Can Jimmie Johnson Keep it Going at Las Vegas?

Jimmie Johnson doesn’t have a streak going in NASCAR but he might as well have.  Jimmie Johnson won the season opening Daytona 500.  Last week at Phoenix International Raceway he didn’t win but he did come in second.  The last two weeks Jimmie and NASCAR were at two totally different tracks.  This week that trend continues because NASCAR is at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the KOBALT Tools 400.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile speedway.  This track is one of the typical 1.5 mile NASCAR staples but there are some differences.  The banking in the corners is 20 degrees, compared with some of the other 1.5 mile tracks; it is between Kansas and Texas in banking in the corners of 11 and 24 degrees respectively.  The Front and back stretches are banked at 9 degrees.  It is a D shaped oval like most of the other 1.5 mile speedways.

This track is all about handling and speed.  In the past there have been multiple groves to run in if your car is not right or to compensate for changes during long green flag runs. The new generation six car might change that.  That will be one of the big stories of the weekend. The race will be 400.5 miles or 267 laps.

When last week’s race was analyzed, Jimmie Johnson had a statistical edge over every other driver.  He didn’t win but came close.  This week is the same. But his edge isn’t as pronounced.  Jimmie leads all drivers with a driver rating of 110.9.  The next closest driver is Jeff Gordon with a rating of 107.9 with Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle following close behind at 106.4 and 106.3.

Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with four wins here.  Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth have two.

Just like last week, Jimmie has an average finish of 9.8 at Las Vegas. Only Carl Edwards gets close to that with an average finish of 10.3.  We might just see these two drivers picking up right where they left off last week and battling for the win.

If you can’t get to Las Vegas Motor Speedway the race will be on FOX Sunday, March 10^th at 2:30 PM ET.

Brian Berg Jr. is a NASCAR writer for www.RantSports.com.

Follow him on Twitter @brian_jr1 during the race and throughout the week for more NASCAR news and commentary. On Facebook at NASCAR News and Commentary. On Pinterest at NASCARnews. Also add to your network on Google.

Top 12 Driver Rating at Las Vegas
Jimmie Johnson…………………… 110.9
Jeff Gordon………………………… 107.9
Tony Stewart……………………….. 106.4
Greg Biffle………………………….. 106.3
Kyle Busch…………………………. 100.9
Carl Edwards………………………… 98.2
Matt Kenseth………………………… 95.9
Kevin Harvick………………………… 94.1
Jeff Burton…………………………… 90.8
Mark Martin…………………………… 90.1
Dale Earnhardt Jr…………………… 86.2
Kurt Busch……………………………. 84.6
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (8 total) among active drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway