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Carl Edwards has finished seventh and fifth in his two Las Vegas Busch races.By the Numbers: Las Vegas
Busch Series has new points leader heading into Saturday
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Carl Edwards has only been in two Busch Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he's got to feel good about this weekend's race.
For the first time since June 18, 2005, Edwards enters a Busch race as the points leader. That spans 57 races. And considering the way Edwards made his car run at the preseason test at the newly configured LVMS, the driver who many picked as a favorite to win the title appears to be a potential favorite in Saturday's Sam's Town 300 (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
On the final day of Las Vegas testing, Edwards posted the second- and third-fastest speeds in the morning session, then followed it up with the second-fastest speed in the afternoon drive. His fastest speed that day -- 182.088 mph, which destroys the track qualifying record of 171.238.
Whether that translates into speed on race day is another story. Perhaps more importantly for Edwards is that he's just the third driver to lead the Busch Series points in more than a year.
Interesting Fact
37 Consecutive races that Kevin Harvick held the Busch Series points lead until this week, when Carl Edwards took the top spot due to Harvick skipping the Mexico City event. Harvick is now tied for fifth in points, 150 behind Edwards.
Fun Fact
1:649,750 Odds of getting a Royal Flush in a hand of poker. Much better, however, are 1:9 odds that a Roush Fenway Ford will visit Victory Lane considering the team has four cars on the entry list for Saturday's race.
All the Facts
0 Times Jeff Green has finished outside the top five in his five Las Vegas races. Green will be driving the No. 28 Chevrolet for Haas CNC Racing.
2.602 Average running position for Matt Kenseth in last year's Las Vegas race. He started from the pole, led 60 laps and finished second. Kenseth also has the best driver rating among entrants at 128.7.
3.0 Average finish for David Stremme in his two Las Vegas races, the best among drivers entered in Saturday's race. Stremme was third in 2004 and again in 2005.
4 NASCAR championships between the two Kevin Harvick Inc. drivers Tony Stewart (2) and Bobby Labonte (2).
5 Former winners entered in Saturday's race: Jeff Burton, Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Joe Nemechek. Only Burton has more than one victory at the track (2000 and 2002).
5 Victories for Chevrolet at Las Vegas. Ford has four victories, while Kasey Kahne's win last year is the only one for Dodge.
9.4 Average starting position for Las Vegas winners. Three races have been won from the pole, and only twice has a winner started worse than 11th.
14.29 Winning percentage of Juan Montoya in the Busch Series. His victory last week came in his seventh race.
34.19 Percent of passes made on the frontstretch, resulting in more passes made there than any two places on the track combined.
61.36 Percentage of Saturday's Busch Series entry list that is comprised of full-time Nextel Cup drivers, or 27 of the 44 cars.
150 Points Marcos Ambrose trails leader Carl Edwards in the standings, tied for fifth. Ambrose, a rookie from Tasmania, finished 21st in the Truck Series standings last season, his first year in NASCAR.
160 Laps led by Matt Kenseth at Las Vegas, the most among drivers who have not won at the track. Kenseth's average finish is 23.2 in eight races. Jeff Burton has led the most laps with 319.
406 Laps Kevin Harvick has run inside the top 15 in the past two Las Vegas races, or 100 percent.
8,953 Miles of driving crews will have done in the past three weeks after Saturday's race, traversing from Charlotte to Daytona to Charlotte to California to Mexico City to Las Vegas and back to Charlotte.
Busch Series
Official Standings
| Rank | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Carl Edwards | 495 | -- |
| 2. | Denny Hamlin | 455 | -40 |
| 3. | Dave Blaney | 433 | -62 |
| 4. | Greg Biffle | 397 | -98 |
| 5. | Kevin Harvick | 345 | -150 |
| 6. | Marcos Ambrose | 345 | -150 |
| 7. | Matt Kenseth | 327 | -168 |
| 8. | David Reutimann | 324 | -171 |
| 9. | Jon Wood | 322 | -173 |
| 10. | Brent Sherman | 310 | -185 |
• Complete Standings click here
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