2015 Kobalt 400

February 2025 NAS Kobalt 400 http://www.nascar.com/content/dam/nascar/download-schedule/2015/nscs_2015_printable_schedule3.pdf 2015 NASCAR Schedule NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 26, 2014 NASCAR.com March 2, 2015 April 4, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150404031856/http://www.nascar.com/content/dam/nascar/download-schedule/2015/nscs_2015_printable_schedule3.pdf deadhttp://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/schedule/tracks/las-vegas-motor-speedway.html Las Vegas Motor Speedway NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013 NASCAR.com March 2, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150427020354/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/schedule/tracks/las-vegas-motor-speedway.html April 27, 2015 http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/standings/results/2015/kobalt-400.raceResults.entryList.html Entry list NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 2, 2015 NASCAR.com March 2, 2015http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/03/Kobalt-400-1st-Practice-Speeds.aspx First Practice Results Motor Racing Network March 6, 2015 MRN.com March 6, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150308134500/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/03/Kobalt-400-1st-Practice-Speeds.aspx March 8, 2015 deadhttp://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/03/Kobalt-400-Qualifying-Results.aspx Qualifying Results Motor Racing Network March 6, 2015 MRN.com March 6, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150308134214/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/03/Kobalt-400-Qualifying-Results.aspx March 8, 2015 deadhttp://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/03/Kobalt-400-2nd-Practice-Speeds.aspx Second Practice Results Motor Racing Network March 7, 2015 MRN.com March 7, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150308134205/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/03/Kobalt-400-2nd-Practice-Speeds.aspx March 8, 2015 deadhttp://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/03/Kobalt-400-Final-Practice-Speeds.aspx Final Practice Results Motor Racing Network March 7, 2015 MRN.com March 7, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150308210042/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/03/Kobalt-400-Final-Practice-Speeds.aspx March 8, 2015 deadhttp://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&RaceID=6756&YearID=44&StatType=Race+Results Kobalt 400 Results Motor Racing Network March 8, 2015 MRN.com March 9, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150402104300/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&RaceID=6756&YearID=44&StatType=Race+Results April 2, 2015 deadhttp://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/standings.html Points standings NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 8, 2015 NASCAR.com March 9, 2015http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/standings.manufacturer.html Manufacturer standings NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 8, 2015 NASCAR.com March 9, 2015 2015 03 08 2015 3 36 2015 Kobalt 400 logo.jpg Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas 1.5 2.41 267 400.5 644.542 Sunny skies with a temperature of 72 F C; wind out of the south/southwest at 3.5 mph km/h onhttp://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KLAS/2015/3/8/DailyHistory.html?req_city=Las+Vegas&req_state=NV&req_statename=Nevada&reqdb.zip=89115&reqdb.magic=1&reqdb.wmo=99999 Raceday weather The Weather Channel, LLC. March 8, 2015 wunderground.com October 1, 2015 143.667 mph km/h on Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports 27.738 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing 142 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Fox Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip 4.3/10 (Overnight)http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2015/03/nascar-tv-ratings-2015-las-vegas-overnights-up-fox-third-lowest-since-2001/ Overnights Up, But Low, For NASCAR From Vegas Paulsen Sports Media Watch March 9, 2015 SportsMediaWatch.com March 10, 20154.6/10 (Final)http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2015/03/nascar-fox-ratings-las-vegas-up-from-last-year-fourth-lowest-ever-sprint-cup/ NASCAR Still Trending Up, Though Vegas Rating is Fourth-Lowest Paulsen Sports Media Watch March 13, 2015 SportsMediaWatch.com March 13, 20157.7 Million viewers PRN Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) The 2015 Kobalt 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on March 8, 2015, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mi km on asphalt tri-oval, it was the third race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Kevin Harvick won the race, his first of the season, while Martin Truex Jr. finished second. Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five. Jeff Gordon set a new track record time on his way to winning the pole for the race. He started the race from the rear of the field after an incident in practice and never led a single lap in his final race at the track. The race had 18 lead changes among nine different drivers, as well as six caution flag periods for 28 laps. Harvick's 29th career victory was his first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the second at the track for Stewart–Haas Racing. With the win, he leapfrogged Joey Logano for the points lead and left the track with a nine-point lead over Earnhardt. Chevrolet increased their lead over Ford to eleven points in the manufacturers' standings. The race was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast of the race was carried by the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Report Background thumb|left|Overhead view of the track Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada about 15 mi northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1200 acre on complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Joey Logano entered Las Vegas with a one-point lead over Jimmie Johnson who scored his 71st career win the previous week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick came into Vegas third in the points two back of Logano, having led 116 of the 325 laps at Atlanta. