his new Ford on the track. Brad won the pole, led for 12 laps, the first
he has led in his 5 races at Vegas, and finished third. He got a lot of consideration and came within
a breath of being chosen. Johnson ONLY
has three Top 5's in his last four Vegas races
including the 2010 win from the 20th starting position. "Cousin" Carl has three CONSECUTIVE Top 5's at Vegas including his 2011
win. THAT, my friends, is how close I
saw it.
JIM
FITZGERALD: So….
ALABAMA
FITZ: I'm really still undecided as to whom I should have chosen. All three finalists presented good arguments,
but Brad was the weakest. Still, it's
his determination that almost got him the nod over Edwards and Johnson. Stewart is the monster behind the curtain
ready to jump out and grab anybody not paying attention! But, for me, it’s Edwards in the No. 99....but
you probably already figured that out as intelligent as all of you are. I just wanted to make it official....in case
I win, I mean Carl wins.
PATTYKAY
LILLEY: To be successful at a
fantasy game, one must be able to put aside likes and dislikes and bring to the
table reason and logic. It doesn't always work, but in the long run, you'll be
money ahead.
BRIAN
MARCHETTI: I feel like we do that fairly well, here.
PATTYKAY
LILLEY: I feel like you need to make a pick!
BRIAN
MARCHETTI: Okay…I was inclined to stick with Jimmie Johnson this week,
considering once again he sits with the highest Driver Rating, Second Best AVG
Finish based on the last 10 races, BUT, I keep listening to PattyKay, and she
doesn't care about what happened 10 races ago which is a valid point. So I looked at the last 4 races only, and
Uncle Carl stands out like a sore thumb.
So, I'm gonna mix it up this week, and
Gamble on the No. 99 in Vegas!
How long do you think before Carl stops trying to hurt himself after
every win? Those back flips start to
take their toll on a man's body when you rack up some age.....ever see Mark
Martin do that? Hell no!
ALABAMA
FITZ: Bet he could.
KEVIN
ABRAHAM: Ehhhh…
BRIAN
MARCHETTI: Bet he can’t.
JIM
FITZGERALD: Hmmmm….
ALABAMA
FITZ: Actually, Brian, they did a commercial with a full face shield helmeted
short guy. He does a backflip off the
car like Carl does. Of course, the guy
disappears behind some tires. But when
he stands up, and takes off the helmet, it's none other than Mark Martin! This was only a few years ago, so most of you
must have seen it. I laughed so hard I
had tears running down my face. But, you
are right of course, PK. Even though I
like Keselowski, he was the weakest of the three record wise. The thing about him that struck me was how,
for his first four races at Vegas, he never did better than 26th. All of those races were in a Dodge. As soon as he got into a Ford, he
accomplished more. The drawback was that
he only had one race there in the Ford, so there was no telling if that was a
fluke race for him, so he had to be moved down.
PATTYKAY
LILLEY: A lot of things are different this year, qualifying, points, whatever.
Fantasy is always a toss-up. I learned years before Yahoo thought about a game
that you have to go with the odds, even it it's your
heart that is setting them. When I took the game I used to play for $2500, I
never went back, so I'm always a winner. LOL. Anyone
could win at Vegas, as the city itself constantly proves, but on the track, the
odds narrow. I'm happy to ride with the guy that's leading the show
JIM
FITZGERALD: Speaking of “The Show”…I’m hoping everyone has been able to catch
PattyKay Lilley on the radio on Monday nights at 8PM Eastern. She does a short segment on "Bump And Run" w/ That Sports Chick on The
Racin' Nation Radio Network! “That
Sports Chick” is Robyn Vandenberg, and I am very pleased to let you all know
that Robyn has joined Race Fans Forever, and will be playing our Fantasy game
with us, and will also join us as a weekly writer! Welcome Robyn! Why don’t you get initiated here and give us
your pick for Las Vegas!
ROBYN
VANDENBERG: Well, PattyKay was correct.
As much as I want to pick my favorite driver I cannot as Lady Luck has
eluded him lately. I must go with the
obvious on this one and that would be the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet driven by the
current Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson.
JIM
FITZGERALD: Well done, and welcome to it! If anyone out there is no t familiar with Robyn, as I said, she is "That Sports Chick" and does host her own radio programs. Robyn doesn't hold anything back. She'll tell you how she feels without hesitation. If she feels there is an injustice somewhere, she'll be sure to tell you about it, as well as who she thinks is right, and who she thinks is wrong, and even how she would fix it. Not to over use a word which is used far too often in racing circles, but I'm very excited that Robyn is here, and very interested to hear what she has to say.
So, there are the Round Table picks.
Let’s see what our fans have to say for the race at Las Vegas this
week. Barbara, let’s hear what you have!
Fan
Picks:
Barbara:
Picking a Vegas winner is like playing Darts. The Win Bug has become enhanced
this year and there are clearly seven-eight, even nine top probabilities.
Pushing all stats and reasoning to the side, I’ll pull for CARL EDWARDS this
week. Think he’s become fed up with this “almost” racing and he’s putting the
pedal to the metal. Come on, No. 99!
Nate:
I’m going to go with a guy who always seems to be pretty strong here, and I am
also taking No. 99, Carl Edwards.
Darrell:
My choice is the guy who has the most wins there by any driver. I’m taking the 2013 Sprint Cup Champion,
Jimmie Johnson.
Vivian:
My pick to win the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas has
come on strong in the first two races this season. He will have his Crew Chief
back, is getting adjusted to his Ford, has done well in Nationwide races there,
and he usually qualifies well. He is ready to win a Cup race this season, so I
think Brad Keselowski will take the checkered flag as he crosses the finish
line first.
Well,
there are the picks. I see a couple of
repeats and a few stand-alones.
We
have Edwards (4), Johnson (2), Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and Brad Keselowski.
We’ll see how all of that works out, as well as who Mr. Pole and Mr.
Seven end up with at Las Vegas. Until
then, good luck, best wishes, and keep the shiny side up.
“Man, I really like Vegas.” ~ Elvis Presley
Our Picks For This Week!
Who is YOUR pick to win this week?