Snake Eyes

Las Vegas, the betting capital of the world definitely threw up more than its fair share of curve balls over the Nascar weekend. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a full-moon over Nevada at the weekend. It was just one of those weekends where there was an abnormal amount of issues cropping up.

It all started early into the weekend with Toyota having major issues with their engines. Five of their cars, including pole sitter Kyle Busch had to go to the back due to engine changes. Five engine changes definitely work’s against the law of averages when it comes to mechanical issues.

The strange circumstances continued in the Nationwide race. I managed to see highlights of the event, and it just seemed that nobody wanted to win. Crashes, mistakes and pit-road violations all contributed to a topsy-turvy event, one that Greg Biffle won in the end.

After watching the highlights, I thought to myself – The first thing the Cup guys are going to be told on Sunday is watch your pit road speed. With the amount of penalties handed out for the offense in the Nationwide race, it felt like a no-brainer.

Obviously, someone never sent out the memo on Sunday.

Once again, errors on and off the pit road played a part in proceedings. What made the event all the more strange is that we saw uncharacteristic like errors from the likes of champion Jimmie Johnson. You just don’t expect it. If this was Daytona, I would hazard a guess that maybe with the testing ban, there is some sub-conscious nerves with the lack of driving. But this was the third race of the year, which more or less cancels out that theory.

While Toyota for the most part solved their engine issues, Sunday saw the Roush-Yates engines go up to kibosh. Three of their five cars went up in smoke. Matt Kenseth’s attempt to win three in a row was over before the race had made it past the first few laps. Carl Edwards erupted as he started the last lap, while Ragan’s blew in the middle.

As if all that wasn’t enough, pole-sitter Kyle Busch, sent to the back, charged his way through the field and took victory at his home race. It is the first time that Busch has won at his home race. The victory was Joe Gibbs and Toyota’s first at a venue that Roush and Hendrick have dominated in recent years. As if that wasn’t enough, Busch’s victory was the first time a pole-sitter had won (which he is officially classed as).

Not a bad day’s work for Wild Thing. He won from the pole and won from starting at the rear. I don’t think there are many who can stake that claim.

The weekend just goes to show you, anything can happen in Las Vegas.