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.
