Open Race Thread: NASCAR Sprint Cup Kobalt Tools 400 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Today is the third race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

For defending Series runner-up Carl Edwards, Vegas is his first opportunity at redemption. After all, Vegas was the start of his only win in 2011 and occurred only because eventual champion Tony Stewart found himself on the wrong side of fuel strategy.

Winning on fuel mileage isn’t indicative of just how strong Edwards and Roush Racing has been over the years. Roush, with driver Mark Martin, won the inaugural event here in 1998 and has won seven of 14 Las Vegas spring races overall.

If Edwards is to top his performance from a year ago, it has to start with Las Vegas. The 1.5-mile oval is traditionally one of Edwards best tracks.

Don’t count out Roush-Fenway’s other star attraction, and defending Daytona 500 winner, Matt Kenseth. Las Vegas is one of Kenseth’s absolute favorite tracks. Kenseth has amassed two wins in the desert and is always a contender.

Lastly, it’s not fair to talk about Roush’s dominance of Las Vegas without discussing the stable’s top statistical performer throughout the first two races in Greg Biffle. The Washington-native has started the season with two third-place finishes and currently sits third in points. He’ll have a great shot at improving that position in today’s race and will start from the ninth position.

Live television coverage will start on FOX at 2:30 p.m. EST and will feature the voices of Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip. For those who are away from a television or prefer the radio broadcast, www.motorracingnetwork.com will stream the race live on any supported computer or mobile device.
A complete starting lineup can be found after the jump.