Las Vegas race takeaways
Hot start for Ford Fusions in last Cup year
LAS VEGAS – Five takeaways from Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the West Coast swing rolls on toward ISM Raceway near Phoenix.
❚ Fords a good bet: This season is scheduled to be the final one for the Ford Fusion model in the series as Blue Oval teams look toward racing the Mustang next year.
In the preseason, Ford had been painted as the underdog because Toyota is racing the proven Camry and Chevrolet has a promising new model in the Camaro. But Ford has two consecutive victories (both by Kevin Harvick), and Fords took six of the top 10 positions Sunday in Las Vegas. Harvick was so dominant in his wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Vegas that team co-owner Tony Stewart said the team had the luxury of working on extras.
“When you have days like this, it gives you the flexibility to focus a little bit more on what your car is really doing because you’re not really having that pressure on you as far as somebody pressuring you on the racetrack,” Stewart said. “When you can get out by yourself like that and things are clicking along, it seems like the closer things are to being right, the easier it is to actually diagnose what it is you need.
“On a day like today (and at Atlanta) when Kevin has cars that are driving the way he wants to drive like that, he can really pick apart what it is he needs to be even that much better. It’s kind of a luxury to be in that spot.”
Much better? Things could be rough for the opposition if that holds true.
❚ Who’s counting? There was a lot of talk Sunday at LVMS about Kevin Harvick reaching the 100-victory mark across NASCAR’s three national series — Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.
It’s a notable accomplishment, but it’s worth remembering one driver — seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty — reached 200. In one series (Cup).
❚ Youth movement: Ryan Blaney, 24, is the standout driver among the so- called young guns three races in.
Blaney won the Las Vegas pole and finished fifth Sunday. He was seventh in the Daytona 500 and 12th at Atlanta and is third in points.
Chase Elliott ran well Sunday and appeared to be on course to challenge for a top-five finish before his day ended after 183 laps when he was involved in a crash with Kurt Busch.
❚ Tough times for seven-time: Jimmie Johnson’s struggles continued.
He fell a lap down early and fought back all afternoon, finishing 12th, easily his best result of the season (he was
38th at Daytona and 27th at Atlanta). Johnson said the team is still learning the Camaro model but he can make the biggest gains simply by driving his cars to their limit — and not beyond.
“At the end of last year and even in Atlanta (two races ago), I was trying too hard,” he said. “Just giving 100% and driving the car where it’s at and bringing it home is what I need to start doing. I have been trying to carry it, and I’ve crashed more cars in the last six months than I have really in any six-month stretch or whole-year stretch. Just trying to drive it 100% and not step over that line.”
❚ Las Vegas, part two: Cup teams will be returning to the Nevada desert in late summer as LVMS hosts two Cup races for the first time.
The Sept. 16 race will be the opener of the playoffs, and conditions are likely to be much different for the return. The weather last weekend was unusually cool; temperatures in September are likely to be at least 10-20 degrees warmer, leading to different track conditions.