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered fourth in the points four back, while Martin Truex Jr. entered fifth in the points 13 back. Entry list The entry list for the Kobalt 400 was released on Monday, March 2, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-eight drivers are entered for the race. All 48, except Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and Ty Dillon, were entered to race the previous week in Atlanta. Dillon drove the No. 33 Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet. No driver was on the initial entry list to drive the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford in place of David Ragan who drove in place of the injured Kyle Busch. On Wednesday, March 4, Brett Moffitt, coming off an 8th-place finish at Atlanta, was named to drive the No. 34 car.Moody Dave Dave Moody (sportscaster) Moffitt Lands Front Row Motorsports Ride For Next Three Races http://motorsports-soapbox.blogspot.com/2015/03/moffitt-lands-front-row-motorsports.html GodfatherMotorsports.com Godfather Motorsports March 4, 2015 March 4, 2015 Moffitt stated that he was "excited about the opportunity to run some races for Front Row", and that he was "grateful to Bob Jenkins and his team for giving me the chance to do that". Brian Vickers, the driver who Moffitt was driving in place of – at Michael Waltrip Racing – was in the No. 55 Toyota, having missed the first two races while recovering from corrective heart surgery.http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2015/1/21/brian-vickers-sprint-cup-series-debut-2015-las-vegas.html Vickers to make '15 debut at Vegas Zack Albert NASCAR.com NASCAR Media Group, LLC January 21, 2015 March 4, 2015 No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC5) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC6) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29 Reed Sorenson RAB Racing Toyota 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Mike Bliss Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Ty Dillon (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 41 Regan Smith (i) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 44 Travis Kvapil (i) Team XTREME Racing Chevrolet 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 66 Mike Wallace Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing FordOfficial initial entry listOfficial updated entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional First practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.177 and a speed of 191.646 mph km/h on.http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/06/larson-gordon-keselowski-pace-friday-sprint-cup-practice/ Larson, Gordon, Keselowski pace Friday Sprint Cup practice Bonkowski Jerry NBC Sports March 6, 2015 nascartalk.nbcsports.com March 6, 2015 Brian Vickers, making his first start since undergoing heart surgery in December, was 33rd fastest in the session.http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/03/Brian-Vickers-Back-On-Track.aspx Brian Vickers Back On Track Pistone Pete Pete Pistone Motor Racing Network March 6, 2015 MRN.com March 6, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150307185810/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/03/Brian-Vickers-Back-On-Track.aspx March 7, 2015 dead Vickers described his return as "awesome" and that he was "really excited to be back". Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed MPH 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.177 191.646 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.239 191.225 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.267 191.035Official first practice results Qualifying thumb|right|Jeff Gordon, seen here at the 2015 Daytona 500, won his 79th career pole in his final start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon won his 79th career pole with a new track record time of 27.738 and a speed of 194.679 mph km/h on.http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/03/Jeff-Gordon-Wins-First-Las-Vegas-Motor-Speedway-Pole.aspx Gordon Rolls to First Vegas Pole Pistone Pete Motor Racing Network March 6, 2015 MRN.com March 6, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150308110136/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/03/Jeff-Gordon-Wins-First-Las-Vegas-Motor-Speedway-Pole.aspx March 8, 2015 dead Gordon took pole by 0.052 seconds ahead of Joey Logano, and ultimately described the margin as "real close". Gordon added that he was "just so proud of this team and keeping their heads up". Logano himself repeated Gordon's point on the close margin, adding that his Ford "ha[d] some speed in it which is cool". Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified fourth, which pleased him, stating that his recent performances on the intermediate tracks gave him "hope it is a sign of things to come". Following a multi-car crash in qualifying at Daytona and 13 cars not making it through inspection at Atlanta, the only hiccup in qualifying belonged to Brad Keselowski.James Brant Jeff Gordon wins pole for Las Vegas race https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2015/03/06/jeff-gordon-wins-las-vegas-pole-nascar-kobalt-400/24534417/ March 6, 2015 USA Today Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. March 6, 2015 Las Vegas Just as he was about to get in his car to qualify in round 1, a NASCAR official ordered his team to take the car back to the inspection line after witnessing the team pulled out the wheel wells which had been outlawed during the offseason. Reed Sorenson, Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, Mike Wallace, and Matt DiBenedetto all failed to qualify for the race.http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2015-03-06/jeff-gordon-wins-the-pole-of-the-kobalt-tools-400-qualifying-results Jeff Gordon smashes track record, grabs top qualifying spot at Las Vegas Rodgers Joe Sporting News Media March 6, 2015 SportingNews.com March 6, 2015 March 9, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150309234932/http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2015-03-06/jeff-gordon-wins-the-pole-of-the-kobalt-tools-400-qualifying-results dead Qualifying results Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer R1 Best time in Round 1 R2 Best time in Round 2 R3 Best time in Round 3 1 24 Jeff GordonJeff Gordon, David Ragan and Danica Patrick started from the rear after switching to a backup car post-qualifying.http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/danica-patrick-wrecks-jeff-gordon-in-happy-hour Danica Patrick wrecks Jeff Gordon in Happy Hour Spencer Lee Motorsport.com, Inc. March 7, 2015 Motorsport.com March 7, 2015 March 8, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150308094158/http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/danica-patrick-wrecks-jeff-gordon-in-happy-hour/ dead GorRagPat "N" Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.245 27.885 27.738 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 27.966 27.908 27.790 3 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.097 27.928 27.794 4 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.105 27.928 27.822 5 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.994 27.880 27.841 6 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.057 27.937 27.888 7 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.292 27.996 27.906 8 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 28.132 27.996 27.932 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.128 27.984 27.931 10 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.236 27.859 27.963 11 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.124 28.005 28.044 12 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.196 28.011 28.083 13 18 David RaganGorRagPat "N" Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.236 28.025 — 14 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.144 28.048 — 15 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.352 28.056 — 16 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.326 28.063 — 17 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 28.194 28.082 — 18 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.345 28.084 — 19 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.313 28.157 — 20 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.340 28.159 — 21 10 Danica PatrickGorRagPat "N" Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.274 28.195 — 22 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.350 28.222 — 23 33 Brian Scott (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 28.332 28.337 — 24 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.355 28.422 — 25 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.368 — — 26 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 28.426 — — 27 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.429 — — 28 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.448 — — 29 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.462 — — 30 21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.504 — — 31 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.518 — — 32 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 28.524 — — 33 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 28.537 — — 34 41 Regan Smith (i) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.539 — — 35 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.571 — — 36 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.649 — — 37 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.865 — — 38 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.948 — — 39 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 28.970 — — 40 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 29.008 — — 41 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 29.076 — — 42 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 29.441 — — 43 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 29.518 — —Did not qualify 44 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 29.092 — — 45 29 Reed Sorenson RAB Racing Toyota 29.201 — — 46 44 Travis Kvapil (i) Team XTREME Racing Chevrolet 29.247 — — 47 66 Mike Wallace Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 29.794 — — 48 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 29.889 — —Official qualifying results Practice (post-qualifying) Second practice Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.141 and a speed of 191.891 mph km/h on.http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/07/jimmie-johnson-paces-field-in-first-nascar-sprint-cup-practice-saturday/ Jimmie Johnson paces field in first NASCAR Sprint Cup practice Saturday Bonkowski Jerry NBC Sports March 7, 2015 nascartalk.nbcsports.com March 7, 2015 Aric Almirola spun off of turn 2 and slid down the track with nine minutes remaining in the session. He stopped a few feet short of the inside wall on the backstretch and drove the car back to the garage. Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed MPH 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.141 191.891 2 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.455 189.773 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.471 189.667Official second practice results Final practice Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.779 and a speed of 187.637 mph km/h on.http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/jeff-gordon-danica-patrick-practice-wreck-las-vegas-pole-sitter-start-in-rear-kobalt-400-030715 Pole-sitter Jeff Gordon to start in rear at Las Vegas after wreck in practice Pennell Jay Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. March 7, 2015 FoxSports.com March 7, 2015 In the final minute of the session, Danica Patrick spun out exiting turn 2 and was hit by Jeff Gordon. The resultant damage from the collision forced Gordon's team to switch to their backup car, and as a result, Gordon started from the rear of the field. The collision came just seconds after David Ragan hit the wall in turn 1. He also switched to his backup car and also started from the rear. Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed MPH 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.779 187.637 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 28.890 186.916 3 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 28.961 186.458Official final practice results Race thumb|The United States Air Force Thunderbirds perform a flypast prior to the start of the race First-half Start The race was scheduled to start at 3:46 p.m. Eastern time, but started a couple of minutes later when Kasey Kahne led the field to the green flag. He was immediately passed by Joey Logano who took the lead on the second lap. Jeff Gordon, who dropped to the rear of the field for switching to a backup car, moved up to 24th in the first 20 laps. He made it to 21st in the running order when the first caution of the race flew on lap 26. This was a scheduled competition caution, normally done when there has been overnight showers, to allow teams to check tire wear. As Logano was trying to exit pit road, Jeff Gordon, whose stall was right in front of his, blocked his exit momentarily and Dale Earnhardt Jr. exited pit road as the leader. Alex Bowman stayed out to lead a lap before pitting and giving the lead to Earnhardt. Unfortunately for Bowman, his engine started blowing up and he was forced to take his car to the garage.2015 Kobalt 400 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2o2izC8ydI July 17, 2015 Sprint Cup Series Sprint Cup Series Fox Sports Fox Las Vegas March 8, 2015 67 3:46 p.m. en The race restarted on lap 31 and it did not take long for Logano to find his way back to the lead. Jimmie Johnson reeled in Logano and took the lead on lap 44. Earnhardt Jr. had pulled up to him by lap 63, but had trouble getting around lapped traffic and Johnson pulled away. A number of cars began pitting on lap 75. Johnson gave up the lead on lap 77 to pit and handed the lead to Carl Edwards. He pitted on lap 79 and handed the lead to Matt Kenseth. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled back to Johnson. Brendan Gaughan and Brian Scott were forced to serve a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road. Green flag stops Debris in turn 1 brought out the second caution on lap 82. This was a saving grace for Brad Keselowski who was reporting a vibration. Aric Almirola was forced to drop to the end of the longest line for speeding on pit road, as did Tony Stewart, as a tire rolled out of his pit box. The race restarted on lap 87. Four laps later, Kevin Harvick powered his way around Johnson, who made an unscheduled stop for a loose wheel, to take the lead. He rejoined the race 33rd one lap down. The next set of green flag stops began on lap 129 when Martin Truex Jr. gave up tenth to pit. Harvick gave up the lead on lap 132 to hit pit road and Keselowski took the top spot. He held the lead for two laps before pitting on lap 134. This allowed his teammate Joey Logano to retake the lead. Keselowski was forced to serve a drive-through penalty for an uncontrolled tire rolling out onto the tri-oval grass area, which brought out the third caution of the race on lap 139. Second-half The race restarted on lap 145 and Harvick would lose the lead to Martin Truex Jr. He eventually lost the lead to Harvick on lap 149. The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 172 when Jimmie Johnson blew a right-front tire and his car hit the wall in the tri-oval. Jeb Burton, slowing down to avoid Johnson, got turned into the wall by Jeff Gordon. Joey Logano was forced to drop to the end of the longest line for speeding on pit road. He was joined by David Ragan for an uncontrolled tire. Trouble for Johnson "Yeah, the first one, they said the bead blew on it. We don't have any brake temp here, so I don't know what could have caused that. That's kind of a freak deal. The second one, it went soft. So there could have been some damage that caused it or some rub or something like that, and it went soft going into Turn 3 and I hit the wall, unfortunately. I'm disappointed. We certainly had an awesome race car. I wish we could have won this Kobalt race in this Kobalt car, but we'll come back next week." Jimmie Johnson, commenting on his