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2015 Kobalt 400

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2015 Kobalt 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 3 of 36 in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date March 8, 2015 (2015-03-08)
Location Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Weather Sunny skies with a temperature of 72 °F (22 °C); wind out of the south/southwest at 3.5 mph (5.6 km/h)[11]
Average speed 143.667 mph (231.210 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 27.738
Most laps led
Driver Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps 142
Winner
No. 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings 4.3/10 (Overnight)[12]
4.6/10 (Final)[13]
7.7 Million viewers[13]
Radio in the United States
Radio PRN
Booth Announcers Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini
Turn Announcers 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 (2.4 km) 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

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Background

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Overhead view of the track

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) 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

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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 LLC 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.[14] Moffitt stated that he was "excited about the opportunity to run some races for Front Row",[14] 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.[15]

No. 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 LLC 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 LLC 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 Ford
Official initial entry list
Official updated entry list
Key Meaning
(R) Rookie
(i) Ineligible for points
(PC#) Past champions provisional

First practice

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Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.177 and a speed of 191.646 mph (308.424 km/h).[16] Brian Vickers, making his first start since undergoing heart surgery in December, was 33rd fastest in the session.[17] Vickers described his return as "awesome" and that he was "really excited to be back".[17]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
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 28.267 191.035
Official first practice results

Qualifying

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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 (313.305 km/h).[18] 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".[18] Logano himself repeated Gordon's point on the close margin, adding that his Ford "ha[d] some speed in it which is cool".[18] 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".[18] 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.[19] 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.[19] Reed Sorenson, Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, Mike Wallace, and Matt DiBenedetto all failed to qualify for the race.[20]

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 24 Jeff Gordon[N 1] 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 Ragan[N 1] 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 Patrick[N 1] 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 LLC 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 LLC 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)

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Second practice

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Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.141 and a speed of 191.891 mph (308.819 km/h).[22] 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.[22]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
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 28.471 189.667
Official second practice results

Final practice

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Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.779 and a speed of 187.637 mph (301.972 km/h).[23] In the final minute of the session, Danica Patrick spun out exiting turn 2 and was hit by Jeff Gordon.[21] 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.[21] 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.[21]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
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 28.961 186.458
Official final practice results

Race

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The United States Air Force Thunderbirds perform a flypast prior to the start of the race

First-half

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Start

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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.[24]

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.[24]

Green flag stops

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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.[24]

Second-half

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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.[24]

Trouble for Johnson

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"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.[25]

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.[25] 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".[25] 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.[24]

Final stops

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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.[26]

Post-race

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Driver comments

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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".[26]

Post-race penalties

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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.[27]

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.[27]

Race results

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Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 18 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 267 48
2 8 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 267 43
3 7 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 42
4 4 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 41
5 19 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 39
6 22 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 267 38
7 11 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 267 38
8 5 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 36
9 6 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 36
10 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 267 35
11 10 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 33
12 24 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 32
13 23 33 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 0
14 16 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 266 30
15 28 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 266 29
16 34 41 Regan Smith Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 266 0
17 3 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 27
18 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 26
19 30 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 266 0
20 30 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 265 24
21 25 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 265 23
22 20 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 265 22
23 13 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 265 21
24 29 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 265 20
25 17 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 264 19
26 15 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 264 18
27 21 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 264 17
28 35 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 264 16
29 31 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 264 15
30 32 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 264 14
31 26 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 263 13
32 38 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 262 12
33 12 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 262 11
34 39 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 261 10
35 42 40 Landon Cassill Hillman Smith Motorsports Chevrolet 261 0
36 40 23 J. J. Yeley BK Racing Toyota 260 0
37 36 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 260 7
38 43 62 Brendan Gaughan Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 258 0
39 33 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 257 5
40 41 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 254 4
41 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 236 4
42 14 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 227 3
43 27 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29 1
Official Kobalt 400 results

Race statistics

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  • 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 (231.226 km/h)
  • 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 Harvick
Total 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

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Media

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Television

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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.

Fox
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Larry McReynolds
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Jamie Little
Chris Neville
Matt Yocum

Radio

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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.

PRN
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow
Announcer: Wendy Venturini
Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright
Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson
Brad Gillie
Brett McMillan
Jim Noble
Steve Richards

Standings after the race

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Jeff Gordon, David Ragan and Danica Patrick started from the rear after switching to a backup car post-qualifying.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "2015 NASCAR Schedule" (PDF). NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 26, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 4, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  2. ^ "Las Vegas Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "Entry list". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 6, 2015. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  5. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 6, 2015. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  6. ^ "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 7, 2015. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  7. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 7, 2015. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  8. ^ "Kobalt 400 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 8, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  9. ^ "Points standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  10. ^ "Manufacturer standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  11. ^ "Raceday weather". wunderground.com. The Weather Channel, LLC. March 8, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  12. ^ Paulsen (March 9, 2015). "Overnights Up, But Low, For NASCAR From Vegas". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Paulsen (March 13, 2015). "NASCAR Still Trending Up, Though Vegas Rating is Fourth-Lowest". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  14. ^ a b Moody, Dave (March 4, 2015). "Moffitt Lands Front Row Motorsports Ride For Next Three Races". GodfatherMotorsports.com. Godfather Motorsports. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  15. ^ Albert, Zack (January 21, 2015). "Vickers to make '15 debut at Vegas". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  16. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (March 6, 2015). "Larson, Gordon, Keselowski pace Friday Sprint Cup practice". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  17. ^ a b Pistone, Pete (March 6, 2015). "Brian Vickers Back On Track". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  18. ^ a b c d Pistone, Pete (March 6, 2015). "Gordon Rolls to First Vegas Pole". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  19. ^ a b James, Brant (March 6, 2015). "Jeff Gordon wins pole for Las Vegas race". USA Today. Las Vegas: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  20. ^ Rodgers, Joe (March 6, 2015). "Jeff Gordon smashes track record, grabs top qualifying spot at Las Vegas". SportingNews.com. Sporting News Media. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  21. ^ a b c d Spencer, Lee (March 7, 2015). "Danica Patrick wrecks Jeff Gordon in Happy Hour". Motorsport.com. Motorsport.com, Inc. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  22. ^ a b Bonkowski, Jerry (March 7, 2015). "Jimmie Johnson paces field in first NASCAR Sprint Cup practice Saturday". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  23. ^ Pennell, Jay (March 7, 2015). "Pole-sitter Jeff Gordon to start in rear at Las Vegas after wreck in practice". FoxSports.com. Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  24. ^ a b c d e "2015 Kobalt 400". Sprint Cup Series. Season 67. Las Vegas. March 8, 2015. Event occurs at 3:46 p.m. Fox Sports. Fox. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  25. ^ a b c Spencer, Lee (March 8, 2015). "Atlanta winner Jimmie Johnson can't find Lady Luck in Las Vegas". Motorsport.com. Motorsport.com, Inc. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  26. ^ a b Pistone, Pete (March 8, 2015). "Harvick Hits Vegas Jackpot". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  27. ^ a b Staff Report (March 10, 2015). "Two teams penalized for Vegas infractions". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved March 10, 2015.


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