NASCAR Driver Capsules

Capsules for the top 20 drivers in the points standings and five additional drivers of note.

By Jerry Bonkowski and Bob Moore

48 JIMMIE JOHNSON, Chevrolet

Team: Hendrick Motorsports

WHERE HE STANDS: Jimmie Johnson remained in first place in the Sprint Cup standings for the second consecutive week. He leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski, who are both tied for second place, by eight points each.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 11 career starts, 4 wins, 5 top-5s, 6 top-10s, 0 poles. Best career finish: first in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. Finished second in this race last year.

LOOKING AHEAD: Even though it's one of his favorite and most successful tracks, Johnson still feels Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Tony Stewart owe him one, having come so close to winning in last season's race there, only to have it stolen away at the end by Stewart. Here are Johnson's thoughts about Sunday's race in Sin City: "We ran well all day (last year at Vegas). It was a competitive race and it was fun to race that hard with Tony at the end for a win. He was killing everyone all day on the restarts and he got me at the end. I hope we are in the same position again this weekend."

LOOKING BACK: Two races thus far in 2013 and you can't get much better, as Johnson won the season-opening Daytona 500 and finished second at Phoenix.

ETC.: Johnson has completed 99.9 percent (2,955) of the 2,958 laps completed in his 11 career starts at Las Vegas. His average start is 14.4 and average finish is an outstanding 9.8. He has 0 DNFs there.

88 DALE EARNHARDT JR., Chevrolet

Team: Hendrick Motorsports

WHERE HE STANDS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is tied with Brad Keselowski for second in the Sprint Cup standings, eight points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson and four points ahead of Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin, who are tied for fourth.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 13 career starts, 0 wins, 2 top-fives, 6 top-10s and 0 poles. Best career finish: second place in 2003. Finished 10th in this race last year.

LOOKING AHEAD: Earnhardt is off to a great start, having finished second in the season-opening Daytona 500, and coming back with a fifth-place finish at Phoenix. He's had mixed success at Las Vegas over the years, and admits it's one track that has vexed him when it comes to being in position to win there. Perhaps his luck may change there this Sunday?

LOOKING BACK: After finishing second in the season-opening Daytona 500, Earnhardt earned his second consecutive top-five with a fifth-place finish Sunday at Phoenix. Here's what Earnhardt had to say about this past Sunday's race: "That was a good run for us. I was a little disappointed because I think we could have won. And you hate to give away them points. And I'd love to get to Victory Lane. This is a good sign for us though that we've improved this much at Phoenix. Hopefully it's a sign for the rest of the season and that we're going to be all right."

ETC.: Earnhardt has completed 90.3 percent (3,045) of the 3,373 laps completed in his 13 starts at Las Vegas. His average start is 21.8 and average finish is 16.3. He also has 2 DNFs.

2 BRAD KESELOWSKI, Ford

Team: Penske Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: Brad Keselowski is tied with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second in the Sprint Cup standings, eight points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson and four points ahead of Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin, who are tied for fourth.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 4 career starts, 0 wins, 0 top-fives, 0 top-10s and 0 poles. Best career finish: 26th in 2010 and 2011. Finished 32nd in this race last year.

LOOKING AHEAD: Las Vegas Motor Speedway is without question one of Keselowski's worst race tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit. He's never finished better than 26th in his four career starts there. He's obviously looking to change his luck there this weekend. Will the fifth time be the charm?

LOOKING BACK: Keselowski has started the 2013 season with fourth-place finishes in both the season-opening Daytona 500 and again Sunday at Phoenix. Here's what Keselowski had to say after this past Sunday's race: "It's early in the season but I feel like there's a lot of passion and that's a good thing. I thought we had the car to win the race, but I could just never get that track position towards the end that we needed. If you could get to the lead, it looked like you had it covered, but it just wasn't meant to be."

ETC.: Keselowski has completed just 93.0 percent (1,010) of 1,086 laps completed in four career starts. His average start is 17.2 and average finish is a terrible 30.5. Still, he has zero DNFs at LVMS.

