Younger Busch coming home to Vegas on a roll

The final six months of Kyle Busch's 2007 Sprint Cup easily could be compared to the television program "Survivor."

Busch is young and brash, never seemed to mesh with his tribe and ultimately was voted off the island.

Fast Facts

What	UAW-Dodge 400
When	3:30 p.m. ET Sunday
TV	FOX
Radio	PRN / Sirius Ch. 128

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In NASCAR terms, Busch, 22, didn't fit into the Hendrick Motorsports mold, at times struggling to fit in with superstar teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. So when Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. for Hendrick, it was Busch who had his flame put out.

Two weeks into the new season, however, Busch is the ratings winner, not Earnhardt. Busch, now driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, leads the series standings for the first time in his career as he heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday's UAW-Dodge 400. It's a big weekend for Busch, a native of Las Vegas.

"This is probably one of the top five Sprint Cup races of the year for me," Busch said. "It's a fun place to race. The fans get to watch a great show at Las Vegas, and I am sure we'll have a good time again."

Busch has had a great time everywhere he has raced so far in 2008. In addition to leading the Cup standings, he also leads the Craftsman Truck Series standings -- the first driver in history to lead the Cup and truck standings at the same time -- and is second in the Nationwide Series standings. Busch has finished in the top five in every NASCAR start he has made in 2008 with his worst finish being two fourth-place runs in the Cup car.

"The biggest thing we try to do is get results and wins," Busch said. "We weren't able to capitalize on that in either the Cup race or the Nationwide race at California, but in the truck we did. It just means we have a little bit of work to do. But you can't really complain about starting six races and ending up in the top five in all of them."

Meanwhile, Earnhardt is 23rd in the Cup standings after an early accident in California left him 47 laps off the pace. Earnhardt tangled with teammate Casey Mears, who, incidentally, moved into Busch's No. 5 Chevy when Earnhardt joined Hendrick. Back-to-back finishes of 35th and 42nd have Mears 42nd in the standings.

There is reason to believe Busch will continue his streak of strong performances at his home track. He has three consecutive top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, including a runner-up finish in 2005. His 108.7 driver rating is third best the past three years behind Johnson and Gordon.

Busch will have to dethrone three-time defending race winner Johnson if he is to pick up his first Cup win since last March. Johnson will try to become the first driver to win four consecutive Cup races at one track since he swept both races at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2004 and 2005.

"It would be great to get that fourth win, but we won't approach this weekend any differently than we would at a track where we've never won," Johnson said. "We go into every weekend hoping to win, but so does every other team out there.

"I have every confidence in the equipment and the crew to get the job done. But anyone who's ever been to Vegas will tell you you've got to have some luck on your side, too. If you've ever watched a poker tournament on TV you know even the most experienced players can get beat. We won't take anything for granted."

In The Loop: Vegas

Most of the stories this weekend will revolve around one central figure -- Johnson. The topic will either be A) Can Johnson win his fourth consecutive race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway? Or B) Who can knock off Johnson from the Las Vegas pedestal?

As tough as it would seem, Johnson absolutely can pull off the incredible four-in-a-row feat. He's been phenomenal during his streak: A driver rating of 133.7, an average running position of 5.1, 149 fastest laps run, average green flag speed of 163.075 mph, 749 laps In the top 15 and 197 laps led. All those numbers are by far the tops in the series at Las Vegas in the last three races.

Numbers: Vegas

Jimmie Johnson is looking for his fourth consecutive win at LVMS. The last driver to win four in a row at one track -- Johnson, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2004 and 2005.

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But there are four other drivers who own Las Vegas driver ratings that eclipse the 100-point barrier. And three own at least one Sprint Cup title -- Gordon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth.

Gordon, who finished second in last season's race, might have the best shot at ending the No. 48 team's dominance. He has a driver rating of 114.1 (second-best), an average running position of 8.1 (third), 66 fastest laps run (second) and 748 laps in the top 15 (second). He leads the series in quality passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green) with 153.

Another Las Vegas contender is Stewart, who finished seventh last year and has two top 10s in the last three Vegas races. Stewart has a driver rating of 100.9 (fifth) and an average running position of 9.7.

Also watch for Kenseth to have a strong run. Kenseth, always a threat on 1.5-mile layouts, is the last driver not named Jimmie Johnson to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He won in both 2003 and 2004, and since then has three consecutive finishes in the top 10. Kenseth has an average running position of 12.7 (eighth), a driver rating of 104.5 (fourth) and 39 fastest laps run (tied for fourth).

Arguably, Busch has been the strongest driver the first two races of the 2008 season. That consistency should continue at Las Vegas, where Busch has three consecutive top-10 finishes -- including results of second (2005) and third (2006).

At Vegas, Busch has a driver rating of 108.7 (third), an average running position of 7.1 (second), 49 fastest laps run (third) and 746 laps in the top 15 (third).

Off The Track

Given that one of the world's entertainment hubs sits just a few miles south of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fans should expect to see -- and hear -- stars this weekend.

The quiet stars of the Cup Series lead off, with team haulers scheduled for a Thursday parade down Las Vegas Boulevard, known as "The Strip."

Transporter drivers will stage their trucks at 5:30 p.m. ET just south of the Russell Road-Las Vegas Blvd. intersection, parading north for five miles in the middle lane. A left turn on Sahara Avenue takes them to Interstate 15 for the short drive to the track.

Carol Linnea Johnson, who stars in "Mamma Mia!" at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, will sing Sunday's national anthem.

Blue Man Group, which can be seen at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, will perform Saturday and Sunday in the Neon Garage; also during Sunday's pre-race show.

Country music artist Jason Michael Carroll will perform Sunday morning in the midway behind the main grandstands.

And as they did prior to the 50th Daytona 500 two weeks ago, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, from next-door Nellis Air Force base, will perform Sunday's flyover.

Clock ticking for some

Tick, tick, tick ...

For those Cup teams residing in the proximity of the 35th position in car owner points, the pressure is already being felt.

For the first five races of the 2008 season, the top 35 teams in the final 2007 owner points are assured starting spots. Beginning with this season's sixth race, March 30 at Martinsville Speedway, the 2008 points determine the weekly top-35 guarantees. Teams outside the top 35 will have to qualify based on pole day

This week, the 35th spot belongs to the No. 40 Dodge team owned by Felix Sabates, with driver Dario Franchitti, last year's winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship. The No. 77 Dodge team owned by Roger Penske, is 33rd. That team's driver is Sam Hornish Jr., who won the Indy 500 in 2006 and the IndyCar Series title in 2001, '02 and '06.

NASCAR Media contributed to this story