FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: LAS VEGAS NOTES
NASCAR heads west for three consecutive weekends and it starts this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Ford has had the most success of any manufacturer with eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories. Here’s a look at some of the more memorable moments for Ford at LVMS.
MARTIN LEADS FORD CHARGE IN INAUGURAL VEGAS CUP EVENT
Ford took the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the inaugural race at the 1.5-mile facility on March 1, 1998 as Mark Martin led a manufacturer runaway that saw 13 of the top 14 finishers driving a Taurus. The win was the first for Taurus, which became the first full-time four-door entry in NASCAR, after Ford decided to use it in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starting with the 1998 season. Martin bested Roush Fenway teammate Jeff Burton by 1.605 seconds to win the Las Vegas 400 with Rusty Wallace, Johnny Benson and Jeremy Mayfield rounding out the top-five. The only non-Ford to finish in the top-10 was the late Dale Earnhardt, who was eighth.
SWEEP DELIGHT FOR KESELOWSKI
Brad Keselowski completed a weekend sweep in 2014 after taking the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series events on consecutive days. Even though Keselowski led the most laps in the NSCS race, he needed a little bit of luck and got it on the final lap when Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was in conservation mode, ran out of gas on the back straightaway. That enabled Keselowski to win going away and post the first of his six victories that season. That Cup win gave Ford eight all-time series victories at the track, which is more than any other manufacturer.
ROUSH RULES
There have been two Roush Fenway Racing drivers who have posted consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jeff Burton won in 1999 and 2000 while Matt Kenseth did it in his championship season of 2003 and 2004. In fact, Roush Fenway Racing has been a force in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series at the 1.5-mile facility. The organization has posted seven NSCS wins and six NXS victories for a total of 13 overall, which includes back-to-back weekend sweeps in 1999 and 2000. In addition, RFR has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series triumphs. Team Penske has been the most dominant team of late with Keselowski’s sweep in 2014 and Sam Hornish Jr’s. NASCAR XFINITY Series win in 2013.
FORD NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES WINNERS AT LAS VEGAS
> 1998 – Mark Martin
> 1999 – Jeff Burton
> 2000 – Jeff Burton
> 2003 – Matt Kenseth
> 2004 – Matt Kenseth
> 2008 – Carl Edwards
> 2011 – Carl Edwards
> 2014 – Brad Keselowski
FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT LAS VEGAS
> 1999 – Mark Martin
> 2000 – Jeff Burton
> 2002 – Jeff Burton
> 2005 – Mark Martin
> 2009 – Greg Biffle
> 2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