5 CLINT BOWYER, Toyota

Team: Michael Waltrip Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: Bowyer improved from 10th place in the season standings after Daytona to a tie for fourth place with Denny Hamlin after Phoenix. The duo is 18 points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson, 10 points behind the second-place tie between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski, and are six points ahead of sixth-ranked Greg Biffle.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 7 career starts, 0 wins, 1 top-five, 3 top-10s, 0 poles. Best career finish: Second in 2009. Finished sixth in this race last year.

LOOKING AHEAD: With a decent 11th place finish at Daytona, and an even stronger sixth place finish at Phoenix, Bowyer is off to one of the best starts of his Sprint Cup career. Next up is Las Vegas, where he's done marginally well at, but has yet to get a breakthrough win (even though he did finish second in 2009). Here's Bowyer's thoughts on Las Vegas: "We tested this 5-Hour ENERGY Toyota in Charlotte back in January and we were so fast right off the truck that I told the crew, 'We're good! Let's load it back up and call it a day.' We were fast as soon as we unloaded. I felt like we left off just where we did at the end of last season. Unfortunately, they don't always listen to me (laughs). They made us stay there and try new things and we just kept working on it. I'm hoping that the same thing happens this weekend: unload fast and just keep fine tuning to get better for the race."

LOOKING BACK: Bowyer drove a smart race at Phoenix, staying close to the leaders for most of the event and coming out of it with a strong sixth-place finish.

ETC.: Bowyer has completed 98.4 percent (1,860) of the 1,890 laps completed in his seven career starts at Las Vegas. His average start is 20.0 and average finish is 15.7. He has zero DNFs there.

11 DENNY HAMLIN, Toyota

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: Hamlin improved from 12th place in the standings after Daytona to a tie for fourth place with Clint Bowyer after Phoenix. The duo is 18 points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson, 10 points behind the second-place tie between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski, and are six points ahead of sixth-ranked Greg Biffle.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 7 career starts, 0 wins, 1 top-five, 4 top-10s, 0 poles. Best career finish: Third in 2007. Finished 20th in this race last year.

LOOKING AHEAD: Hamlin has made it very clear with his finishes in the first two races that he once again intends to be a contender for the championship. Going to Las Vegas, he's had decent success there, but has never gotten a win. Plus, he's coming off his second-worst finish in Sin City at last year's race, so there's motivation to bounce back this Sunday with a top-10 or even a top-5 finish.

LOOKING BACK: Hamlin loves flat short tracks like Phoenix, so it's not surprising that he finished third there this past Sunday. Phoenix has become somewhat of an adopted home for him. Here are his thoughts on this past Sunday's race: "We overachieved, that's for sure. ... Didn't have a third-place car -- every run I was hanging on and playing defense with the guys behind me. It's frustrating because you can catch a guy, you just can't pass him. Once you get in his wake, there's just no getting around him. That's just something that's a byproduct of a new car that we really haven't developed all that much."

ETC.: Hamlin has completed 99.9 percent (1,889) of the 1,890 laps completed in his seven career starts at Las Vegas. His average start is 22.1 and average finish is 12.9. He has zero DNFs there.

16 GREG BIFFLE, Ford

Team: Roush Fenway Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: Greg Biffle remained sixth in the standings, 24 points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson, six points behind the fourth place tie between Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer and is one point ahead of seventh-ranked Mark Martin.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 9 career starts, 0 wins, 2 top-fives, 6 top-10s and 1 poles. Best career finish: third in 2008 and 2012. Finished third in this race last year.

LOOKING AHEAD: Biffle is looking to replicate his third-place finish at Las Vegas last season ... or better. Biffle is one of the best yet most underrated drivers on 1.5-mile tracks. Look for him to lead a Ford onslaught there. Here are his thoughts about Sunday's race: "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. 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."

LOOKING BACK: Biffle had some struggles at Phoenix, resulting in a less than stellar 17th place finish.

ETC.: Biffle has completed 89.8 percent (2,176) of the 2,424 laps completed in his nine career starts at Las Vegas. His average start is an outstanding 9.0 and average finish is 13.4. He also has one DNF there.

55 MARK MARTIN, Toyota

Team: Michael Waltrip Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: Mark Martin dropped from a tie for third to seventh place in the standings after Phoenix. He is 25 points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson, one point behind sixth-ranked Greg Biffle and leads the three drivers tied in eighth place (Rickey Stenhouse Jr., Jeff Gordon and Aric Almirola) by five points.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 15 career starts, 1 wins, 6 top-fives, 10 top-10s and 2 poles. Best career finish: first in 1998. Finished 18th in this race last year for the second time in a row.

