Reed Sorenson’s two top-five finishes to start the season have him atop the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings for the second consecutive week. He has a five-point advantage over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. which, along with Danica Patrick’s fourth-place standing, may be one of the biggest surprises of the early going.

Many thought Stenhouse was performing his way out of the series during the first quarter of the 2010 season before rebounding to earn Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. But his two top-10 finishes out of the gate suggest he’s still navigating the first full-season waters of the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ new car just as he did during its race debuts last year.

In the first four races for the new car, Stenhouse was immediately comfortable. He posted an average finish of 8.5, including his career-best finish of third at Daytona last July in its debut race. His average finish thus far is 7.5. Sorenson is no slouch in the new car either. His average finish in the four races last year was 10.5; this year he’s improved significantly with an average finish of 5.0

Stenhouse is looking to duplicate the feat of his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Greg Biffle, who was the last NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year to win series championship the following season. “The Biff” won the rookie honor in 2001 then captured the series championship in 2002.

Kyle Busch playing second fiddle in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at his hometown track?

Pardon the pun, but you might bet on it this weekend in Vegas.

Busch, a Las Vegas native and the 2009 series champion, did win his second consecutive spring race at Phoenix last Saturday, the 44th victory in his 204-race career. He’s now four wins from tying Mark Martin’s all-time series record of 48.

But therein lies the rub.

Martin’s last NASCAR Nationwide Series win came at LVMS in 2008. And his last series win before that? Vegas in 2005. He’s tied with Jeff Burton for the most series wins there with three. In his two other series starts at LVMS, Martin placed sixth and second. And guess who’s entered in a series race for the first time since he ran one event in 2009?

Martin will run four races this year for Turner Motorsports in the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet. Saturday’s race at LVMS is the first of those four. (Reed Sorenson, who will drive the bulk of the season in the No. 32, will be in the No. 30 Chevrolet at LVMS).

Surprisingly, Busch has yet to win in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition at Las Vegas, and has only one top-five finish in seven series starts at the 1.5-mile track.

…check out these tasty morsels

HOF Ceremony Moved
NASCAR announced that their annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be moving from May to January starting next year, although the exact date will be announce later. This years ceremony is still on schedule for May 23rd, and will feature the 2011 Class of Inductees: Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, David Pearson and Lee Petty.

‘Dinger & 43 Happy
AJ Allmendinger heads into Las Vegas with an extra spring in his step with his 4th place position in the point standings. It’s the first time the famous #43 car is near the top of the standings since April 26, 1987 with driver Richard Petty.

Labonte Top 10
Bobby Labonte is of course the 2000 Cup Series champion, but would you believe the last time he has been top 10 in points for two straight races was back in August of 2004?

Johnson Trending
After a dismal Daytona 500, Jimmie Johnson is getting back to normal with his top 5 run back at Phoenix. Now he heads to a track where he owns 4 wins, more than any other driver at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He seems to have a solid trend here, since 2007 he’s done horrible at Daytona, and great in race #2 in the season.

SHOW #147 – We discuss Kyle Busch winning the Trucks, NNS, and grabbing the Cup points lead all in one weekend. Jeff Gordon breaks winless streak, and a full Las Vegas preview. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop

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CREDITS:
Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Paul Northrop
Production: Kerry Murphey
Music: Radium Sound
Voice Over: Thomas Moog

Jeff Gordon Chases History
Besides breaking his winless streak of 66 races, Jeff Gordon added another win to his total of 83 tying Cale Yarborough for 5th on the all time wins list. With 1 more win he would join Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip at 84 wins and 4th on the list, so we’ll see if he can get it done this weekend at Las Vegas.

Brothers Busch Invade Vegas as Points Leaders
Kyle and Kurt Busch are heading into their hometown this weekend as the points leader and second place. Kyle is on top of his older brother Kurt by just 3 points. It’s the first time since 1988 when family members Bobby and Davey Alison were 1-2 after the Daytona 500.

Return To Normalcy For Johnson
He didn’t win, but five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson landed back in the top five. It was the most recent example of a developing trend: Johnson shrugs off a tough Daytona 500 finish with a top five in race No. 2.
Johnson’s last five Daytona 500 finishes: 39th (2007); 27th (2008), 31st (2009), 35th (2010), 27th (2011).
Johnson’s last five finishes in the season’s second race: 3rd (2007), 2nd (2008), 9th (2009), 1st (2010), 3 rd (2011).
Expect more the same. Johnson has four wins at Las Vegas, more than any other driver