Storylines: Las Vegas (Yahoo! Sports)
February 27, 2010
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LAS VEGAS – Welcome to “What Will They Do Weekend” – as in, what will a handful of drivers, most notably Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin, do in Sunday’s Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?
Earnhardt’s second-place finish in the Daytona 500 is a distant memory after last weekend’s disappointing and slighting troubling performance at Auto Club Speedway where Junior was never a factor. That showing has rehashed the bad memories of 2009, leaving us to wonder if 2010 is going to be a turnaround year for NASCAR’s most popular driver.
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Expectations weren’t necessarily as high for Kahne coming into the season, what with his pending free agency and the constant fluidity of Richard Petty Motorsports. But after a solid Speedweeks in Daytona and high praise for his new equipment, Kahne appeared headed for a surprise season. However, his results haven’t matched the possibilities. Wrecks in each of the first two seasons have him sitting 33rd in the standings.
And then there’s Hamlin, the trendy preseason pick to knock off Jimmie Johnson. So far, though, Hamlin’s been more disappointing than anything, finishing 17th and 29th. What’s more, he hasn’t been much of a factor in either race.
Yes, it’s still early in the season, but it’s not too early for trends to begin to take shape.
“If you’re 34th in points after 10 races, you’re probably in trouble, but early in the year I think you have plenty of time to make those gains,” Kahne said. “We have to run well this weekend if we want to get started on going the right direction.”
Here are three other storylines to watch for in Sunday’s Shelby American:
1. Will Richard Childress Racing finally snap its winless streak?
It’s been 41 races since an RCR driver has been to victory lane. The last was Jeff Burton way back on Oct. 11, 2008.
All three team members had a shot to win last weekend in California, but were ultimately snookered by Johnson. Finishing second (Kevin Harvick), third (Jeff Burton) and eighth (Clint Bowyer) has put the entire team in solid standing – Harvick leads the points, Bowyer is second, Burton is fifth – but there’s still something missing.
“Certainly the 48 [Johnson] got a lucky break last week, there’s no denying that,” Burton said. “But at the same token we had a car that started on the outside of him and a car that started behind him and he still beat us. That’s on us. We have to find a way to not let that happen.”
2. Will Kurt Busch cry on Sunday?
Friday, after qualifying first for Sunday’s race, Busch was asked, “What’s more fun, winning the pole or racing Big Wheels back in 1982?”
The question, lobbed from a family friend, got Busch choked up. Las Vegas is his hometown. Just beyond the walls of Las Vegas Motor Speedway sits the tiny track where he grew up racing. So to now be on the inside of the big track, where on Sunday more than 100,000 people will watch you start first, had Busch reflecting on how far he’s come in his life.
“It’s the people that make it special to me,” he explained, fighting back tears. “You always remember the people that helped you get to where you’ve gotten in racing. To see them back in Vegas is awesome.”
Busch said that for him winning this race would rank second behind only the Daytona 500. And if he does win Sunday, expect some water works.
3. Who’s the favorite?
It’s Las Vegas, so it’s only fitting to scan the odds for Sunday’s race.
According to the sports book at Mandalay Bay, Jimmie Johnson is the 9-2 favorite, followed by Kyle Busch (5-1), Kevin Harvick (6-1), Jeff Gordon (8-1) and Tony Stewart (8-1). Rounding out the top 10 are Carl Edwards (10-1), Mark Martin (10-1), Juan Pablo Montoya (12-1), Greg Biffle (15-1) and Denny Hamlin (15-1).
As for long shots, Bobby Labonte carries the longest odds at 150-1. Elliott Sadler (100-1), Scott Speed (100-1) and AJ Allmendinger (75-1) are getting no love, either.
The best bet? Kurt Busch, the pole sitter, is going off at 22-1.
Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