LOOKING AHEAD: Martin was the first Cup driver to ever win a race at Las Vegas back in 1998. The banked 1.5-mile track has proven to be one of his more successful tracks, with 10 top-10 finishes in his 15 career starts there. However, he's struggled to 18th-place finishes the last two years there. Here's what Martin had to say about this Sunday's race: "We've had some success in Las Vegas, winning the very first race in 1998. Sure, we can do that again. We led 75 laps Sunday so we know we're capable of running well. We'll just need to put the whole race together. But we can do that."

LOOKING BACK: After finishing third in the season-opening Daytona 500, the 29th time he's been in the Great American Race, Martin had a disappointing 21st place finish at Phoenix.

ETC.: Martin has completed 91.3 percent (3,566) of 3,907 laps completed in 15 career starts at Las Vegas. He has an average start of 13.0, an outstanding average finish of 13.5 and two DNFs.

17 RICKY STENHOUSE JR., Ford

Team: Roush Fenway Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: Stenhouse moved up three places in the standings after Phoenix and is now part of a three-way tie for eighth place with Jeff Gordon and Aric Almirola. The trio trails points leader Jimmie Johnson by 30 points, seventh-ranked Mark Martin by five points and leads 11th-ranked and Phoenix winner Carl Edwards by one point.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 0 career starts, 0 wins, 0 top-fives, 0 top-10s and 0 poles. Best career finish: Stenhouse is making his first career Sprint Cup start at Las Vegas. In the Nationwide Series, however, he had one win (in last year's race) and an eighth-place finish in three career starts there.

LOOKING AHEAD: Stenhouse has stayed out of trouble in the first two races of his Cup career and is rewarded with a tie for eighth place in the standings heading into Sunday's race at Las Vegas. The last time he raced there, he won in the Nationwide Series race last March. He's looking for a similar result in his first career Cup start there. "I really look forward to racing at Las Vegas. I've had a lot of success on mile-and-a-half tracks in my Nationwide career including winning the Nationwide race at Vegas last spring. Our No. 17 team is new and we are all learning. I feel confident that we can get a top-10 finish at Vegas."

LOOKING BACK: Just like he did at Daytona, Stenhouse drove a measured and smart race at Phoenix, coming out of the event with a decent 16th-place finish.

ETC.: Stenhouse is making his first career Sprint Cup start this weekend at Las Vegas. However, one of his forte's during his Nationwide Series career was on 1.5-mile tracks, and that can readily be seen by his win at Las Vegas in the Nationwide race last March.

24 JEFF GORDON, Chevrolet

Team: Hendrick Motorsports

WHERE HE STANDS: Gordon made the biggest jump of any driver in the top 20 after Phoenix, moving up 12 spots and into a three-way tie for eighth place with rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Aric Almirola. The trio trails points leader Jimmie Johnson by 30 points, seventh-ranked Mark Martin by 5 points and leads 11th-ranked and Phoenix winner Carl Edwards by one point.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 15 career starts, 1 wins, 6 top-fives, 7 top-10s and 0 poles. Best career finish: first in 2001. Finished 12th in this race last year.

LOOKING AHEAD: Gordon is looking forward to Las Vegas, particularly after such a big climb upward in the standings. Here's what Gordon has to say about this Sunday's race: "There are some bumps down in Turns 1 and 2 that you really need your car to get through. They're in the low line, the preferred line. In Turns 3 and 4, you'll usually run low. If your car is not working through the bumps in Turns 1 and 2, you can run above them, and I really like (Turns) 3 and 4 because you have a lot of different options through there, as well. You can definitely change your entry into Turn 3 and your line through the corner to get the most out of the car."

LOOKING BACK: After finishing 20th in the season-opening Daytona 500, Gordon bounced back with a strong ninth-place finish at Phoenix. Interestingly, Gordon has also had back-to-back strong qualifying efforts in the first two races: 2nd at Daytona and 5th at Phoenix.

