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Matt Kenseth and new crew chief Drew Drew Blickensderfer are perfect in the Cup Series together.By the Numbers: Las Vegas
Odds are in Kenseth's favor for making NASCAR history
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The 2009 season is only two weeks old, yet it has been historic. The Daytona 500 was shortened because of rain for just the fourth time in history; Kyle Busch became the first driver to win two NASCAR national series races on the same day at Fontana; and in the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX), Matt Kenseth has a chance to do something that's never been done -- open the season 3-for-3.
Marvin Panch (1957), Bob Welborn (1959), David Pearson (1976) and Jeff Gordon (1997) are the only drivers to start the Cup season with two consecutive wins -- but getting that elusive third proved to be too difficult.
For Kenseth -- in a city known for gambling, odds are pretty good he could pull it off.
In nine races at the track, Kenseth has two wins, four top-fives and five top-10s. He's also led 438 laps at the 1.5-mile speedway -- more than any other driver.
And while Kenseth is trying not to think about history, he knows he's got a pretty good shot at it.
"I feel good about our chances in Las Vegas. You really have to have all the stars lined up to win, but I feel good going there," Kenseth said. "I feel like our stuff has been really competitive at those styles of race tracks. Our cars have been good and our pit crew has been right on the money. You never know what might happen in a race, but I feel we'll be competitive this weekend."
Inside the Data
Matt Kenseth at Las Vegas in the Chase era
2004After winning in 2003, Matt Kenseth backed it up with a dominating victory in 2004, leading 123 of the 267 laps and beating Kasey Kahne by more than 3 seconds.
2005Matt Kenseth started eighth and finished eighth in a race that saw Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman share the lead for the final 120 laps. Johnson would go on to win, followed by Vegas natives Kurt and Kyle Busch.
2006The No. 17 started ninth but had the dominant car, leading 146 laps and Kenseth was in the lead for the green-white-checkered. Unfortunately for Kenseth, he was unable to hold off Jimmie Johnson, who passed Kenseth racing to the checkered, dropping Kenseth to a second-place finish.
2007After a horrible qualifying run that saw Kenseth 37th on the grid, the No. 17 raced its way to the front, led a lap and finished an impressive fourth.
2008Kenseth was on his way to another top-five at Vegas and possibly a win but ended up 20th after crashing with five laps to go. On the restart, Kenseth and Jeff Gordon got together causing both to spin and smash into the wall, ending both of their days.
Necessitous numbers
0Number of wins Las Vegas natives Kurt and Kyle Busch have at their home track. Kurt has two top-10s in eight races and an average finish of 20.1, while Kyle has two top-fives in five races and an average finish of 13.2.
3Three drivers have multiple wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson has three wins, and Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton each have two.
3There are three tracks Tony Stewart has yet to win a Cup race and Las Vegas is one of them (Fontana, Darlington). Smoke has led 185 laps at LVMS, the most for any driver at the track without a win. In 10 starts he has four top-fives and six top-10s, but in two of the last three races he's finished outside the top 20.
11If Jeff Gordon can lead 11 laps at Las Vegas, he will become just the seventh driver in history to lead 20,000 laps in the Cup Series (Richard Petty, 52,194; Cale Yarborough, 31,676; Bobby Allison, 27,539; Dale Earnhardt, 25,707; David Pearson, 25,419; Darrell Waltrip, 23,131).
14.9Average starting position of the winners at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Four races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20, and seven of the 11 races have been won from a starting position of 10th or worse.
310Number of points Dale Earnhardt Jr. has earned in the last two races at Las Vegas, tops among all drivers. Junior finished 11th in 2007 and second in 2008, leading at least one lap in both races.
450Jeff Burton will make his 450th consecutive Cup Series start when he takes the green flag Sunday in Las Vegas. Burton has two wins at LVMS and an average finish of 10.5.
725Mark Martin will take the green flag for the 725th time in Cup Series competition Sunday at Las Vegas. Martin is ranked 11th on the all-time career Cup starts list.
Also
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Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Cup winners at the track
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmie Johnson | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Matt Kenseth | 9 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Jeff Burton | 11 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Sterling Marlin | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Mark Martin | 11 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Carl Edwards | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jeff Gordon | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
• Bold: Active drivers
Cup Series News
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- Putting a wrap on 2009 with the top 12 drivers
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- Hendrick turning attention to getting Junior on track
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