Ricky Craven dominated the first quarter of the race, in fact the #32 won the pole position by a convincing 1.3 MPH. Any chances of rookie Jimmie Johnson being competitive this time around likely went out the window when one of his tire changers fractured (compound fracture in fact) his stick on his first pit stop, leaving the crew shorthanded and costing many seconds. The #1 teams gasman also was treated for eye irritation (octane in the eye) later in the race. Do you really want to be an over-the-wall guy??? Just ask Rudd's crewman whose head went sliding on the pavement straight towards a concrete wall last year. Speaking of Yates, both Jarrett and Rudd moved up and each led the field at various junctures, but both drivers days ended in disappointment. Jarrett blew an engine (one of five blown engines on the day) while Rudd's car stalled on pit road (faulty switch). Kurt Busch's crew elected to put a new engine in after Happy Hour. Due to the new engine rule that moved the #97 car from a top ten starting position to the rear of the field. Busch still moved up the ranks throughout the day, finishing at a more than respectable twelth. The #30 machine of Jeff Green was also in the hunt for most of the day, but faded to the tail end of the lead lap (18th) due to a late problem ("crooked cylinder head").

USUAL SUSPECTS COLLIDE...

The biggest accident of the day came midway through with a seven-car tangle involving Buckshot Jones, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Joe Nemechek, among others (a.k.a "the usual suspects"). Schrader had actually been running well for a second straight week before the wreck. Meanwhile Petty Enterprises did have one good run as John Andretti actually finished a solid 15th. The Joe Gibbs cars also had a strong day with B. LaBonte finishing third and Stewart placing fourth. Jeff Gordon had to fight his way through the field twice, starting 33rd after some practice difficulties. The #24 car made it's way to the top ten until the lapped car of Mike Wallace (on a "quickie yellow-flag") caused Gordon to swerve backwards in the pit stall. Gordon was 22nd after that then had to fight a loose condition before rallying to finish seventh. Speaking of Mike Wallace, turns out he was not driving the same car Nemechek took to victory lane in the fall. That car went to the #55 machine of Bobby Hamilton, who finished a solid ninth - while Wallace drove some APR leftover junk. My bad. Also give a call to Daytona 500 champ Ward Burton who managed to finished 13th despite pancaking the back straightaway wall numerous times.

LAS VEGAS PREVIEW

If you're looking for great NASCAR action you've just hit the jackpot... Sorry, I should keep those lame Bob Jenkins lines at home. Vegas is actually one of the better new tracks around and is forgiving, so you can look forward to long green-flag runs and not a whole lot of attrition - although the one-engine rule situation will continue to be monitored. Here's who to keep an eye on either for fantasy purposes or placing a little snicky at the window before heading to the track.

DALE JR., TONY STEWART, JEFF BURTON, MATT KENSETH, BOBBY HAMILTON - Those were the top five from the Talladega race, so they are the five eligible for the million-dollar bonus if they should win this race. I would imagine those five teams have been taking some Vegas test runs during the winter.

JEFF BURTON - In addition to the $1M carrot, Jeff has been the driver to beat in three of four previous LV races, placing first twice along with a second. Not to mention the Roush stable have been solid thus far.

JEFF GORDON - Of course it goes without saying, but despite a myriad of problems the #24 car has placed ninth and seventh so far. If he can do that on bad days just think what will happen when things go rights. Jeff is also the defending champion in Vegas.

DALE JARRETT - Was a factor all day in '01, starting from the pole and finishing second. Also started sixth and placed seventh in 2000.

STERLING MARLIN - Showing he's a championship contender and he's pissed - which is a good thing. Also placed third in last year's event.

JOHNNY BENSON - Great track record here. Qualified second and placed fourth last year, started eighth and finished sixth in '00.

RICKY CRAVEN - Craven is quickly proving that last season's late success is no fluke and is on another track that should be tailor-made to his skills.

WARD BURTON - Ward dominated a '99 race his along with his brother, finishing 1-2.

KURT BUSCH - It's only two races, but Busch is third in the Cup standings. And being in Vegas this will be a home game form him. Busch also had a decent run at LVMS in '01, qualifying ninth and finishing 11th.