ETC.: Gordon has completed 96.0 percent (3,752) of 3,907 laps completed in 15 career starts at Las Vegas. He has an average start of 13.9 and an average finish of 14.7. He also has three career DNFs there.

43 ARIC ALMIROLA, Ford

Team: Richard Petty Motorsports

WHERE HE STANDS: Almirola climbed four spots, from 12th to a three-way tie for eighth place with Jeff Gordon and rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The trio trails points leader Jimmie Johnson by 30 points, seventh-ranked Mark Martin by 5 points and leads 11th-ranked and Phoenix winner Carl Edwards by one point.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: 4 career starts, 0 wins, 0 top-fives, 0 top-10s and 0 poles. Best career finish: 24th in 2012. Finished 24th in this race last year.

LOOKING AHEAD: Almirola is riding a boatload of confidence heading into Phoenix, ranking in the top 10 for the first time in his Cup career. However, he has struggled unmercifully in his career at Las Vegas, completing just over 40 percent of the laps contested there in his four starts. It hasn't helped that he's had DNFs in three of his starts there, including two wrecks that ended his day early. Last season's 24th-place finish marked the first time Almirola has completed a race at LVMS. Here's what Almirola had to say about this Sunday's race: "Even though it is early in the year, it is extremely important for our team to be in the top-10 in points. Now, all we need to do is stay consistent. We want to post top-10 and top-five finishes weekly. Our Richard Petty Motorsports team is capable of doing that and now we just need to go out and do it."

LOOKING BACK: After finishing 13th in the season-opening Daytona 500, Almirola finished 15th at Phoenix. Still, he was able to climb up in the standings when several drivers that had strong finishes at Daytona, including Danica Patrick, Michael McDowell and JJ Yeley struggled at Phoenix.

ETC.: Almirola has completed an abysmal 44.0 percent (478) of 1,086 laps in four career starts at Las Vegas. He has an average start of 32.0, an outstanding average finish of 36.8 and three DNFs.

99, CARL EDWARDS, Ford

Team: Roush Fenway Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 11th, only one point out of the top 10. Gained a whopping 19 spots with the Phoenix win.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Two wins and three top-five finishes in eight starts. Finished fifth a year ago after winning the 2011 race.

LOOKING AHEAD: Edwards said, "Since the test in Charlotte this off-season, the whole 99 team has been looking forward to the race in Vegas. We feel that we will have a very fast Aflac Ford Fusion and that all the Ford's should be pretty tough there. We're going to Las Vegas to make it two in a row. We feel like we can use the momentum we've got and the confidence we've built in Phoenix to have great pit stops, qualify well and race hard all day."

LOOKING BACK: After one of the most frustrating seasons of his career and a disastrous Speedweeks in Daytona, Edwards needed a real morale booster and he got it Sunday at Phoenix as he led the final 78 laps to end a 70-race winless streak. "To be in victory lane this early in the season (the second race of 2013), to have a car like we had today, is really, really great," said a beaming Edwards. "This win feels as good or better than any win I've ever had, so I'm very excited about it." Edwards had to survive a green-white-checkered finish to score the 20th win of his career and second at Phoenix.

ETC.: One of the happiest persons in the garage area after Edwards' win was Bob Osborne, Edwards' long-time crew chief who had to leave the team midway through the 2012 season because of health problems. "The 99, for me personally, the car number with Carl in victory lane means a lot to me and Ford in general," said Osborne, who now heads a team of engineers at Roush Fenway that look four and five races down the road for the organization. "We struggled a lot last year; everybody knows that. It make me proud and happy to see the performance come right back with a fresh start and a new season and lot of new faces involved with Carl's career." Jimmy Fennig is the team's new crew chief.

9 MARCOS AMBROSE, Ford

Team: Richard Petty Motorsports

WHERE HE STANDS: 12th, eight points out of the top 10. Gained five spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: One top-10 finish in four starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Ambrose said, "Vegas has always been a good track for us. We usually have good speed and lady luck tends to be on our side. I hope that continues this weekend. Our Stanley team really has a good opportunity to get into the top-10 in points (after this weekend). We haven't had a great finish yet, but we haven't had a terrible one either. We just need to get a little better."

