Busch proving yet again greatness still untapped (cont'd)

Thumbs up

Busch

• Kurt Busch -- He followed up a 10th-place run at Daytona with a fifth-place finish, the fifth top-10 in his past eight races. Busch hasn't started off this well since 2005.

• Brian Vickers -- His 10th-place finish will go down as a classic woulda, coulda, shoulda, but tip your cap to the No. 83 guys for hanging in there after winning the pole then starting at the back of the field after changing the engine.

• Roush Fenway Racing -- Kenseth's W was the team's fifth consecutive victory in the spring race at Fontana. Kenseth has won three of the past four.

Impressed by ...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. noted some drivers don't get the correlation between him being the "most popular" driver and his on-track results. Say what you will, Junior gets it.

Thumbs down

Bowyer

• Richard Childress Racing -- Clint Bowyer's 19th-place finish is tops for the four-car stable. The last time RCR failed to put at least one car in the top 15: Aug. 12, 2007, at Watkins Glen.

• Richard Petty Motorsports -- The euphoria of Daytona (three cars in the top 10) is offset by finishes of 12th (Kasey Kahne), 22nd (Reed Sorenson), 25th (Elliott Sadler) and 29th (A.J. Allmendinger).

• Mother Nature -- There's a better chance of getting ol' Mom to change her ways than getting races started at a reasonable time (especially with radar showing rain approaching).

Disappointed by ...

Lower-third Oscar updates during the broadcast. That's how you keep folks interested in the on-screen action -- remind them of something else they could be watching.

Fantasy Racing

NASCAR.COM's Race for the Smithson Trophy:

Up Next

• Cup Series tickets
• Nationwide Series tickets
• Book your travel

• Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Qualifying: 6:30 p.m. ET Friday on SPEED
• Race: 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX

NASCAR president Mike Helton and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will field questions from fans during the speedway's first Fast Chats program. Others who will be on the hot seat for a 20-minute session include Las Vegas natives Kurt and Kyle Busch.

Fast Chats will take place on the SPEED stage on the midway at various times throughout the weekend. There will be multiple chats each day, and a complete schedule will be posted to the speedway's Web site -- www.lvms.com. A daily chat schedule will be posted near the SPEED Stage. There is no charge for race fans to attend.

Fans may submit their questions by e-mailing fastchats@lvms.com. Submissions must include the fan's name, e-mail address and question.

The chase is on ...

Two down, 24 to go until the Chase field is set at Richmond:

And Finally

Back-to-back winner's checks will buy a lot of Pampers (and afternoons at A Box of Fluffys). Congrats, Matt and Katie, on being the first driver since 1997 to win the first two races of the season and the bun in the oven.

BTW -- no driver has won the first three races of a Cup season. Kenseth will become the fifth to try. The highest finish among the previous four drivers is third by Marvin Panch at Titusville-Cocoa Speedway's 1.6-mile road course in Titusville, Fla., in 1957.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.