 | | Trouble in the pits may have cost Kurt Busch the win Sunday at Las Vegas. Credit: Autostock |
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
March 14, 2005
03:18 PM EST (20:18 GMT)
Pit Story of the Race Kurt Busch was one of the few cars that was able to run with Jimmie Johnson, but Busch had to make a second pit stop to tighten two loose lug nuts on Lap 193. Busch came into the pits third, but he restarted 23rd, killing his chances at scoring his first win at Las Vegas. "I didn't know that we would finish as well as we did and then after the problem we had, I thought we were buried because it is tough to maneuver your way back up front. "For us, it was a great effort. Each of the years that I've been here we've had small things happen." Keep them tires coming, boys The heat at Las Vegas -- compounded with the soft compound and aging track surface -- wore tires down significantly on Sunday, with most teams taking four tires at every stop. Ryan Newman and Casey Mears each took two tires to gain track position during the caution on Lap 206. It was a major gamble, but it worked since the caution flew again less than 20 laps later. On Lap 224 -- the final stop of the day -- all 29 lead lap cars changed four tires. Harvick's speeding penalty costly  | | |  | HAPPY WITH THE EFFORT | All weekend long at Las Vegas, Kevin Harvick said he had a fast car. On Sunday, he proved it. Despite having to start 42nd because of a post-qualifying penalty, Harvick snagged the best Vegas finish of his career.
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Kevin Harvick was caught speeding on Lap 194, sending him from the top five to one of the last cars on the lead lap, but Harvick gained 18 spots in the final 67 laps. He finished fifth, his best Vegas finish. One tough pit road Las Vegas' pit road requires a perfect transition from Turn 4 under the best conditions, and when Jason Leffler tried to duck on pit road at the last minute on Lap 87, it caused a three-car wreck. Leffler thought he felt a vibration and made the sharp left turn to pit road, but he spun, collecting Ken Schrader and Sterling Marlin. "He stopped and Schrader got into him and then I got into Schrader," Marlin said. "There just wasn't anywhere to go." Quotable "We didn't run very good at all, we just had the best pit crew on pit road today. We had great stops that kept us in contention." -- Matt Kenseth, who failed in his bid for three consecutive wins at Las Vegas "I don't know what that 11 driver was thinking. He just stopped on the track and didn't give a hand signal or anything. I guess he was trying to pit, but he's got to let the cars behind him know what he's doing." -- Sterling Marlin, who suffered damage trying to avoid Jason Leffler, who tried to enter pit road at the last minute | 