LOOKING BACK: Ambrose finished 18th at Phoenix. "We just never had the track position to really help us," said Ambrose. "I was fighting our DeWalt Ford early in the race and we had to spend time on pit road making adjustments. Our car was better at the end, but it was so hard to pass. We still haven't had the finish that we want, but we are in a good position in the points."

ETC.: Ambrose feels "this is a big weekend for everyone. This will be a key mile-and-a-half race, and with 16 races at intermediate tracks, it's important to have a good program at these tracks. We did well at the Charlotte test in the offseason, so I look forward to seeing our speed at a mile-and-a-half track this weekend."

36 JJ YELEY, Chevrolet

Team: Tommy Baldwin Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 13th, 10 points out of the top 10. Lost four spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Best finish in five starts is 17th.

LOOKING AHEAD: Yeley said, "What I like about Vegas is that you can really race in several grooves. It gives you an opportunity to change your line and look for more speed throughout the race. We sure would like to have another top-10 run like we did in Daytona. That would be a great start to the season."

LOOKING BACK: Yeley ran out of gas on the last lap of the race as he finished 28th at his home track. "Racing at Phoenix is always special for me - seeing family and friends, it means a lot to be here," said Yeley. "Unfortunately, it was a tough day for the Accell Construction team. We got pushed into the wall by the 88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) and then ran out of fuel at the end. We wanted to keep the momentum from Daytona (a career-best 10th-place finish in the Daytona 500) going, but it was just not our day."

ETC.: Car owner Tommy Baldwin is quite pleased with "how far we've come in a really short time. We had to be a start-and-park team back when we started (in 2009) because we didn't have the resources to do otherwise. But as we've grown and attracted more sponsors, we've gotten better and better and I feel really good about where we are in 2013."

47 BOBBY LABONTE, Toyota

Team: JTG Daugherty Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 14th, 11 points out of the top 10.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Five top-10 finishes including four top-five's in 15 starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Labonte feels the extra day of testing at Las Vegas will be "very beneficial for our team because we have not done a lot of testing (with the new car). We did test at Charlotte a couple times, but there is still so much to learn at these type of tracks. It's a great opportunity for us because we need something like this. As a single car team, we have to take advantage of every opportunity."

LOOKING BACK: Labonte battled an ill-handling race car all day as he finished 24th at Phoenix. "The number 47 Glad Toyota was pretty unpredictable for the driver today so it was pretty hard to tune," said crew chief Brian Burns. "Bobby did a really good job of trying to hang onto the car considering how tough it was to drive today." Added Labonte, "it seemed like we never really identified anything that made a big difference for some reason this weekend. We could not get a handle on it."

ETC.: Burns believes "we have grown as a team and learned a lot since last year. We definitely feels like we are much better now than where we were at this point last year. We struggled at Phoenix, but we are still a solid 14th in the point standings. If we can continue to improve like we had done recently, you should expect to see the number 47 Kingsford Toyota Camry running up front more and more each week."

31 JEFF BURTON, Chevrolet

Team: Richard Childress Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 15th, 12 points out of the top 10. Gained 13 spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Two wins and eight top-10 finishes in 15 starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Burton said, "There are going to be a lot of questions at Las Vegas for every team. The new Gen-6 cars are really fast with a lot of grip. Goodyear is building better tires than they have ever built while the cars have more downforce and the engines have more power than ever. Add all that up and it means we are going to go really fast."

LOOKING BACK: During the final 68 laps of the race, Burton posted some of the fastest laps of any car in the field as he rallied to finish 10th at Phoenix, his 14th top-10 finish in 28 starts at the track. "Over the last 60 or so laps, we consistently had the fastest car in the field," said a beaming Burton. "It was great to end it off with a top-10 finish, especially after all the adversity the team faced early in the day when Luke (Lambert, crew chief) flew home to be with his wife who was expecting their second child. Ernie (Cope) stepped in and made great calls all day. I appreciate him and the entire 31 Cheerios team pulling together and working hard and it paid off with a solid finish."

ETC.: Richard Childress Racing has won races at 19 of the 23 tracks on the 2013 Sprint Cup schedule. But one of the four tracks that the organization has not won at is Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of this weekend's Kobalt Tools 400. Burton believes RCR can end the Vegas drought on Sunday. "We feel like we've had good tests (with the new car)," said Burton. "So we are optimistic about this weekend."

