NASCAR: #ThrowbackThursday – Las Vegas
Race three of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season takes the tour to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to begin the west coast sweep of the first quarter of the season. LVMS has been a part of the NASCAR tour since 1998, and although it’s been relegated to one race a year every year since, it continues to be a big draw for the sport and has proven to play a big role in the sport.
Five times since 1998 the eventual season champion has taken a checkered, most notably in 2003, when Matt Kenseth scored his only win of the year before winning the title by being mind-numbingly consistent. Still, the odds don’t exactly favor the race winner in the long run, but they do have a chance.
Joseph Shelton, BTF Staff Writer – 2007 Sam’s Town 300
One of the most memorable races at Las Vegas, the finish has definitely stood the test of time. For both Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch, this race wasn’t going to mean anything in the long run, which is why I think they went for it as hard as they did. The end result was a dogged back-and-forth race between the two, when Burton went high coming out of the fourth turn.
Contact sent Busch spinning across the line in second before smacking the wall hard. But the best part about this finish was when Busch was making his way down pit road, Burton stopped to check on him. Instead of throwing a fit and becoming the bore he was in 2008, he shook Burton’s hand like a good sport. A great race, good sportsmanship, what more could you ask for?
NASCAR on Reddit User /u/johnnyrace24 – 2015 Rhino Linings 350
As a Gordon fan, I don’t have the biggest connection to Las Vegas. But as a John Wes Townley fan, Las Vegas is special because it was home to the first win. Now yes, there’s a lot of people who don’t like fuel mileage wins, but a win is a win. Hopefully we can see more speed out of Athenian this year.
NASCAR on Reddit User /u/NoonecanknowMiner – 2001 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Jeff Gordon’s win there in 2001. It was his first win ever since the passing of his longtime rival, Dale Earnhardt. I wasn’t able to experience it, as I was a baby, but I own a chunk of Gordon’s tire from this race.
Bonus Slide No. 1 – 2006 UAW DaimlerChrysler 400
Although Jimmie Johnson had already won 19 events before this race, it was here that it became a solid fact that 2006 was going to be the season that the No. 48 would finally win a championship. They had been close before, with runner-up points finishes in 2003 and 2004, and had a shot in 2005, but when he won the 2006 Daytona 500, he put everyone on alert.
The Hendrick Chevrolets have always done well on 1.5-mile speedways, and when the No. 48 hooked the high side coming to the checkered you know Matt Kenseth’s shot at winning his second-straight race was going to go up in smoke. The win ended up being Johnson’s second of five wins that year.
Bonus Slide No. 2 – 1998 Las Vegas 400
1998 was special for LVMS, because it was NASCAR’s first trip to the to the track. It turned out to be a special day, as Mark Martin ended up beginning a Roush Racing tradition of winning at LVMS. While Martin won the 1998 edition, teammate Jeff Burton won in 1999 and 2000, while in 2003 and 2004 Roush driver Matt Kenseth would go back-to-back. The last Roush Cup driver to win at Las Vegas was Carl Edwards, who would win in 2008 and again in 2011. All told, Roush-Fenway Racing holds seven wins at Las Vegas.