LVMS and other random NASCAR rambling
by Serendipitous | Published on February 29th, 2008, 1:52 pm | Sports
Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Third race of the 2008 season. Sprint cup. I'm still getting used to saying that... Sprint Cup Series... Geez, it took me long enough to get used to calling it the Nextel cup, then they had to go and change sponsor names again! Instead of thinking "Sprint" as a sponsor, I think about sprint cars, The Dirt Track at LMS, and The World of Outlaws!I didn't get around to summarizing anything from last week at Cali... and by now you've likely read/heard all that you wanted about the rain delay, the race itself, and the Nationwide race that followed. What you didn't get to read is that my fantasy team sucked. I had Edwards on my roster for Daytona, and for California I dropped him for Kenseth. Yeah. I dropped Edwards. The guy who won the race.
Three of my five drivers were 37th or worse (Sorensen, Hamlin, and Mears). Of course, winning in the fantasy league that I play in has no real consequence. It's all about talking smack and razzing the rest of the "team owners." 
So going into this weekend, the UAW-Dodge 400 at LVMS, point standings are:
1 – Kyle “I’m getting older but I’m still stupid” Busch
2 – Ryan “Do I really look like Barney Rubble?” Newman
3 – Tony “My hair and bodyfat grow at the same rate” Stewart
4 – Kurt “Why can’t I be Rusty?” Busch
5 – Carl “I’ll never have a good haircut” Edwards
6 – Kasey “I’m trying to butch it up for Budweiser” Kahne
7 – Kevin “My wife wears the pants” Harvick
8 – Jimmie “I like speaking monotone” Johnson
9 – Greg “I wish I had better commercials” Biffle
10 – Jeff “always a bridesmaid” Burton
11 – Brian “Yeah, I totally took out my teammate and Dale Jr on purpose”Vickers
12 – Martin “I put up with Teresa if it means I get to race” Truex Jr.
Top 12 would be in The Chase, but that is a loooooooooong way off. But if it were Chase time, right outside you'd find:
13 – Elliott “I’ll always sound like a hick” Sadler
14 – Jeff “I really miss my rainbow car” Gordon
15 – Matt “Remember when they called me Matt the Brat?” Kenseth
The NASCAR site has By the Numbers: Las Vegas with some interesting bits of info, such as #9 Kasey Kahne setting a new qualifying record last year (and breaking the previous record he set in his rookie year, 2004). We'll see if Johnson winds up in Victory Lane for a fourth consecutive win at LVMS.
I'm looking forward to seeing how teams will do with the new car on this track. This is the first race on a 1 1/2 mile oval... Last year, LVMS was reconfigured which included resurfacing the track. Trying to "get it right" when you've switched a few variables at the same time? Well, either you get it or you don't... Come Sunday, we'll see.