Quick Hits on Vegas
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There
was a lot of anticipation leading up to Sunday's race. After the attempt at
qualifying on Friday, some of that anticipation wasn't necessarily positive. A
lot of fans (unrealistically) expected side by side, door to door racing
non-stop for 400 miles, while a lot of fans were more curious as to what the
newly implemented rules package would give us.
Much
like Atlanta the week before, there were mad scrambles at the start and on
subsequent restarts, often resulting in three or four wide racing. After a few
laps, drivers would settle into position. There were a lot of good battles for
position throughout the day and a good mix of leaders at the front of the
field. The lack of on-track cautions was a pleasant surprise and something few
expected. It's always good to see a clean race.
The
Penske Fords were the class of the field which could spell trouble for a lot of
other teams. Winner Joey Logano seems more confident than ever after winning
the title last season. Teammate Brad Keselowski followed up last week's win
with a solid second. It'll be interesting to watch when or if the others catch
up to them at future mile-and-a-half-tracks.
One
of the best stories of the day involved Kurt Busch. He paid homage to Star
Nursery, his Southwest Tour sponsor from 20 years ago. Not only was that a
tremendous gesture but it made for one of the best looking schemes the series
has seen lately. The car had the look of a short track Saturday car. Even better
was the fact Busch was able to lead a lot of laps and stay up front. Kurt Busch
is going to win and win soon with Ganassi.
It
was also good to see Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. running near the front. Fairly or
not, he's received a lot of criticism lately. He's made it obvious he doesn't
care. He seems pretty confident and a sixth place finish today will probably
increase that. It was his first top 10 finish since the Talladega race last
fall. That run was needed for both him and for Roush-Fenway. It's too early to
predict how this season will play out for him but if he's able to brush off the
critics, stay confident and put together some more strong runs, it will add
another layer of intrigue as 2019 progresses.
So
now it's on to Phoenix, where Kevin Harvick has reigned supreme. Let's see if
that continues or if the Penske cars have something to say about it. With Kyle
Busch and Denny Hamlin running strong as well, it's another race to look
forward to. Is it race day yet?