Johnson 3-mobs in Las Vegas! SCI Number of March 12
The next stop on the Nextel Cup schedule is Atlanta Motor Speedway
Next week NASCAR heads to the fastest track on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit, Atlanta Motor Speedway, for the 500 Kobalt Tools. The 2007 races at Atlanta will be a further change from the 2006 races held there. NASCAR has ordered an 18 gallon fuel cell instead of the standard 22 1/2 gallon cell that is typically used.
What effect will a smaller fuel cell have? For starters, more pit stops will be needed to cover the 500-mile race. More stops on NASCAR’s fastest track means that pit crews and the driver’s ability to have a clean pit stop will become even more critical. If he makes a bad save, a team could find itself a turn back in no time.
Of the current drivers who have raced more than 2 races at Atlanta, Dale Jarrett has had the most success. In 20 starts, Jarrett has an average finish of 10th. Of course, Dale’s success in Atlanta came during his years at Yates Racing. Let’s see if he can maintain his dominance with his new team, Michael Waltrip Racing.
Other drivers to consider:
Carl Edwards – Average Finish 11th
Jimmie Johnson – Average finish 11th
Dale Earnhardt Jr – Average Finish 11th
Greg Biffle – Average finish 12th
Next week’s schedule:
Nextel Cup: @ Atlanta Motor Speedway (all time EST)
03/16/07 – 06:40 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Kobalt Tools 500 Qualifying
03/17/07 – 01:20 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice Kobalt Tools 500
03/18/07 – 02:00 pm NASCAR Kobalt Tools 500 Nextel Cup
Busch Series: @ Atlanta Motor Speedway
03/16/07 – 02:15 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Nicorette 300 Practice
03/17/07 – 11:05 am NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Nicorette 300 Qualifying
03/17/07 – 03:00 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Nicorette 300
Craftsman Truck Series: @ Atlanta Motor Speedway
03/16/07 – 05:15 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series American Commercial Lines 200 Qualifying
03/16/07 – 09:00 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series American Commercial Lines 200
Johnson Captures First Win of 2007!
Jimmie Johnson learned last year that the best way to win a championship is to get out early. In the 2006 season, Johnson began by winning the Daytona 500, finishing second in California and winning Las Vegas.
With the exception of Daytona, Johnson’s results in 2007 are eerily similar to 2006. A third-place finish in California last week followed by a win in Las Vegas this week, the 150th for the Hendrick Motor Sports organization. Whats Next? A sixth place next week in Atlanta?
While Johnson’s poor finish this year at Daytona left fans guessing if he could repeat, there’s no question now that Lowe’s # 48 teams are still the force to be reckoned with in NASCAR!
Las Vegas is unimpressive in its bid for NASCAR’s second race
Las Vegas Motor Speedway desperately wants a second Nextel Cup race. The track loves it so much that it was willing to spend millions to increase the 11-year-olds’ spins by an additional 8 degrees to provide faster-paced action for fans. It is also in the planning phases of building luxury condominiums next to the track like never seen before on a race track.
So what is the problem you ask? The problem is not necessarily the track’s fault. The recent track restructuring, a new track surface and the promise of higher speeds caused Goodyear to play a conservative hand with the tires they formulated for the UAW Daimler Chrysler 400. The Goodyear tires on the left side were very tough and capable of handling. higher pressures than typical tires. Along with the modified left side tire, the air pressures in the right side tires were regulated and teams were not allowed to adjust as needed during the race.
The end result was that the race had a greater number of captions than any other race in Las Vegas. Most drivers complained of icy conditions on a slippery track that claimed numerous cars. For NASCAR to award a second race to Las Vegas, both the track and Goodyear will need to be on the same page and provide a track along with a suitable set of tires that will produce serious racing.
UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Summary
The newly renovated Las Vegas Motor Speedway made racing conditions dangerous Sunday at the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. As Tony Stewart predicted after Saturday night’s Busch race, the Sam’s Town 300, the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 would claim a lot of cars at the end of the race. .
During the offseason, Vegas-owned Speedway Motor Sports Inc spent millions of dollars raising cornering incline from 12 degrees to 20 and re-paving the entire track. Always one to make the safe bet, Goodyear specified a harder left-side compound to protect against tire failure. Ask any driver and they will tell you that a harder left side tire on a freshly paved track is extremely slippery.
And it was slippery yesterday. In the first 40 laps, there were 4 warnings that were charged by numerous cars. One team, Hendrick Motor Sports, was apparently immune to track conditions. Two of its drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finished 1 and 2 respectively, while Kyle Busch finished ninth. The victory was the 150th in Hendrick motorsport history!
For Jimmie Johnson, the victory in Las Vegas was his third consecutive victory at the same track and took him to fourth place in the standings. However, Johnson’s victory was not easy. Jimmy had to overcome a penalty on pit road and a small scratch on the wall. The reigning champion bounced back by leading 89 laps and winning the race.
Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon climbed to second place in the standings, still behind leader Mark Martin. The four-time champion led 111 laps in the race only to fail after a tire problem late in the race. Gordon is still behind Dale Earnhardt for a win in NASCAR’s all-time victories.
Jeff Burton looked ready to make a sweep of Las Vegas after winning Busch’s race on Saturday. The South Boston, VA native led late in the race before an engine problem wiped out his sweeping chances. Burton finished 15th.
Other main drivers behaved as follows:
Tony Stewart followed his eighth place in California with a seventh in Las Vegas. The former champion is now 13th.
NASCAR favorite Kasey Kahne was involved in an accident late in the race and finished 35th. The 35th place left Kahne 36th in points. It appears that Dodge’s # 9 team is still recovering from the suspensions delivered at Daytona.
Carl Edwards had a solid seventh place to help correct a 2007 season that has started off completely on the wrong foot. The finale propelled Edwards to 17th place in the standings.
Juan Montoya is learning to navigate the oval tracks. The former F1 star finished the race in 22nd place.