Johnson 3-Peats in Vegas! SCI March 12th Issue

Next stop on the Nextel Cup Schedule is Atlantaplanning phases of building trackside luxury condos
Motor Speedwaylike never seen before at a race track.
Next week NASCAR heads to the fastest trackSo what's the problem you ask? The problem is
on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit, Atlanta Motornot necessarily the track's fault. The recent
Speedway, for the Kobalt Tools 500. The 2007restructuring of the track, a new track surface,
races at Atlanta will a new change to contendand the promise of increased speeds made
with compared to 2006 races held there.Goodyear play a conservative hand in the tires
NASCAR has mandated an 18 gallon fuel cellthey formulated for UAW Daimler Chrysler 400.
instead of the standard 22 1/2 gallon cell typicallyThe left side Goodyear tires were very hard and
used.capable of withstanding higher pressures than
What effect will a smaller fuel cell have? Fortypical tires. Along with the modified left side tire,
starters, it will require more pit stops to coverthe air pressures in the right side tires were
the 500 mile race. More stops on NASCAR'sregulated and teams were not allowed to adjust
fastest track means that the pit crews and theas needed during the race.
driver's ability to have a clean pit stop will becomeThe end result was the race had a higher number
even more critical. Have a bad stop, and a teamof captions than any other Vegas race. Most
could find themselves a lap down in a heartbeat.drivers complained of icy conditions on a slick
Of the current drivers who have raced moretrack that claimed numerous cars. For NASCAR
than 2 races at Atlanta, Dale Jarrett has had theto award a 2nd race to Las Vegas, both the
most success. In 20 starts, Jarrett has antrack and Goodyear will need to get on the same
average finish of 10th place. Of course, Dale'spage and provide a track along with a suitable set
success at Atlanta came during his years atof tires that produces some serious racing!
Yates Racing. Let's see if he can maintain hisUAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor
dominance with his new team, Michael WaltripSpeedway Recap
Racing.The newly revamped Las Vegas Motor
Other drivers to note:Speedway made for dicey racing conditions on
Carl Edwards - Average finish of 11thSunday in the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. As
Jimmie Johnson - Average finish of 11thTony Stewart predicted after Saturday nights
Dale Earnhardt Jr - Average finish of 11thBusch race, the Sam's Town 300, the
Greg Biffle - Average finish of 12thUAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 would claim many cars
Next Week's Schedule:by race end.
Nextel Cup: @ Atlanta Motor Speedway (all timesDuring the off-season, Speedway Motor sports
EST)Inc, owners of Vegas, spent millions of dollars
03/16/07 - 06:40pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Kobaltraising the banking in the turns from 12 degrees
Tools 500 Qualifyingto 20 and resurfaced the entire track. Always
03/17/07 - 01:20pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Kobaltone to make the safe bet, Goodyear specified a
Tools 500 Practiceharder left side compound to guard against tire
03/18/07 - 02:00pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Kobaltfailure. Ask any driver, and they will tell you that a
Tools 500harder left side tire on a newly paved track is
Busch Series: @ Atlanta Motor Speedwayextremely slick!
03/16/07 - 02:15pm NASCAR Craftsman TruckAnd slick it was yesterday. In the first 40 laps,
Series Nicorette 300 Practicethere were 4 cautions that claimed numerous
03/17/07 - 11:05am NASCAR Craftsman Truckcars. One team, Hendrick Motor sports, was
Series Nicorette 300 Qualifyingseemingly immune to the track conditions. Two of
03/17/07 - 03:00pm NASCAR Craftsman Trucktheir drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon
Series Nicorette 300finished 1 & 2 respectively while Kyle Busch
Craftsman Truck Series: @ Atlanta Motorfinished in 9th. The win was the 150th in Hendrick
SpeedwayMotor sports history!
03/16/07 - 05:15pm NASCAR Craftsman TruckFor Jimmie Johnson, the win at Vegas was his 3rd
Series American Commercial Lines 200 Qualifyingconsecutive victory at the same track, and
03/16/07 - 09:00pm NASCAR Craftsman Truckbolstered him to 4th in the standings. Johnson's
Series American Commercial Lines 200win didn't come easy though. Jimmy had to
Johnson Captures First Win of 2007!overcome a pit road penalty and a small scrape
Jimmie Johnson learned last year that the bestwith the wall. The reigning champion bounced back
way to win a championship is to come out earlyby leading 89 laps and winning the race.
swinging. In the 2006 season, Johnson started byJeff Gordon, meanwhile, bumped up to 2nd in the
winning the Daytona 500, finishing 2nd atstandings still trailing the leader Mark Martin. The
California, and by winning Las Vegas.4-time champion led 111 laps in the race only to
With the exception of Daytona, Johnson's resultsfalter after a late race tire problem. Gordon still
in 2007 are eerily similar to 2006. A 3rd placetrails Dale Earnhardt by one win in NASCAR all
finish at California last week followed by a win intime victories.
Vegas this week, the 150th for the HendrickJeff Burton seemed poised to make a sweep of
Motor Sports organization. What's next? A 6thLas Vegas after winning the Busch race on
place finish next week at Atlanta?Saturday. The South Boston, VA native lead late
While Johnson's poor finish this year at Daytonain the race before engine trouble doomed his
left fans guessing if he could repeat, there is nochances of a sweep. Burton finished 15th.
doubt now that the #48 Lowe's teams is still theOther top drivers faired as follows:
force to be reckoned with in NASCAR!Tony Stewart followed up his 8th place finish at
Las Vegas Not Impressive in Bid to Get 2ndCalifornia with a 7th in Vegas. The former
NASCAR Racechampion now sits in 13th place.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway desperately wants aThe darling of NASCAR, Kasey Kahne, was
2nd race Nextel Cup race. The track wants it soinvolved in a late race wreck and finished 35th.
bad that it was willing to spend millions to raiseThe 35th place dropped Kahne to 36th in points. It
the 11 yr old turns an additional 8 degrees to bringseems the #9 Dodge team is still reeling from the
faster paced action for the fans. It is also in thesuspensions handed out at Daytona.