You already know the results from Sunday’s NASCAR race in Las Vegas. But let’s look at how the teams with three or more cars fared as an organization:
2011 NASCAR Las Vegas Results: A Team-By-Team Look
Richard Childress Racing
RCR had an average finish of 16.25, which is unacceptable for the organization’s high standards and certainly cause for concern at the first 1.5-mile track of the season.
Everyone in the organization had been optimistic the team could continue its success from last year, when it put all three cars in the Chase and saw driver Kevin Harvick contend for the title.
But Paul Menard – Paul Menard! – was the best RCR car for most of the day (he finished 12th), Harvick struggled after a speeding penalty before finishing 17th and Clint Bowyer (15th) and Jeff Burton (21st) were never factors.
RCR fans can only hope this was a fluke race and not a sign of things to come.
Hendrick Motorsports
Jeff Gordon’s 36th-place finish after a wreck dragged the team’s average finish down to 19.5, making things look worse than they were. But in some ways, the day still wasn’t pretty.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s eighth-place finish was the top result for the team, as Jimmie Johnson (16th) and Mark Martin (18th) turned in disappointing days.
Should Hendrick be worried? Not likely, since it’s still the powerhouse team until someone proves otherwise. But it was still an unusual day.
Roush Fenway Racing
Things continue to look up for Roush Fenway, even despite an average finish of 15.5. Carl Edwards won the race and teammates Greg Biffle (28th) and Matt Kenseth (11th) ran much stronger than their finishes showed.
Kenseth had a fast car all weekend, but was trapped one lap down after he was forced to pit with a flat tire from an early incident. He eventually returned to the lead lap and rallied for his finish.
Biffle led 11 laps early and looked strong, but had unusual fueling problems and ended up mid-pack. Roush’s other car, David Ragan, was 22nd.
Still, team owner Jack Roush said it was the best his Fords have ever run, and everyone on the team is wildly optimistic about the season.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Uh-oh. Engine troubles at JGR are causing worry early in the season and threatening to derail the team’s championship hopes.
After Denny Hamlin was forced to change a motor before the race, Kyle Busch blew his engine during the event and finished 38th. The JGR teams have had problems in each race so far.
Hamlin finished seventh, but Joey Logano was 23rd – leaving the team with an ugly average finish of 22.7.
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