Odds Look Good for Kenseth To Pad His Points Lead
Matt Kenseth and his car owner Jack Roush headed to Auto Club Speedway as Daytona 500 champions, and looked like they had a prime chance to win again based on his history at that 2-mile oval. Kenseth went on to win the Auto Club 500 for the third time, giving Roush Fenway Racing a five-year winning streak in that event.

Las Vegas looks just as promising for Kenseth, the 2003 series champion who has jetted to an early lead in the series standings. He has two Las Vegas victories and a fourth-best Driver Rating of 107.8 there. Roush has a series-high six car owner victories there, in the 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at the 1.5-mile track.

Gordon Second In Points, Eyeing Victory Lane
Kenseth isn’t the only past series champion who looks to be back in form. Four-time champion Jeff Gordon comes to Vegas second in points – 81 behind Kenseth – after a runner-up effort at Auto Club Speedway. Gordon is eager to break his winless streak, now at 43 consecutive races – not counting his non-points victory at Daytona two weeks ago, in one of the Daytona’s 500’s two qualifying races.

It’s A Busch Brothers Homecoming
Kurt Busch, the 2004 series champion, continues the trend of former titlists off to a fast start, as he comes into Vegas third in the series standings. Meanwhile, his younger brother Kyle is fresh off winning both the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck races at Auto Club Speedway.

Suffice to say they’d like to excel this weekend since Las Vegas is their hometown. And here’s a surprising footnote: Neither has won a NASCAR national series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The Champ Set To Climb Off The Canvas
Jimmie Johnson may be down coming into Las Vegas – but by no means is he out.
The three-time defending series champion is 19th in points this week. Expect a surge this week. Johnson won the Las Vegas race three consecutive years from 2005-07.

Waltrip Responding To Self-Inflicted Pressure
Prior to this season, Michael Waltrip threw down the gauntlet – at his own feet. Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 champion, said he would retire at season’s end if his results did not improve.

Two weeks into the 2009 season, Waltrip has improved. He comes into Las Vegas seventh in the series standings.

Waltrip is in his third year as a driver-owner. His last victory came in 2003.