crash.http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/atlanta-winner-jimmie-johnson-can-t-find-lady-luck-in-las-vegas Atlanta winner Jimmie Johnson can't find Lady Luck in Las Vegas Spencer Lee Motorsport.com, Inc. March 8, 2015 Motorsport.com March 8, 2015 40% right The race restarted on lap 178. The fifth caution flew with 82 laps to go when Jimmie Johnson blew another right-front tire and again hit the wall again in turn 4. Upon exiting his car, Johnson explained that on the first puncture, his team believed that "the bead blew on it", while on the second puncture, the tire "went soft going into Turn 3 and I hit the wall, unfortunately". Joey Logano was again sent to the back of the line, for speeding on pit road. The race restarted with 75 laps to go. Carl Edwards pushed Kasey Kahne into the wall exiting turn 4. Kahne, in retaliation, turned down on Edwards in turn 1 and sent him spinning, bringing out the sixth caution of the race with 74 to go. During the period, Aric Almirola was again caught speeding on pit road. Final stops The race restarted with 69 laps to go and Dale Earnhardt Jr. took back the lead. He would lose it two laps later to Harvick. He made his final stop with 37 laps to go and handed the lead to Ryan Newman. He went until 25 laps to go before pitting and handing the lead to Brad Keselowski. He pitted with 17 laps to go and Kevin Harvick cycled back to the lead and coasted to his 29th career victory.http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/03/Kevin-Harvick-Wins-Kobalt-400-at-Las-Vegas.aspx Harvick Hits Vegas Jackpot Pistone Pete Pete Pistone Motor Racing Network March 8, 2015 MRN.com March 8, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150311191007/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/03/Kevin-Harvick-Wins-Kobalt-400-at-Las-Vegas.aspx March 11, 2015 dead Post-race Driver comments Harvick felt that it was "so cool to win here in Las Vegas and start this West Coast swing off this way is pretty awesome" and that he was "glad the race is over at that particular point for our own good". Post-race penalties The No. 51 team was penalized for a rules infraction discovered during post-race inspection March 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This infraction is a P3 level penalty and violates the following Sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book: 12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing; 20.3.5: Added ballast containers: a. Any and all ballast added to the vehicle must be bolted inside an added ballast container, inside the main frame rails, and/or inside the front sway bar. b. Added ballast must be secured in a manner that will prevent movement of the ballast during an event. 20.17.2.2: Overall vehicle weight after competition: b. After a vehicle has raced, only water in the radiator, oil in the engine reservoir tank, and fuel in the fuel cell may be added. Wheels and tires may not be changed, unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR Officials. c. After a vehicle has raced, the minimum overall vehicle weight of all vehicles must be within 0.5% of the minimum overall vehicle weight required at the start of the race. Ballast was observed falling off the No. 51 car during the race and the No. 51 car did not meet post-race minimum weight requirements. As a result of the violation, crew chief Steve Addington was fined $25,000.http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2015/3/10/brad-keselowski-justin-allgaier-las-vegas-sprint-cup-penalties.html Two teams penalized for Vegas infractions Staff Report NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 10, 2015 NASCAR.com March 10, 2015 The No. 2 team was penalized for a rules infraction committed when it was discovered that the right and left rear quarter panel wheel openings were modified after qualifying inspection on March 6. This infraction is a P2 level penalty and violates the following Sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book: 12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing; 20.4.b: Body – All approved OEM-manufactured body components must be used as supplied except as required to stiffen, or to attach to other vehicle components. Tolerances from CAD surfaces and template tolerances are provided to allow for manufacturing, fabrication, and installation variability; 20.4.2: Surface Conformance – Coordinate measuring machines, scanning equipment, and templates, among other tools, will be used to inspect body surfaces for conformance to the approved OEM and NASCAR CAD files. As a result of this violation, crew chief Paul Wolfe was placed on NASCAR probation through December 31. Race results Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Laps completed Points 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 267 48 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 267 43 3 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 42 4 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 41 5 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 39 6 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 267 38 7 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 267 38 8 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 36 9 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 36 10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 267 35 11 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 33 12 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 32 13 33 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 0 14 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 266 30 15 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 266 29 16 41 Regan