SI.com's experts weigh in with their predictions for this Sunday's race in Las Vegas.
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LARS
ANDERSON |
MARK
BEECH |
TOM
BOWLES |
| The winner of the Auto Club 500 will be ... |
Kasey Kahne
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Jimmie Johnson
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Mark Martin
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| Why? |
| Handicapping the race in Las Vegas is tougher than usual this year because of the new banking on the track. Still, the man to beat will be Kahne. He was fast during the January practice session in Vegas and he was the top driver last season on the intermediate tracks.
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Along with Matt Kenseth, Johnson has been very strong at Las Vegas in the last few years. He won here in 2005 and '06. But this is a different Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Sunday's race should be much faster than previous runnings. A better place to look for past-performance data might be Lowe's, where the 24-degree banking in the turns is comparable to the new 20-degree banking at LVMS. And at Lowe's, Johnson has been terrific, winning five of six races between '03 and '05. JJ hasn't looked dominant yet this season, but Sunday might be the day the champ returns to form.
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After knocking on the door the last two weeks, it's finally time for the 48-year-old to cash in on Victory Lane. The new configuration at Las Vegas may throw most drivers for a loop, but Martin adjusts easily, and he finished in the top 10 for seven of his nine starts at the old track, including one win. Look for that number to double on Sunday.
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| Keep an eye on ... |
Tony Stewart
I was talking to one of Stewart's crew members the other day and he said he'd be shocked if Stewart didn't have a car capable of winning the race. I would be too.
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Kasey Kahne
He won both races at Lowe's a year ago, and the 1.5-mile tracks are his bread and butter. Kahne has been a tad unimpressive so far this season, but he did make the lead in California before his engine blew. He doesn't seem to be jelling with teammates Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs, but Kahne's proficiency on this type of track cannot be ignored.d at Fontana speaks for itself: a series-leading three wins to go along with six top-fives and six top-10s.
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Jimmie Johnson
The two-time defending champion of this race knows what it takes to get around the old configuration; can he figure out the new one just as well?
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| Don't expect much from ... |
Juan Pablo Montoya
Though Montoya's Busch Series win on the road course last Sunday in Mexico City was a thing of beauty, he still has a lot of improvement to make when racing on the ovals. In his two Cup starts this season he hasn't finished higher than 25th -- a trend that will likely continue on Sunday.
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Juan Pablo Montoya
Fresh off of his Busch-Series win, NASCAR's most talked about rookie talked about winning a "loop race." We'll see. There's no questioning his talent, but Montoya still has a lot to learn about loop racing-although if his paint-tradin' win in Mexico City is any indication, he's learning fast. A top 20 wouldn't surprise, but it will be asking a lot for him to make the top 10.
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Ryan Newman
The Rocket Man has been less than stellar in Las Vegas of late, with just one top 10 in his last three starts here. He wrecked out and finished dead last in 2006.
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| Mythical SI.com Cup |
TOTAL POINTS: 216
Last week: 170 (Jimmie Johnson) |
TOTAL POINTS: 234
Last week: 195 (Matt Kenseth) |
TOTAL POINTS: 165
Last week: 165 (Jeff Burton) |
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