83 DAVID REUTIMANN, Toyota

Team: BK Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 16th, 12 points out of the top 10. Lost one spot last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: One top-five finish in five starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Reutimann is looking forward to this weekend because he looks on Las Vegas Motor Speedway as one of his "better tracks. We got a fourth a couple of years ago (2009) and ran pretty well there in both 2010 and '11. So we feel pretty good about going back out there. Plus having a full day of testing on Thursday will benefit everybody is getting ready for Sunday."

LOOKING BACK: Reutimann finished 25th at Phoenix after battling handling problems all afternoon. "We tried a lot of different things and made a lot of adjustments, but nothing really seemed to work," said Reutimann. "It was just one of those days when you can't find the right balance no matter what you do."

ETC: Reutimann knows a lot of people are surprised that he stands 16th in the point standings ahead of lot of the better known drivers and teams. But he believes "if we can get some consistency this year we can stay up there. The key is running top-20 each week. And we believe we can do that."

27 PAUL MENARD, Chevrolet

Team: Richard Childress Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 17th, 12 points out of the top 10. Gained three spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Finished seventh last year for his first top-10 finish in six starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Menard feels "going to Las Vegas will give us the first true indication of how the new Gen-6 car is going to react. At all the tests we have done with the new car we've seen high speeds. It's definitely been faster than the old car in race conditions. I think there's a good possibility we might see a new track record in Vegas."

LOOKING BACK: Menard battled handling problems all afternoon as he finished 20th at Phoenix. "We struggled throughout the race to find the right setup for the Serta/Menards Chevrolet, but we were never able to get exactly what we needed," said Menard. "We made adjustments on every stop. There at the end, the car was handling better, but we just couldn't gain any track position."

ETC.: Menard believes "going to the track (in Las Vegas) a day early to test will be a big benefit. What we gain from the extra day will be crucial to our strategy for the rest of the weekend."

20 MATT KENSETH, Toyota

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 18th, 14 points out of the top 10. Gained 15 spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Two wins and six top-10 finishes including five top-five's in 13 starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Kenseth will turn 41 on Sunday. "I'm looking forward to going to Vegas this weekend," said Kenseth. "After Daytona and Phoenix, I thought we had - maybe not the best car, but one of the best cars at both places. We didn't get the finishes we deserved, but that (the team's performance) was really encouraging. Hopefully, we can build on that and get a little better finish for the 20 car this weekend."

LOOKING BACK: Kenseth finished seventh at Phoenix, but "I don't think the finish shows how good we ran. I thought we were really, really good. I thought we had one of the best cars most of the day. Had really great adjustments. We just didn't' get the finish. Once we got singled out, you just couldn't really go anywhere. I felt like if we were in the front we would have driven away from everybody. I just couldn't get enough speed to get around the guys. You couldn't really get close to anybody and that made it tough to pass."

ETC.: Crew chief Jason Ratcliff has a "big test plan of things we'd like to try this week at the (Thursday) test, not only for the new car, but also some things that we just weren't able to get to in December (at the Charlotte test). I feel like we have a pretty good handle on the track and what we need to focus on and the only big difference is going to be the new 2013 cars."

13 CASEY MEARS, Ford

Team: Germain Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 19th, 15 points out of the top 10. Gained eight spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Three top-10 finishes in nine starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Mears has high hopes for this weekend in Las Vegas "after how much we improved at Phoenix. We really came a long way there. We struggled big time on Friday, but the crew made major changes to the car on Saturday and by the end of the race, we were pretty good. So we are carrying a lot of momentum into Vegas."

LOOKING BACK: Mears started last, but he didn't let his poor starting spot keep him from having a good day at Phoenix as he rallied in the final 70 laps to finish 14th. "It was a fun day because the Number 13 Geico Ford was fast and it felt great being able to chase people down and pass them," said Mears. "We made changes to the car and they started to work and you could gradually see our progress over the course of the race. I'm so proud of my guys because everyone could've hung their heads and mentally checked out Friday (after qualifying last), but they didn't. They kept working hard and today we showed our character as a team."

ETC.: Mears believes "this could be a very good year for the 13 team. With Geico stepping up ever more, we are going to be in lot better shape. We are going to be able to race really hard all season long. We are going to be able to show what this team is capable of."

