Saturday Las Vegas Notebook

Saturday Las Vegas Notebook

Notebook Items:

·         Kyle Busch’s struggles continue in Saturday practice

·         Edwards optimistic despite starting in rear

·         Short strokes

March 5, 2016

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Kyle Busch’s struggles continue in Saturday practice

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch is the only driver to have won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from the pole position, a feat he accomplished in 2009.

But Busch won’t have that opportunity in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at the 1.5-mile race track (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). Busch was 24th in the first round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session, barely advancing to Round 2. Ultimately, he qualified 23rd at 192.795 mph, considerably slower than brother Kurt Busch’s pole-winning speed of 196.328 mph.

“Obviously, we were pretty disappointed with qualifying,” Busch said. “We struggled with qualifying trim in practice earlier, along with qualifying itself. The front tires were chattering and there wasn’t much we were going to do to fix that out there.

“Our race trim car was OK on Thursday, so I expect our M&M’S Camry will race a lot better than that. We have two practices (on Saturday) to get it better for the race on Sunday, and I know (crew chief) Adam (Stevens) and the guys will work hard to try and get us where we need to be.”

But the first Saturday morning practice brought more disappointment. Busch could muster only 188.180 mph in race trim, leaving him 27th quickest in the session. In contrast, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards paced the 29-car field at 191.564 mph in a backup car.

Relative to the field, however, Busch improved in final practice, posting the 14th fastest speed (188.022 mph).

EDWARDS OPTIMISTIC DESPITE STARTING IN REAR

After slamming into the outside wall during the second round of qualifying for Sunday’s Kobalt 400, Carl Edwards preferred to look on the bright side, even though he’ll drop the rear for the start of the race in a backup car.

“In a way, starting the race from the rear is kind of fun,” Edwards said. “Other than the fact that it’s harder, it’s kind of a neat challenge. I’ve done it a bunch in my career. I think, statistically, when we start in the rear we do pretty well. We’ll just go for it.”

On Saturday morning, Edwards found out he had a car to justify his optimism. Driving the backup No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, he topped the speed chart at 191.564 mph. Still, driving from 39th to the front of the field won’t be easy.

“This will be another test for our guys,” Edwards said. “They are good dealing with adversity, so it should be good.”

In warmer temperatures on Saturday afternoon, Edwards was second fastest in Happy Hour at 188.851 mph.

SHORT STROKES

After brushing the wall in the first round of Friday’s time trials, Jamie McMurray went to a backup car and will join Carl Edwards at the rear of the field for the start of Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at LVMS…

After qualifying 20th and running 26th in Saturday’s first practice, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally made headway in Happy Hour, posting the seventh-fastest lap of the session. Earnhardt is trying to build on last week’s runner-up finish at Atlanta…

Matt Kenseth led final practice with a lap at 189.460 mph in a tightly-bunched field. Pole winner Kurt Busch (188.706 mph) was third on the speed chart, and Jimmie Johnson, last week’s Atlanta winner, was sixth at 188.344 mph)…

Thad Moffitt, grandson of seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Richard Petty, will make his limited late model stock car debut on Sunday at Caraway Speedway. The 15-year-old son of Richard Petty Motorsports CEO Brian Moffitt and Rebecca Petty-Moffitt will drive the No. 46 Empire Racing Group Ford Mustang in his maiden run.