SRINT CUP TO VEGAS

Hot Start For JGR Stable

Through two races, Joe Gibbs Racing has placed all three of its drivers in the top 10 in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points. It’s been awhile since they’ve accomplished the feat. Not since after Homestead in 2008 – Tony Stewart’s last race with the organization – has all three JGR members ranked in the top 10.

At the top spot sits Denny Hamlin, winner of Sunday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway. Hamlin, who scored just one win all of last season, earned a little retribution from a Phoenix stumble that cost him the championship in 2010. It was also crew chief Darian Grubb’s first win with JGR after winning the championship with Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing last season. Grubb has now won six of the last 12 races. Another nugget: With the win, the No. 11 tied the No. 43 for most wins all time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 198.

Joey Logano nabbed his second-consecutive top-10 finish, and is one of five drivers to finish in the top 10 at both Daytona and Phoenix.

Kyle Busch picked up eight position spots, and currently sits ninth. Figure on the upward swing continuing. The Las Vegas native won at his home track in 2009.

Hendrick’s Hiccups Only Temporary

You don’t hear this often: Hendrick Motorsports has only one driver in the top 10 and three outside the top 20.

No need to worry just yet. Jimmie Johnson, currently 37th due in most part to a 25-point penalty after Daytona, has won four times at Las Vegas, more than any other driver.

Jeff Gordon, currently 22nd, won at Las Vegas in 2001.

Currently 32nd, Kasey Kahne earned his first pole at Las Vegas, in 2004. He has four top 10s in eight races at the 1.5-mile track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., HMS’ lone top-10 driver, is fifth in points. He has finished in the top 10 at Las Vegas in three of the last four races.

A major milestone awaits the powerhouse team. Its next win will be No. 200, a feat accomplished by one other team (Petty Enterprises).

Vegas Race Boasts Hometown Flavor

Plenty of local angles will pepper the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field this weekend. There are the two usual suspects: The brothers Busch, Kurt and Kyle. Kyle won at Las Vegas in 2009. Kurt’s best finish at his home track was third in 2005.

Brendan Gaughan, a third Las Vegas native, will make a spot start this weekend. A NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular, Gaughan will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet this weekend for Richard Childress Racing. Gaughan ran fulltime in the series in 2004 and has one top five and four top 10s in 38 career starts.

MWR Showing Some Know How

Blasting out of the 2012 gate, Michael Waltrip Racing boasts both its cars in the top 10 in points. The ageless Mark Martin sits seventh in points after a ninth-place Phoenix finish. Martin Truex Jr. flirted with victory at Phoenix, leading 29 laps. He’s currently sixth in points.

Blue Oval vs. Bowtie at the Diamond in the Desert

Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards have won eight of the last nine races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Chevrolet's Johnson winning half of those and Ford's Edwards and Kenseth joining former Roush Fenway Racing teammate Jeff Burton as the only other drivers with two wins at the track.

After winning five of the first seven races at the track, Roush has won two of the last four. RFR owns the most wins at Vegas, with seven. Hendrick Motorsports is second with five, and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing each have one win.