Sunday, March 2 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada

Carl Edwards (99) beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) to the finish line by a slim margin of victory...

Edwards Rolls A Double In Vegas

BREAKING NEWS - NASCAR finds "irregularities" on 99 car during post-race inspection - see details at the end of this story...

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 2, 2008) - Carl Edwards is one cool customer.

Overcoming adversity in several different forms, the Missouri native charged home the winner Sunday of the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It was Edwards' second NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in a row.... actually in a week since he won the weather-delayed race Monday in California.


Carl Edwards does his trademark victory backflip after winning his second NASCAR Sprint Cup race in a row...

Edwards held the top spot for the last 29 laps of the race after passing Matt Kenseth for the lead.

Twice during the race, Edwards raced his way back into contention after being forced to start the race twice, way back in the field.

Problems in the pits seemed to be the order of the day for Edwards and his pit crew, but at least one incident during a pit stop played out in his favor. A tire rolled across the pit road off his car after a television camerman interfered with the crew. The cameraman blocked a crew member's path and NASCAR officials, who would normally invoke a penalty for a tire rolling out of control in the pits, deemed it unavoidable on the part of Edwards' crew.

Edwards beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. across the finish line after a wild wreck involving four-time champion Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth.

Bunched up after a restart, Gordon and Kenseth were attempting to pass Earnhardt going into the first turn. Coming off the second turn, Gordon nudged Kenseth. The contact turned Kenseth around and sent Gordon speeding toward the inside retaining wall. The ensuing impact knocked the radiator out of Gordon's car.

The four-time champion was unhurt.

Greg Biffle finished third, Kevin Harvick fourth, and Jeff Burton fifth.

Kasey Kahne was sixth, followed by David Ragan, Travis Kvapil, Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin.

Kyle Busch, an early contender, was 11th after struggling in the final stages of the race with his car's setup.

Kenseth was also relegated to a poor finish (20th) after running up front through the race.

Edwards is leading the Spint Cup point standings for the first time in his career.

Pole-sitter Kyle Busch streaked away at the start, but Edwards passed him for the lead before 30 laps had been compiled.

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds had roared across the blue, cloudless skies to get the race off to a spectacular start.

David Reutimann and Jamie McMurray encountered early problems and fell way behind. David Reutimann scraped the wall, and McMurray spun, which brought out the first caution of the race.

By the time the field had covered 60 laps, four drivers had been penalized for speeding on pit road, Biffle, Kurt Busch, Mike Skinner and Elliott Sadler.

Debris -- an exhaust pipe piece -- on the track brought out the second caution of the day on lap 70. When things resumed under racing conditions, the running order had Burton in front of the field.

Earnhardt Jr., was second, followed by Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Scott Riggs, Tony Stewart, Kenseth, Edwards, Ryan Newman and Gordon.


Tony Stewart is helped from his car after hard impact with the outside retaining wall...

Another caution waved on lap 109 when Stewart blew a right front tire and slammed hard into the retaining wall between turns three and four. The impact was the hardest Stewart said he could remember.

Kyle Busch had the lead on the restart with Kenseth right behind him. Kenseth, however, took the lead a lap later and Gordon moved to second spot. Jeff Burton was fourth behind Busch. Earnhardt Jr. was fifth.

Defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson wrestled with an ill-handling car from the git-go and sputtered around in the back of the pack, way off the leading pace.

Complete Race Results click here

Post-Race Driver Point Standings click here

BREAKING NEWS (March 3, 2008) - The the 99 car of Edwards had issues during post-race inspection; apparently a cap was missing from an oil reservoir. NASCAR official Ramsey Poston (pictured right) says Edwards win will stand but that penalties are likely to be assessed by NASCAR this week - which could result in a points loss, hence the loss of the point lead...Click on Poston's picture to hear the Sunday evening NASCAR news conference discussing the infraction (just over four minutes long, mp3 file).

Broadcast Times*

Practice: Friday, February 29 (SPEED at 4 p.m./AT)

Qualifying: Friday, February 29 (SPEED at 7:30 p.m./AT)

Practice: Saturday, March 1 (SPEED at 2:30 p.m./AT)

Final Practice: Saturday, March 1 (SPEED at 3:30 p.m.)

RaceDay: Sunday, March 2 (SPEED at 2:30 p.m./AT)

Pre-Race Show: Sunday, March 2 (FOX & TSN-alt at 4:30 p.m./AT)

Race: Sunday, March 2 (FOX & TSN-alt at 5:30 p.m./AT)

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET...

Kyle Busch climbs from his Toyota after posting the pole winning speed in Las Vegas qualifying...Complete qualifying results and starting lineup in the Event Stats section below...More pix at the end of this page...


Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: UAW-Dodge 400
The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
The Track: 1.5-mile oval
The Distance: 400 miles/267 laps
TV: FOX, 4:30 p.m./AT, 3:30 p.m./ET
Radio: MRN, SIRIUS Satellite Radio
2007 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2007 Polesitter: Kasey Kahne
Pre-Race Schedule: Friday—Practice, noon-1:30 p.m.; Qualifying, 3:40 p.m. Saturday—Practice, 10:30-11:15 a.m.; Final Practice, 11:50 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
Year-To-Date Standings click here

Track Map



Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Complete Qualifying Results click here

UAW-Dodge 400 Starting Lineup click here

Pre-Race Pit Stops

• Johnson Eyes Fourth Consecutive Las Vegas Win...Given today’s ultra-competitive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, it’s not often that drivers dominate certain race tracks. Behold the exception: Reigning and two-time series champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) hopes Sunday’s UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be his fourth consecutive win there. Johnson also has dominated at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, another 1.5-mile layout. He swept both events there in 2004 and ’05, and has won three consecutive Coca-Cola 600s at Lowe’s — from ’03 through ’05. Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont-Nicorette Chevrolet) is the last driver to win the same event four consecutive times. Gordon did it in the fall event at Darlington Raceway (1995-98).
• January Test Data Provides Road Map For Las Vegas Preps...Sunday’s UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marks another significant milestone for NASCAR’s new race car. The now-generation car will compete for the first time on a 1.5-mile track, an event presaged by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ two-day test there in late January. Reaction was positive. “Teams came out of there with high marks on the new car, the way it handled and they really liked the tire package,” said Brett Bodine, NASCAR’s Director of Cost Research. “We feel like the education process for the teams really went to another level after that test, with them coming out of there with a really good feeling about the car and what they learned.” Teams used the new car in 16 of 36 events last season. It will run fulltime in 2008; in fact, the season’s first four events come at tracks where the new car races for the first time — Daytona International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas and Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• Pit Stop: Series Teams Test At Phoenix Before Heading To Atlanta...Following Sunday’s UAW-Dodge 400, NASCAR Sprint Cup teams will stop next Monday and Tuesday for a two-day test at Phoenix International Raceway. It’s one of five NASCAR-sanctioned tests selected by teams for 2008 (not including the annual Preseason Thunder test at Daytona International Speedway). Teams already tested at Las Vegas and Auto Club Speedway and will test at Pocono Raceway and Lowe’s Motor Speedway later this year. Phoenix data will be applicable at similar tracks such as Richmond International Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “Whenever teams test, it usually helps the back half of the field more than the front,” said Brett Bodine, NASCAR’s Director of Cost Research. “The Las Vegas/Phoenix combination week will certainly improve the competition for future races.”
• Off The Track: Special Events, Entertainment for the UAW-Dodge 400... Given that one of the world’s entertainment hubs sits just a few miles south of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fans should expect to see — and hear — stars this weekend. The quiet stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead off, with team haulers scheduled for a Thursday parade down Las Vegas Boulevard, known as “The Strip.” Transporter drivers will stage their trucks at 2:30 p.m. PT just south of the Russell Road-Las Vegas Blvd. intersection, parading north for five miles in the middle lane. A left turn on Sahara Avenue takes them to Interstate 15 for the short drive to the track. Carol Linnea Johnson, who stars in “Mama Mia!” at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, will sing Sunday’s National Anthem. Blue Man Group, which can be seen at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, will perform Saturday and Sunday in the Neon Garage; also during Sunday’s pre-race show. Country music artist Jason Michael Carroll will perform Sunday morning in the midway behind the main grandstands. And as they did prior to the 50th Daytona 500 two weeks ago, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, from next-door Nellis Air Force base, will perform Sunday’s flyover.
• Clock Ticks For Teams Flirting With Top-35 Cut-Off; 2008 Points Are Criteria After 5th Race...Tick, tick, tick ... For those NASCAR Sprint Cup teams residing in the proximity of the 35th position in car owner points, the pressure is already being felt. For the first five races of the 2008 season, the top 35 teams in the final 2007 owner points are assured starting spots. Beginning with this season’s sixth race, March 30 at Martinsville Speedway, the 2008 points determine the weekly top-35 guarantees. Teams outside the top 35 will have to qualify based on pole day This week, the 35th spot belongs to the No. 40 Target Dodge team owned by Felix Sabates, with driver Dario Franchitti, last year’s winner of the Indianapolis 500 AND the IndyCar Series championship. The No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge team owned by Roger Penske, is 33rd. That team’s driver is Sam Hornish Jr., who won the Indy 500 in 2006 and the IndyCar Series title in 2001, ’02 and ’06.
• 60 Years Of NASCAR (1948-2008) Includes 1955 Race In Las Vegas...There have been 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — and 11 overall, counting a somewhat-forgotten desert classic held in the autumn of 1955. The date was Oct. 16. The place was Las Vegas Park Speedway, a one-mile dirt track. Norm Nelson, driving a Chrysler for legendary car owner Carl Kiekhaefer, won the dirt-track race at Las Vegas Park Speedway. The event, was the 43rd of the 45-race season. Scheduled for 200 laps, it was shortened to 111 due to darkness. That problem was caused in part by a 12-car accident early in the race.

Photo Gallery ~ Friday, Practice & Qualifying


NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson (left) and Indy Car Champ Dario Franchitti (right) relax before qualifying...


Tony Stewart shows his crew what his car is doing on the track during practice...


Quebec native Patrick Carpentier was the final driver to qualify among those who were not in the top 35 and locked in to start Sunday's race - and obviously concerned in this pre-qualifying picture - especially since he failed to make the first two races of the year... All for naught; he will start 12th Sunday...

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.