NASCAR preview: Shelby 427
I guess it’s time to start taking Matt Kenseth seriously.
His Daytona 500 win wasn’t paid much attention to by many, since that was handed to Kenseth on a silver platter once he took the lead for the first time all race just before it was called due to rain.
But Kenseth showed he’s going to be a major factor in the points race this season by following that with a win last week at Fontana, so how can anyone else be the odds-on favorite on WagerWeb.com this week heading into the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas?
No driver has ever begun the season with three consecutive wins. According to NASCAR.com, Marvin Panch (1957), Bob Welborn (1959), David Pearson (1976) and Jeff Gordon (1997) are the only drivers to start the Cup season with two consecutive wins. None could make it three.
But Kenseth has been very good at Vegas in nine career races with two wins, four top-fives and five top-10s. He has led 438 laps at the 1.5-mile speedway — more than any other driver. Last year he finished 20th after crashing with five laps to go. His average finish here is better than any other driver other than Denny Hamlin.
Last year, Kenseth didn’t win a race, just the second time he has failed to record a victory during the season since starting in Cup full-time for Roush Racing in 2000. The other year was 2001.
“It feels pretty unbelievable to win the first two races — especially Daytona,” said Kenseth, the 2003 Sprint Cup champion. “I just feel great about the group we have assembled.”
There will be one major change this year at Vegas that drivers will have to adjust to, and that’s Goodyear bringing a different tire than the one it brought to the tri-oval last year.
“The track has changed over the past few years, and since last year, the tire has changed,” said Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman. “The tire change is going to be the biggest obstacle to overcome just because you have to figure out how it is going to react to the car and the race track.”
Maybe a tire change will do some of the sport’s top drivers good at Vegas. Jimmie Johnson finished just 29th here last year; Jeff Gordon has won only once in 11 Vegas starts; and Tony Stewart has never won here on any NASCAR circuit, making Vegas the the only Cup venue where he has yet to hoist the winner’s trophy in an event for the Sprint Cup or Nationwide series.
Kenseth’s Roush Racing teammate, Carl Edwards, the pre-race favorite this week on WagerWeb.com, is the defending champion of this race. Roush Racing has a record six wins at this track.
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