Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

UAW-Dodge 400 - Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes

Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes
Las Vegas Advance

Sunday, March 2, 2008
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
UAW-Dodge 400

DODGE CHARGER

Dodge continues the winning tradition legends Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Isaac established in the 1970s by designating the Charger as the nameplate Dodge teams will use in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008 and beyond.

The Dodge Charger has won at least one race in NASCAR’s premier series since it returned in 2005 and has 137 wins since 1966. Dodge has 198 wins with all nameplates.

Ryan Newman won the 50th running of the Daytona 500. He is the second Dodge driver to win The Great American Race since Dodge returned to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001. Ward Burton won in 2002 in a Dodge Intrepid.

DODGE AT LAS VEGAS

Juan Pablo Montoya covered the 1.5-mile track in 28.914 sec./186.761 mph during the NASCAR Preseason Thunder test session in January, eclipsing the track record of 29.212 sec./184.856 mph set by Kasey Kahne in 2007.

Sterling Marlin, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, posted the lone NASCAR Sprint Cup win by a Dodge at LVMS. He visited victory lane in 2002.

Kurt Busch has qualified in the top-10 in all seven previous starts at LVMS.

Bobby Labonte has three top-five and four top-10 finishes at LVMS in 10 career starts.

Kasey Kahne has two top-five finishes and has started seventh or better in his four previous outings at LVMS including two Bud Poles. In his rookie season (2004), he started for the Bud Pole, led 43 laps and finished second. He finished fourth in 2006. In his other two starts, he was involved in an accident.

TRACK FACTS

Sunday’s race will mark the first time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ “new car” has raced at the 1.5-mile oval.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway saw its track record shattered by almost ten miles per hour in 2007. Kasey Kahne put his Dodge on the pole with a 184.855 mph lap that eclipsed his own previous record of 174.904 MPH. The reason for the dramatic jump in speeds – the track was reconfigured and repaved. The banking was increased from 12 degrees up to 20 degrees in the corners. This boosted speeds and moved LVMS into the top-10 of NASCAR's fastest race tracks.

DODGE ROOKIE CONTENDERS

Sam Hornish Jr. – The three-time IndyCar Series champion and 2006 Indy 500 winner is assured a starting spot in the first five races of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in the No. 77 Mobile 1 Dodge Charger. A transfer of points from Penske Racing teammate Kurt Busch has Hornish in the top 35 in owner points.

Dario Franchitti – The reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion is the first European driver to compete full time in NASCAR’s premier series. Franchitti is the driver of the No. 40 Dodge Charger from Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

Patrick Carpentier – The driver of the No. 10 Valvoline Dodge from Gillett Evernham Motorsports will be looking to make his first start of the 2008 season at LVMS. A late-race tire problem in one of the 150-mile qualifying races at Daytona kept the former open-wheel driver from qualifying for The Great American Race. He didn’t get a chanced to make the field at Fontana as qualifying was rained out.

ROOKIE STANDINGS

Raybestos Rookies of the Year contenders Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti are tied for the top spot in the standings with Regan Smith. Each driver has 20 points after the first two races.

Trivia

Three Dodge drivers are ranked in the top-10 in the season point standings. Ryan Newman is second, Kurt Busch is fourth and kasey Kahne is sixth.

Kasey Kahne ranks third behind Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson in the NASCAR Driver Ratings. Ryan Newman is ranked seventh.

Kurt Busch, and younger brother Kyle, return home to Las Vegas for this weekend’s UAW-Dodge 400. Kurt stands fourth in the season point standings while Kyle is the point leader.

DID YOU KNOW?

Petty Enterprises has posted 268 wins in 2,817 starts with 890 top-five and 1,267 top-10 finishes with 151 of those starts coming from the pole.

Since Ray Evernham spearheaded Dodge’s return to NASCAR racing in 2001 and formed a partnership with George Gillett last year to form Gillett Evernham Motorsports, the organization has 13 wins in 527 starts with 67 top-five and 132 top-10 finishes

Quotes of the Week
“Las Vegas is a fun track and a pretty fun place to visit. As far as the track goes, it’s went through some changes but I expect the racing will be even better this year. It should be interesting with this new car there this weekend. We felt pretty good about the test we had there in January and we had a good race in California going before that last pit stop and the car got too loose. We’re taking the same car to Las Vegas this weekend so I think it will be good.”
Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger

“You know, if I was to win at Vegas on Sunday, oh man, I’d come unglued. It’s my big race. A lot of people like going to Vegas, doing the race and the city in one huge weekend with so much going on. It’s my hometown. I used to haul (rear) through that desert parking lot before the big track even existed after a race at the local short track. You know, I saw it built from the ground up. With the track being considered one of the major venues we visit now, it’d be extra special to win this weekend. I want to win at all the tracks and hopefully I’ll be around long enough to win at most of them. But, Vegas is No. 1 on my hit list right now.”
Kurt Busch, No. 12 Miller Lite Dodge Charger