FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: LAS VEGAS NOTES
Fresh off its first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, the all-new NASCAR Ford Mustang will look to extend Ford’s winning streak at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to three in Sunday’s scheduled Pennzoil 400. Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski posted victories at the 1.5-mile track, which hosted two series events in the same season for the first time in 2018.
In addition, the NASCAR XFINITY and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series will also be in action as all three top touring series compete for the third straight week.
FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT LVMS
· Ford leads all manufacturers with 11 series wins in 22 all-time events.
· Roush Fenway Racing tops all organizations with 7 victories, including the first three.
· Ford swept last year’s races at LVMS with Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski each winning once.
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT LVMS
· Ford has 9 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at LVMS.
· Jeff Burton and Mark Martin lead the way with 2 wins apiece.
· Jack Roush leads all car owner with 6 series victories at LVMS.
FORD IN THE NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES AT LVMS
· Ford has 5 series wins at LVMS.
· Grant Enfinger won the last time the series raced at LVMS in September.
· Joe Ruttman, Greg Biffle, Travis Kvapil and Tyler Reddick also have one Ford win each.
MUSTANG MOMENT
Mustang won its first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race in its second start, continuing a trend that has seen new Ford vehicles come out of the box strong. When Taurus debuted in 1998 as the first full-time four-door sedan in NASCAR history, it needed only three races to reach Victory Lane as Mark Martin did the honors at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Fusion was equally impressive and, just like Mustang, won in its second start as Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag at Auto Club Speedway in 2006.
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 Monster Energy NASCAR 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 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series events on consecutive days. Even though Keselowski led the most laps in the MENCS 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.
ROUSH RULES
There have been two Roush Fenway Racing drivers who have posted consecutive Monster Energy NASCAR 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 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series at the 1.5-mile facility. The organization has posted seven MENCS 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 ON VEGAS ROLL
Team Penske has dominated the NXS and MENCS events at LVMS in recent years with three drivers combining for six wins. Sam Hornish Jr. started this streak with his win in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race in 2013 before Brad Keselowski swept the NXS/MENCS weekend in 2014. Keselowski won Cup events in 2016 and 2018 while sandwiched in between was Joey Logano’s NXS victory in 2017.
FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR 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
2016 – Brad Keselowski
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1) and Brad Keselowski (2)
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.
2013 – Sam Hornish Jr.
2014 – Brad Keselowski
2017 – Joey Logano
FORD NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT LAS VEGAS
1997 – Joe Ruttman
1999 – Greg Biffle
2007 – Travis Kvapil
2016 – Tyler Reddick
2018 – Grant Enfinger (2)