39 RYAN NEWMAN, Chevrolet

Team: Stewart-Haas Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 20th, 16 points out of the top 10. Lost 15 spots last week to fall out of the top 10.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Has finished fifth and fourth respectively in the last two races to give him six top-10 finishes in 12 starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Newman said, "Personally, for me, I really like Las Vegas. I always say it's my kind of race track because I like the ones that have hills and this track has some great banking. The track has some character to it. The bumps in the track have typically been pretty tricky, but that's something I like."

LOOKING BACK: Tire problems resulted in a 40th-place finish at Phoenix for Newman. The first problem came on lap 100 when he blew a right-front tire and bounced hard off the wall. After repairs were made to the car, Newman returned to the track only to suffer another blown right-front tire on lap 142. This time the damage was too severe to continue. "I don't know if we melted a bead or what it was," said Newman of his tire troubles. "It was just a tough day for our Quicken Loans team. I thought we had a decent car. We just didn't get to show it."

ETC.: Newman, who has an engineering degree from Purdue, feels "the air moves around (the new car) a little bit differently than the car of tomorrow. You get some different aero-interactions with cars on the inside of you and behind you than you typically were used to. It is just going to take some time to figure out these new cars and what they need to race better."

22 JOEY LOGANO, Ford

Team: Penske Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 21st, 16 points out of the top 10. Lost three spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: One top-10 finish four starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Logano said he is not worried about his poor start to the 2013 season. "You just have to look at it like there is nothing you can do about what has already happened," said Logano. "The best thing you can do is learn from what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again. For example, we need to figure out what happened with the fuel pickup problems at Phoenix and make sure it doesn't happen again. Plus there is a plenty of time to keep moving forward. We are only two races into the season."

LOOKING BACK: Logano was in position to score his first top-10 finish with Penske Racing when he ran out of fuel with five laps remaining. As a result, he ended the day in 26th place. "We are going to look into what happened to see if it was a fuel pickup problem or if we didn't get all the fuel in the car that we thought we did on the last pit stop," said Logano. "We thought we were good to go to the end. It really came as a surprise to us. It's a tough pill to swallow because we deserved to be in the top 10 for all of the hard work this weekend."

ETC.: Logano will be featured in a new segment on ESPN's "NASCAR Now" show each Sunday morning before the Sprint Cup race. The feature is called "Cup O' Joey," and will follow Logano on and off the track and give viewers an inside look at his personality as it relates to on-track competition and off-track fun.

10 DANICA PATRICK, Chevrolet

Team: Stewart-Haas Racing

WHERE SHE STANDS: 22nd, 18 points out of the top 10. Lost 15 spots as she dropped out of the top 10.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: She will be making her Sprint Cup debut. She had one top-10 finish in three starts at the track in the Nationwide Series.

LOOKING AHEAD: Patrick said, "Obviously, Phoenix was tough all around. It was a bad finish, we took a hit in the points and our car was destroyed. Hopefully we'll have a better outing at Las Vegas. I think the test day on Thursday will be beneficial. It gives us a chance to learn more about the car and helps (crew chief) Tony Gibson and I build a notebook. The more track time the better."

LOOKING BACK: It was a long, long weekend for Patrick. She struggled in practice and had to start near the back after qualifying 40th. She was making progress in the race when the right-front tire blew on lap 184, sending her hard into the wall. As she bounced off, she was slammed into by David Ragan. "I took a hard hit to the right, and then to the left, but I'm fine," said Patrick. "The cars and tracks are so safe. As a driver that's a nice feeling, but it doesn't change the fact that we aren't going to get many points (for her 39th-place finish). There was no real warning. I wasn't that tight either. I was sliding a little bit. I felt like most of the day I was chasing the rear. It was unexpected."

ETC.: Patrick feels "the learning curve is different for everyone, which is why it is difficult to say where I should be at a certain point in time because you just don't know at what point in time that for an athlete or driver something is going to click and make sense, and you figure something out and get more comfortable. I guess I would say the most important thing overall, if you look at the big picture, is to learn and grow."

14 TONY STEWART, Chevrolet

Team: Stewart-Haas Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 23rd, 21 points out of the top 10. Gained 14 spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Is the defending race champion after scoring his first win at the 1.5-mile track in 2012. Finished second in 2011 after leading a race-high 163 laps. Was seventh in 2010.

LOOKING AHEAD: Stewart said the key to running well at Las Vegas is pretty simple. "You just have to have a well-balanced car," said Stewart. "It seems like track position is really, really key there, but as long as you can get your car driving well and stay ahead of it, it seems like as the day changes, or the longer the day goes, the more the track changes and the more you have to stay up with it."

LOOKING BACK: After finishing eighth at Phoenix for his 12th top-10 finish in 23 starts at the one-mile track, Stewart said, "Track position was everything today. You could still pass, but it was harder to pass the further back you were. So it was just a matter of where you cycled on pit stops as far as when everybody figured out you had to take two tires or four, and then figuring out where in the cycle you were and whether you could get back the track position. When we got up to the top three or four there, we had good speed. But when you got hemmed up in the back there, it was hard to make up that ground."

ETC.: While a lot of drivers at Phoenix complained about the new Gen-6 car and their inability to get close to the driver in front of them, Stewart felt "for the first real race, it's pretty sporty so far. It will change as the season goes on. I thought all-in-all, it was pretty good for the first real race out. Daytona is another animal. It will be interesting to see what happens (this week) at Vegas."

29 KEVIN HARVICK, Chevrolet

Team: Richard Childress Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 30th, 27 points out of the top 10. Gained eight spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: Four top-10 finishes including three top-five's in 12 starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Harvick said, "Everybody is anxious to get to Vegas and getting all the cars on the race track at the same time just because nobody can really tell you exactly that what is going to go on. You really don't know until you get into 100 percent race conditions. It definitely will give you a direction of where you need to go after California on your week off to work on things. It's going to be interesting and very fast."

LOOKING BACK: Harvick ran in the top 10 for most of the day, but ran into handling problems late in the race as he finished 13th at Phoenix. "This was a tough one for the Jimmy John's team today," said Harvick. "We had a great qualifying effort (seventh fastest) and had high hopes for this race after our win here last fall. With the changing track conditions, we just couldn't find the right setup to get the car handling like we needed and didn't get the finish we thought we would."

ETC.: Because the teams are going to be in Vegas for an extra day, Harvick feels "we're going to have to find something to do besides sit in the motor home. We'll have some extra time on our hands to maybe go out and play golf. The casinos are too busy on race weekends with all the race fans having a good time, but you can literally find anything you want to do in Vegas. I like the Blue Man Group (show). That was a pretty cool show that we've been to over the past couple of years."

18 KYLE BUSCH, Toyota

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

WHERE HE STANDS: 33rd, 29 points out of the top 10. Lost two spots last week.

LAS VEGAS RECORD: One win and four top-10 finishes including three top-five's in nine starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Busch admits racing at home (Las Vegas) means "a little bit more pressure - more pressure on myself - just because it's the hometown and you want to win there. Thankfully, I have won there (2009) and I've knocked that one off the list, but certainly you want to win there every year. I love Vegas, the atmosphere and everything going on around that place. It's always been a big race for us and the M&M's team."

LOOKING BACK: Busch's day began bad and it never really got a lot better as he finished 23rd at Phoenix. After qualifying fourth, Busch had high hopes for the day, but he was forced to start at the back of the field after the team had to change engines Sunday morning. Busch had raced his way to 15th when he spun on lap 47 while trying to pass eventual winner Carl Edwards on the outside. Busch hit the wall pretty hard. "The damage was a lot worse than it looked," said crew chief Dave Rogers. "Kyle did his best, but the car was never right after that. It was just not our day."

ETC.: For the second straight week, Busch ran into engine problems and a top Toyota official admits, "This is a very emotionally charged situation we find ourselves in. Ultimately, it becomes a psychological challenge to keep everybody focused and confident," added David Wilson, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) senior vice president. "All four failures (at Joe Gibbs Racing) have been different." Wilson said Busch's problems Sunday morning at Phoenix was because of an assembly mistake. "There wasn't anything wrong with the motor," said Wilson. "In the course of putting it back together (installing new value springs), human error was made, and that caused the failure once the engine was started."