NASCAR At Las Vegas: Race Time, Starting Lineup For Kobalt Tools 400

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series rolls into the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this afternoon for the Kobalt Tools 400. Coverage will begin at 3pm ET on FOX. Kasey Kahne will lead the pack to the green flag after setting a track record in qualifying with an average lap speed of 190.456

"We haven't started off very good, but our cars have been strong," said Kahne. "Our team is strong, so I feel like we're in a good spot. The way to dig ourselves out of that is to qualify well and not make mistakes. I feel like that we can do that."

In all, 15 drivers were faster than the pace that set the pole for the race in 2011. So tomorrow is shaping up to be super fast. Among those was #2 qualifier and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch.

"Certainly, there's added pressure on myself and feeling like you want to run well here in front of the hometown crowd," Busch said. "This is one of those places that you kind of stack up on the win list."

"It's so fast right now," said Denny Hamlin, who will start 17th. "The track and the tire seems to really be gripping well together and it seems like the cars were all having tremendous speeds."

Here is the top 10 qualifiers for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas:

1. Kasey Kahne
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Tony Stewart
8. Joey Logano
9. Greg Biffle
10. Martin Truex Jr.
    

Other notables include Matt Kenseth in 11th, Jeff Gordon 16th, Denny Hamlin 17 and Carl Edwards in 21s.

NASCAR At Las Vegas Nationwide Series: Danica Patrick Remembers Dan Wheldon

The last time Danica Patrick raced at Las Vegas International, she was in the IndyCar series. That day would go down as one of the most tragic in motorsports history as former Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon was killed in a gruesome 15 car crash.

Patrick says there won’t be a time that she races at Las Vegas and isn’t reminded of him.

“There won’t be a time that I come to Las Vegas that I won’t think about Dan, and I won’t think about the family and hope that they’re doing well,” Patrick said. “It’s in the moments where you don’t have a singular focus, like walking up to the media center here [Friday], seeing the neon garage, and kind of the atmosphere that was here on that weekend and where we were pitted — the things that we were around and the sights that you saw where you can have time to think about multiple things — that it gets to you.”

Danica will be in action this afternoon at 5pm on ESPN2 in the Sam’s Town 300.

NASCAR AT Las Vegas: Joey Logano Hoping To Continue Early Success

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series shifts to Las Vegas motor speedway this Sunday for the Kobalt Tools 400