Heading into Las Vegas, Mark Martin and his new Ginn Racing team have two top-five results and are on top in points. Martin should continue to run well at Las Vegas, but I don't look for him to change his mind on running just 22 Cup races this season.

My darkhorse is Elliott Sadler, who likes the style of track Las Vegas has become. In January's Cup testing at Las Vegas, Sadler had the fastest lap (188.772 mph).

Keys to success at Las Vegas
Las Vegas is nowhere near the track it used to be as the whole place has undergone a facelift. And adding to the intrigue of this makeover will be the mystery of it to the Cup drivers, who will be racing at the rebuilt venue for the first time.

This 1.5-mile formerly flat speedway has added banking and put down a new surface. The banking on the frontstretch and backstretch is nine degrees, and the banking in the corners is 20 degrees.

Expect speeds to climb and the track to be faster as the banking should help the cars carry extra speed entering the corners. The racing should improve significantly, and look for side-by-side racing to increase.

I ran a Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas last fall -- the first event held at the track after the banking was added and the resurfacing completed -- and there was more side-by-side racing.

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With the length of the Cup race (400 miles) even though the surface is new there will develop multiple grooves to run in. I saw that happen to some degree in the truck race, and I certainly look for it on Sunday.

For the benefit of the fans pit road has been moved much closer to the stands so this will be unique not only for the fans but for the drivers as well.

What they didn't change about pit road is how tough it is to enter it under a green flag. It's quite challenging as a sharp turn is needed to get off the track and into the pits. And with the banking that's been added, the speed of the cars will be faster and so that only increases the difficulty of pitting under green.

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