Current championship leader Johnson only has one career top five finish in Sin City' although with that top five finish resulting in his trip to victory lane one year ago, the #48 Hendrick Chevrolet will be one to watch on Sunday. With any nerves over stand-in crew chief Darian Grubb's ability to get to grips, literally, with the aerodynamically sensitive tracks such as Fontana and Vegas somewhat dimmed after his runner-up finish last time out, Johnson should be in his comfort zone right from the moment the trailer is unloaded.
In addition to Johnson, Kyle Busch, Biffle and Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart also finished in the top ten last year. Of the second group, only Mears comes into the event on the heels of a top ten finish in California.
While other teams struggle with the Dodge Charger, Mears and his Ganassi Racing team have been the most competitive of the Mopar bunch thus far in 2006. A strong second in points and last year's top Dodge finisher in Vegas, Sunday is as good a chance as any for Mears to score his first Nextel Cup win.
While Penske Racing's decision to revert to the 2004 model Dodge in California failed to pay off, Ray Evernham's decision to stick with the Charger did pay dividends as Kasey Kahne finished a strong fourth. With last seasons sophomore blues behind him, Kahne could be back to the form that saw him claim pole and finish second in Las Vegas two years ago.
Last year's Vegas race was where Dale Earnhardt Jr's season really started to fall apart as an early crash left him 42nd on the results sheets. While his California performance didn't set any records, the fact that Earnhardt Jr and his #8 Budweiser team were able to persevere for a top ten finish bodes well.
