Written and Pictures by Jake Conlee
The press room was all a buzz at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as Brad Keselowski sweeps the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Boyd Gaming 300 and Sprint Cup Kobalt400 races to close out a very successful and very exciting race weekend. The odds for Keselowski to win Sunday’s Kobalt400 were 7 to 1. The odds for him to “Do the Double” were 500 to 1! This conversation seemed appropriate, as the novelty of being in Las Vegas is special for the cross country speed fest that is NASCAR. Talking to any of the drivers and crew, they will emphasize why Las Vegas is always a special place on the calendar. Whether it’s the predictably good weather, the state of the art facilities and garages, the ability to interact with the fans; the consensus is that Las Vegas is well loved on the circuit.
Today’s Kobalt400 was a real barnstormer, quickly paced and literally came down to the proverbial “wire.” In a showdown of gambles, Team Penske, Paul Wolfe- Keselowski’s Crew Chief prevailed with their safe betting on having enough fuel and tire to finish the race; Dale Earnhardt Jr’s ”Stay out until it runs out” gamble proved to be the losing hand, surging and sputtering in the final turn, and ultimately across the finish line. In the final 5 laps, if fuel wasn’t an issue, the race was all but a foregone conclusion. With Dale Jr. in the #88 Mountain Dew Kickstart Chevrolet using the high bank of turn two to gain momentum into the Nellis Straight, it would seem as if this little move will pay off, as he would shoot off the banking and pull away from his challengers. Keselowski kept his middle line to remain consistent in his lap times, which paid off with the W. This very special double win makes the young Keselowski only the second driver behind Jeff Burton in 2000 to complete this feat at Las Vegas.
What made for great excitement with plenty of drama were the 21 lead changes among 10 drivers, and 4 caution flags only taking up 17 laps of the 267 lap race. It was a great weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway full of thrills, chills, but no spills, as there weren’t any accidents or major incidents. What also fueled the excitement was the story line of Kevin Harvick; last weeks’ race winner at Phoenix. The #4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet was hard charging and competing at the top of the ranks, leading for 23 laps throughout the middle of the race. With 41 laps to go, Harvick had to pull of the track due to what seemed like a braking issue. It turned out to be a ceased right front hub and bearing, which was causing the wheel to be dragged along the racing surface. After losing 22 minutes in the garage, he rejoined the race to finish 41st.
On a final note, I would like to congratulate Paul Menard and his wife on the baby that is to be born any minute now. He had Nationwide and Camping Truck World Series teammate, Matt Crafton on standby, just in case he got “The Call.”
Here are the Official Results of Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
1. #2 Brad Keselowski, Miller Lite Ford
2. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mountain Dew Kickstart Chevrolet
3. #27 Paul Menard, Menards Chevrolet
4. #22 Joey Logano, Shell Pennzoil Ford
5. #99 Carl Edwards, Aflac Ford
6. #99 Jimmie Johnson, Kobalt Tools Chevrolet
7. #31 Ryan Newman, Caterpillar Chevrolet
8. #5 Kasey Kahne, Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet
9. #24 Jeff Gordon, Axalta Chevrolet
10. #20 Matt Kenseth, Dollar General Toyota
11. #18 Kyle Busch, M&M’s Toyota
12. #11 Denny Hamlin, FedEx Ground Toyota
13. #55 Brian Vickers, Aaron’s Dream MachineToyota
14. #78 Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Chevrolet
15. #1 Jamie McMurray, Cessna/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet
16. #3 Austin Dillon, Cheerios Chevrolet
17. #66 Jeff Burton, Let’s Go Places Toyota
18. #47 A J Allmendinger, Kingsford Charcoal Chevrolet
19. #42 Kyle Larson, Target Chevrolet
20. #21 Trevor Bayne, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center Ford
21. #10 Danica Patrick, Aspen Dental Chevrolet
22. #16 Greg Biffle, Red Cross Ford
23. #15 Clint Bowyer, 5-Hour Energy Toyota
24. #9 Marcos Ambrose, DeWalt Ford
25. #43 Aric Almirola, Farmland Ford
26. #41 Kurt Busch, Haas Automation Chevrolet
27. #17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Zest Ford
28. #13 Casey Mears, Geico Chevrolet
29. #7 Michael Annett, Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet
30. #38 David Gilliland, Love’s Travel Stops Ford
31. #51 Justin Allgaier, Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, 264, 42.1, 13, $112,682.
32. #34 David Ragan, Taco Bell Ford
33. #14 Tony Stewart, Mobil1/ Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
34. #36 Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet
35. #83 Ryan Truex, Borla Exhaust Toyota
36. #26 Cole Whitt, Speed Stick GEAR Toyota
37. #23 Alex Bowman, Dr Pepper Toyota
38. #33 Timmy Hill, LittleJoesAutos.com Chevrolet
39. #32 Travis Kvapil, Ask More-Get More Ford
40. #30 Parker Kligerman, Aria Hotels/Black Clover Toyota
41. #4 Kevin Harvick, Jimmy John’s Chevrolet
42. #98 Josh Wise, Ambient Edge HVAC Chevrolet
43. #95 Michael McDowell, WRL General Contractors Ford
Race Facts:
Average Speed of Race Winner: 154.633 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 35 minutes, 24 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 1.530 seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 18 laps.
Lead Changes: 21 among 10 drivers.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): B.Keselowski, 5 times for 53 laps; Ky.Busch, 3 times for 52 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr., 3 times for 51 laps; J.Logano, 2 times for 44 laps; J.Johnson, 3 times for 34 laps; K.Harvick, 2 times for 23 laps; P.Menard, 1 time for 6 laps; M.Kenseth, 1 time for 2 laps; C.Edwards, 1 time for 1 lap; D.Hamlin, 1 time for 1 lap.
Jake Conlee is a California native that has been blessed with the gift of restlessness. With an undying fervor and passion for what he does not yet know, life is a constant adventure. Truly fearless in implementation of wandering down less trafficked roads, this has led to many ordinary days turning into a treasure hunt. Emblazoned on his arm, the self photographed sign of this incredible City of Sin. He loves this city so much, a mural of Las Vegas is currently under development on his arms. If you need to know about anything in Las Vegas, if he doesn’t know the answer, he will find out for you. He loves Las Vegas, the good, the bad, but mostly the nostalgic. He’s also a sucker for a good hunk of meat. He is, most of all, a father of two girls, 12-year-old “Vern” and 2-year-old “Chuck”