RYAN NEWMAN - The best rook so far, with a 7th and 14th to his credit, and has a year's experience on this track. Jump on the #12 war wagon now.

KENNY WALLACE - Kenny is in the #1 car for sure for Vegas and Atlanta, so don't worry about Steve Park yet.

LONG SHOT POSSIBILITES

JIMMIE JOHNSON - JJ has not surprisingly wilted under sky-high rookie expectations. Vegas is good spot for him to get on track.

TOOD BODINE - Make sure Travis Carter Racing makes the trip, but Todd has his best run of the year hear in '01, starting sixth and finishing fifth. Also led 44 laps

MARK MARTIN - Should be a week where the Viagra #6 car perfoms (no pun intended). Martin started fifth and finished third last year, also lead a race high 54 laps.

STAY AWAY (AGAIN)

JIMMY SPENCER - The biggest disappointment so far. Continue to stay away until the #41 has a strong run.

Look for the race to end something like this, 1. J. Burton, 2. J. Gordon, 3. Jarrett, 4. Marlin, 5. B. LaBonte, 6. Stewart, 7. Busch, 8. Benson, 9. Craven, 10. Martin

The early odds for Sunday (for informational purposes) are as follows: J. Gordon 3-1, J. Burton 4-1, B. LaBonte 9-2, Jarrett 5-1, Stewart 6-1, Marlin 7-1, Dale Jr. 8-1, Harvick 9-1, Benson 10-1, Martin 11-1, W. Burton 12-1, R. Wallace 13-1, Rudd 14-1, Elliott 15-1, Busch 16-1, Nadeau 17-1, K. Wallace 18-1, J. Green 19-1, Craven 20-1, Kenseth 22-1, Schrader 24-1, Waltrip 26-1, Mayfield 28-1, R. Gordon 30-1, Andretti 32-1, Hamilton 34-1, T. LaBonte 36-1, Spencer 38-1, T. Bodine 40-1, Newman 42-1, Nemechek 44-1, Johnson 46-1, Sadler 48-1, Atwood 50-1, B. Bodine 60-1, Blaney 65-1, Skinner 70-1, Compton 75-1, Buckshot 80-1, Petty 85-1, Stricklin 90-1, Mast 100-1

DAIN BRAMAGE UPDATE

And then there is the Steve Park update. To reset, Park nearly became perhaps the first driver to be killed during a caution period last September when his steering column somehow misfunctioned during a caution period in a Busch League race. Park wound up being T-boned by the #14 machine of AJ's son, who was speeding down the straight to catch up with other lapped cars on the inside lane. There are now conflicting reports on how close Park may be to returning. After what observers termed an "extraordinary" practice session last week, it was speculated that Park could be in the #1 car as early as this week. Then Park tested at Atlanta, running about 10 MPH below top speed (178.264 to Mike Skinner's 187.487). Park did sound frustrated after one of the sessions, indicating that he was sick of answering question about his return. Then there was the TV interview that aired last week where Park definitely seemed to still show the effects of the accident. His speech appeared slow and Park admitted that was the one function that's taking the longest to return. Also, the interview was prefaced by saying that "Park sustained injuries similar to Dale Earnhardt - just not as severe" Appearantly, the gravity of that accident is just becoming public knowledge now. They didn't pull out the blue tarp that day for nothing.

Meanwhile, keep tabs on the #1 situation. Park needs final clearance from the doctors before racing for real, and that may still be a difficult sell. Meanwhile, when Park returns, Wallace would still be paid for the entire season by DEI, but will be racing mostly in the Busch series, with only an occasional Cup appearance.

In other news, last reports indicate that the #26 (Nemechek) and #66 (T. Bodine) cars will race this weekend, with or without sponsorship. Meanwhile, Mike Wallace did not help his cause with the 38th place finish, I would not not look for him in Vegas.

ANDY HOUSTON AWARD

The new "one-engine weekend" rule did serve one objective, to get AJ's car out of an event that much quicker, as Stacy Compton called it a day when the #14 blew an engine just 25 laps in. A "Robby Gordon" award has to be considered as well - to the driver who manages to ruin a decent run with a late-race spin or other stupid move.