Smith Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 266 0 17 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 27 18 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 26 19 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 266 0 20 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 265 24 21 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 265 23 2218 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 265 22 23 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 265 21 24 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 265 20 2513 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 264 19 26 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 264 18 27 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 264 17 28 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 264 16 29 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 264 15 30 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 264 14 31 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 263 13 32 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 262 12 33 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 262 11 34 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 261 10 35 40 Landon Cassill Hillman Smith Motorsports Chevrolet 261 0 36 23 J. J. Yeley BK Racing Toyota 260 0 37 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 260 7 38 62 Brendan Gaughan Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 258 0 39 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 257 5 40 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 254 4 41 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 236 4 4219 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 227 3 43 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29 1Official Kobalt 400 results Race statistics 18 lead changes among 9 different drivers 6 cautions for 28 laps Time of race: 2 hours, 47 minutes, 15 seconds Average speed: 143.677 mph km/h on Kevin Harvick took home $442,415 in winnings Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1–27 Joey Logano 28–29 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 30–42 Joey Logano 43–76 Jimmie Johnson 77–78 Carl Edwards 79 Matt Kenseth 80–90 Jimmie Johnson 91–130 Kevin Harvick 131–132 Brad Keselowski 133–139 Joey Logano 140–144 Kevin Harvick 145–147 Martin Truex Jr. 148–198 Kevin Harvick 199–200 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 201–230 Kevin Harvick 231–244 Ryan Newman 245–251 Brad Keselowski 252–267 Kevin HarvickTotal laps led Leader Laps Kevin Harvick 142 Joey Logano 47 Jimmie Johnson 45 Ryan Newman 14 Brad Keselowski 9 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4 Martin Truex Jr. 3 Carl Edwards 2 Matt Kenseth 1 Race awards Coors Light Pole Award: Jeff Gordon (27.738, 194.679 mph km/h on) 3M Lap Leader: Kevin Harvick (142 laps) American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kevin Harvick (30.537, 176.833 mph km/h on) Duralast Brakes "Brake in The Race" Award: Jeff Gordon Freescale "Wide Open": Kevin Harvick Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Austin Dillon, 8 positions MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, #4 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kevin Harvick (141.5 driver rating) Moog Steering and Suspension Problem Solver of The Race: Kevin Harvick (crew chief Rodney Childers, 0.306 seconds) NASCAR Sprint Cup Leader Bonus: Kevin Harvick: $30,000 Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson (Lap 2, 29.285, 184.397 mph km/h on) Sunoco Rookie of The Race: Jeb Burton Media Television Fox Sports covered their fifteenth race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Chris Neville, and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side. FoxBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Larry McReynoldsColor commentator: Darrell Waltrip Jamie LittleChris NevilleMatt Yocum Radio PRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow, and Wendy Venturini called the race in the booth when the field is racing through the tri-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field went racing through turns 1 and 2 and halfway down the backstretch. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through the other half of the backstretch and through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble, and Steve Richards worked pit road for the radio side. PRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark GarrowAnnouncer: Wendy Venturini Turns 1 & 2: Rob AlbrightTurns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson Brad GillieBrett McMillanJim NobleSteve Richards Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 10px 2 1 Kevin Harvick 134 10px 2 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 125 (−9) 10px 2 3 Joey Logano 123 (−11) 10px 1 4 Martin Truex Jr. 118 (−16) 10px 3 5 A. J. Allmendinger 100 (−34) 10px 1 6 Kasey Kahne 92 (−42) 10px 5 7 Jimmie Johnson 91 (−43) 10px 11 8 Denny Hamlin 87 (−47) 10px 3 9 Casey Mears 87 (−47) 10px 8 10 Matt Kenseth 85 (−49) 10px 2 11 Greg Biffle 84 (−50) 10px 9 12 Ryan Newman 82 (−52) 10px 4 13 Paul Menard 82 (−52) 10px 4 14 Clint Bowyer 81 (−53) 10px 6 15 Aric Almirola 80 (−54) 10px 6 16 Brad Keselowski 77 (−57) thumb|right|Kevin Harvick left Las Vegas with a nine-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 10px 1 Chevrolet 137 10px 2 Ford 126 (−11) 10px 3 Toyota 120 (−17) Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings. Notes "N" References 30em Sprint Cup Series 2015 2015 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 2015 CampingWorld.com 500 Sports Kobalt 400 Kobalt 400 Category:NASCAR races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway