This weekend begins the abbreviated Western Swing with two consecutive races in the Pacific Time Zone.  This weekend, the series will make their first visit of the year to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Coverage of the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube will start with NASCAR RaceDay at 2 p.m. on FOX Sports 1.  At 3 p.m., coverage moves to FOX for FOX NASCAR Sunday.  The green flag is scheduled to fly around 3:40 p.m.  The event can also be heard on your local PRN affiliate or SiriusXM Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 267 laps (400.5 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and Facts

Last year's Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube had no dominant driver.  Kevin Harvick led the most laps (92), but was not up front in the final 100 miles.

Chase Elliott was right up in the mix, but a late spin due to a cut tire dropped him out of contention.  The race ultimately came down to a duel between Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney.  The two swapped the lead multiple times.  Logano took the lead for good on Lap 263 during a caution for Ross Chastain's spin.  Blaney chose to make a late pit stop, while Logano stayed out.

From there, Logano was able to hold for the final few laps to win his sponsor's race.  Matt DiBenedetto finished second, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson has the most victories all-time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with four, including three in a row from 2005-2007.  His most recent win there was in 2010.  Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth both have three victories.  Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. each have two.

Mark Martin won the inaugural Las Vegas 400 back in 1998.  That day, all five of then-Roush Racing's entries finished in the top 10 that day.  In addition to Martin, Jack Roush fielded entries for Ted Musgrave, Johnny Benson and Chad Little in the race.

Say What?!

"Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been one of my favorite tracks. It’s always been a rough place as far as Turn 1 goes. Being able to turn through the bumps is very important. In Turn 3, it is important not to miss the entry. It starts there. The track has gotten a lot of character over the last couple of years, and that is what makes it fun to drive on. You really have to challenge yourself to be disciplined on your marks. I really enjoy the track. You saw Kurt Busch pull out a win in the NASCAR Playoffs last year. We had a pretty solid run going but we had a belt break. We’ve got a solid base line for Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so we want to make sure we continue to have the speed we’ve shown the first three races of the year." - Austin Dillon

"The bumps there are a bit challenging. You have to hit them facing the right way and not pointing up the track. It can really kill momentum if you’re carrying too much speed over them because the front of the car or the back of the car, even both, gets out of the track. It’s really important to time those well. There’s so much speed made in having a smooth turn one and turn two that it’s really important to get through there fast and carry good momentum. It’s a challenge, for sure, but it’s fun to maneuver as a driver." - William Byron

"We had a shot to win both races at Las Vegas last year and we still had room for improvement.  I can’t wait to get there and see how we stack up against the competition. We were strong there last year, and I’m hoping we have the same speed this year." - Matt DiBenedetto

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.  Photo is courtesy of Randy Lanning Photography.