NASCAR Cup Series

No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. hopes to change his luck this weekend when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mechanical failures ruined what could have been two top-10 performances at season-opening races in Daytona and Phoenix. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver is contemplating some drastic action.

Bobby Labonte's performances at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) includes 15 starts, two pole awards, four top-five, five top-10 and has led 32 laps. His best finish at LVMS is fourth (3/2/03).

KNOW WHEN TO HOLD ‘EM, KNOW WHEN TO FOLD ‘EM: On Thursday evening, Brad Keselowski, members of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team and soldiers from Operation Homefront will hold a charity poker tournament at Bally’s Hotel and Casino, beginning at 7:30 pm PT. The winner will have $2,000 donated to the Checkered Flag Foundation in his or her name.

Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway will square off on the diamond for the second straight year as both tracks announced the return of the Second Annual Celebrity Softball Game, featuring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. The game will be played on Wednesday, April 24 at the home of the Harrisburg Senators in Harrisburg, Pa.

No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer visits Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in a far better position than he did one year ago. In 2012, Bowyer arrived at the 1.5-mile oval just north of the famous Vegas strip 17th in points - his lowest ranking in a 2012 season that saw him battle back to finish second in NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship.

RCR in "Sin City" ... In 44 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets have earned seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes with five different drivers - Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick and Mike Skinner. Bowyer and Harvick's runner-up finishes in March 2008 and March 2009, respectively, are RCR's best showings at the 1.5-mile oval.

Phoenix Recap: The FedEx Racing team used excellent strategy and quick pit stops in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway to help get Denny Hamlin into the top-five for the final charge to the checkered flag, and the driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota made a breathtaking, three-wide last lap move to finish third in the 312-mile race won by Carl Edwards.

Biffle on Vegas: “I’m jacked up about heading to Vegas. One, I love to gamble, and two, I love that race track. We run really well there. We’ve got the American Red Cross on the car this weekend and I just can’t wait to get there. It takes a lot of things to win at Vegas. Track position is key and you need to have the right pit stop at the end. We’ve been really close to winning in the Cup car before and hopefully this is it.”

The Michael Waltrip Racing driver won his 56th career pole Friday in Phoenix moving past Bill Elliott and into sole possession of seventh place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series all-time poles.

With an average finish of 12.8 at the Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, Marcos Ambrose looks to tally another top-10 finish this weekend in the No. 9 Stanley Ford. Ambrose and the team have posted two 18th-place finishes this season and currently hold the 12th spot in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points.