Winston Cup road show heads for Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- NASCAR gets ready to roll the dice this weekend, just a few miles from the glow and glitter of the famous Las Vegas strip.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host the NASCAR Winston Cup Series for the UAW/DaimlerChrysler 400 on Sunday, the fifth annual visit to the 1.5-mile oval.

Until Jeff Gordon came from 24th to Victory Lane last year, collecting a cool $1 million in the No Bull program as well, Roush Racing kept cashing in the chips.

Mark Martin won the inaugural event in 1998 and teammate Jeff Burton had back-to-back wins the following two years.

Ricky Rudd set record qualifying time with his 172.563 mph lap in 2000. Last year, all manufacturers were represented well with a Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Pontiac finish in the top four spots.

The top Dodge last year was Sterling Marlin in third. This year, Marlin heads to Las Vegas as the Winston Cup Series points leader.

“We ran real good at Las Vegas last year,” Marlin said. “We had a chance to win it, and we’re taking a good car out there.”

Benson, who finished second to Gordon in last year's race, said the flat track makes the driver get up on the wheel and pay attention.

“Las Vegas is a place where if you have a good race car and good horsepower, you can do really well,” Benson said. “It’s a flat race track, it’s a finesse racetrack and those are the type of tracks that I like. It’s also fast and a little bit slippery, which makes it a bit more fun.”

Las Vegas is the first cross-country trip of the season. It’s also a major cultural and commuting difference than Rockingham, where the series raced last week.

“Rockingham is pretty rural and Vegas is ... well, Vegas,” Benson said. “I like both, actually. Rockingham has our diehard fans and Vegas has our new fans. I like having that mix.

“I just wish we had a 'Las Vegas' a little closer to home on our side of the country.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is hoping for some Las Vegas luck. In the first two races this year, the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy team has had finishes of 29th and 26th which has left them an uncharacteristic 31st in points.

"We need a good finish, it's that simple,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “ I've said all winter that every points race I have lost, it was because of a poor start in the first five or six races.

“This season has not started out very well for us. We've had three cut or blown tires now in two races and it really has us behind in points, but that is not keeping us down.

“We've got a great team and we all still have a winning attitude.”

Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Bobby Hamilton, Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton are eligible for the No Bull $1 million bonus provided by R.J. Reynolds. All are in the hunt after their finishes in the October race at Talladega, which Earnhardt Jr. won.

"We had a great test at Vegas before the season started,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “We know we can go out and win Winston's money this weekend. This is our third Cup race there and we have led both of the previous races.

“We're going in with the expectation of winning."

Benson, Little E and Marlin can get started toward their winning ways when Bud Pole Qualifying gets under way on Friday at 5 p.m. ET.

The 267-lap race chase for the points on Sunday begins at 3 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN).