When the 2014 defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion, Kevin Harvick, took control of Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS), it was obvious he was the one to beat, as he was – to take his sponsor Jimmy John’s slogan – “freaky fast” all the way to victory lane.
Harvick, who led the most laps – 142 out of 267, received his first series victory of the 2015 season, his 29th series career victory, his first series victory at LVMS and joins Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson on the list for the “chase for the Sprint Cup championship.”
It was a great finish for second-place finisher Martin Truex Jr. (his third consecutive top-10), and he was followed by Ryan Newman finishing third, Dale Earnhardt Jr. fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth.
Rounding out the top-10 finishing positions were AJ Allmendinger bringing home sixth, Brad Keselowski seventh, Kyle Larson eighth, Matt Kenseth ninth and Joey Logano claiming tenth.
After having to go to a back up car due to an accident on the final lap of “Happy Hour” (final) practice -resulting in having to start today’s race from the rear – pole-sitter Jeff Gordon finished a lap down in 18th.
With his victory today, Kevin Harvick leaves Vegas with a 9-point lead over Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
RACE NOTES:
Average Speed: 143.677 MPH
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 47 Mins, 15 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.640 Seconds
Lead Changes: 18 among 9 drivers
Cautions: 6 for 28 laps
Next Up: The CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, March 15th, with an approximate starting time of 3:50 pm (ET), and television coverage will be provided by FOX beginning with their 3:00 pm (ET) pre-race program.
| Kobalt 400 Race Results | |||||||
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Laps | Status | Laps Led | Points | Bonus Points |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 267 | Running | 142 | 48 | 5 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | 267 | Running | 3 | 43 | 1 |
| 3 | 31 | Ryan Newman | 267 | Running | 14 | 42 | 1 |
| 4 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 267 | Running | 4 | 41 | 1 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 267 | Running | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| 6 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | 267 | Running | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 267 | Running | 9 | 38 | 1 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | 267 | Running | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | 267 | Running | 1 | 36 | 1 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | 267 | Running | 47 | 35 | 1 |
| 11 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | 267 | Running | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| 12 | 27 | Paul Menard | 267 | Running | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 13 | 33 | Brian Scott (i) | 267 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 267 | Running | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | 55 | Brian Vickers | 266 | Running | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | 41 | Regan Smith (i) | 266 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | 266 | Running | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | 266 | Running | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| 19 | 21 | Ryan Blaney (i) | 266 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 265 | Running | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 265 | Running | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | 18 | David Ragan | 265 | Running | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 23 | 38 | David Gilliland | 265 | Running | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 24 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 265 | Running | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 25 | 13 | Casey Mears | 264 | Running | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | 43 | Aric Almirola | 264 | Running | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 27 | 10 | Danica Patrick | 264 | Running | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 28 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | 264 | Running | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 264 | Running | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 30 | 95 | Michael McDowell | 264 | Running | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 31 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | 263 | Running | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | 35 | Cole Whitt | 262 | Running | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 33 | 14 | Tony Stewart | 262 | Running | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 98 | Josh Wise | 261 | Running | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 35 | 40 | Landon Cassill (i) | 261 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | 23 | J.J. Yeley (i) | 260 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | 260 | Running | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 38 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan (i) | 258 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | 46 | Michael Annett | 257 | Running | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 40 | 26 | Jeb Burton # | 254 | Running | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 41 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 236 | Running | 45 | 4 | 1 |
| 42 | 19 | Carl Edwards | 227 | Running | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 43 | 7 | Alex Bowman | 28 | Engine | 0 | 1 | 0 |
# – Rookie
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
| 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Unofficial Point Standings After Daytona | |||||||||
| After Race 3 of the 2015 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | |||||||||
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | DNF |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 134 | Leader | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 125 | -9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | 123 | -11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | 118 | -16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | 100 | -34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | 92 | -42 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 91 | -43 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 87 | -47 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | 13 | Casey Mears | 87 | -47 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | 85 | -49 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 84 | -50 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | 31 | Ryan Newman | 82 | -52 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | 27 | Paul Menard | 82 | -52 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 81 | -53 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | 43 | Aric Almirola | 80 | -54 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 77 | -57 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | 38 | David Gilliland | 77 | -57 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 75 | -59 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 18 | David Ragan | 75 | -59 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 10 | Danica Patrick | 68 | -66 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | 42 | Kyle Larson | 64 | -70 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 59 | -75 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | 19 | Carl Edwards | 57 | -77 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | 55 | -79 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | 54 | -80 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | 46 | Michael Annett | 52 | -82 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | 44 | -90 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | 44 | -90 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | 95 | Michael McDowell | 44 | -90 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | 42 | -92 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 | 35 | Cole Whitt | 41 | -93 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 38 | -96 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | 55 | Brian Vickers | 29 | -105 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | 14 | Tony Stewart | 27 | -107 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 | 7 | Alex Bowman | 22 | -112 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | 98 | Josh Wise | 22 | -112 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | 32 | Bobby Labonte | 20 | -114 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | 18 | -116 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | 26 | Jeb Burton # | 13 | -121 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | 44 | Reed Sorenson | 12 | -122 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | 66 | Mike Wallace | 8 | -126 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | 30 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | 2 | -132 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
# – Rookie 
| 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Owner Standing | |||||
| After Race 3 of the 2015 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | |||||
| Pos. | Owner | Car # | Points | Behind | Attempts |
| 1 | Tony Stewart | 4 | 134 | Leader | 3 |
| 2 | Rick Hendrick | 88 | 125 | -9 | 3 |
| 3 | Walter Czarnecki | 22 | 123 | -11 | 3 |
| 4 | Barney Visser | 78 | 118 | -16 | 3 |
| 5 | Tad Geschickter | 47 | 100 | -34 | 3 |
| 6 | Linda Hendrick | 5 | 92 | -42 | 3 |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 48 | 91 | -43 | 3 |
| 8 | JD Gibbs | 11 | 87 | -47 | 3 |
| 9 | Bob Germain | 13 | 87 | -47 | 3 |
| 10 | Joe Gibbs | 20 | 85 | -49 | 3 |
| 11 | Michael Waltrip | 55 | 84 | -50 | 3 |
| 12 | Jack Roush | 16 | 84 | -50 | 3 |
| 13 | Gene Haas | 41 | 83 | -51 | 3 |
| 14 | Richard Childress | 31 | 82 | -52 | 3 |
| 15 | Richard Childress | 27 | 82 | -52 | 3 |
| 16 | Rob Kauffman | 15 | 81 | -53 | 3 |
| 17 | Richard Petty | 43 | 80 | -54 | 3 |
| 18 | Roger Penske | 2 | 77 | -57 | 3 |
| 19 | Brad Jenkins | 38 | 77 | -57 | 3 |
| 20 | Richard Petty | 9 | 75 | -59 | 3 |
| 21 | Joe Gibbs | 18 | 74 | -60 | 3 |
| 22 | Tony Stewart | 10 | 68 | -66 | 3 |
| 23 | Chip Ganassi | 42 | 64 | -70 | 3 |
| 24 | Joe Falk | 33 | 62 | -72 | 3 |
| 25 | Richard Childress | 3 | 59 | -75 | 3 |
| 26 | J D Gibbs | 19 | 57 | -77 | 3 |
| 27 | John Henry | 6 | 55 | -79 | 3 |
| 28 | Felix Sabates | 1 | 54 | -80 | 3 |
| 29 | Jerry Freeze | 34 | 46 | -88 | 3 |
| 30 | Harry Scott | 51 | 44 | -90 | 3 |
| 31 | Bob Leavine | 95 | 44 | -90 | 3 |
| 32 | Rick Hendrick | 24 | 42 | -92 | 3 |
| 33 | Bob Jenkins | 35 | 41 | -93 | 3 |
| 34 | John Henry | 17 | 38 | -96 | 3 |
| 35 | Harry Scott | 46 | 37 | -97 | 3 |
| 36 | Archie St Hilaire | 32 | 34 | -100 | 3 |
| 37 | Glen Wood | 21 | 30 | -104 | 2 |
| 38 | Margaret Haas | 14 | 27 | -107 | 3 |
| 39 | Ron Devine | 83 | 25 | -109 | 3 |
| 40 | Ron Devine | 23 | 23 | -111 | 3 |
| 41 | Tommy Baldwin | 7 | 22 | -112 | 3 |
| 42 | Jay Robinson | 62 | 22 | -112 | 3 |
| 43 | Mike Curb | 98 | 22 | -112 | 3 |
| 44 | Anthony Marlowe | 26 | 13 | -121 | 3 |
| 45 | John Cohen | 44 | 12 | -122 | 2 |
| 46 | Michael Hillman | 40 | 11 | -123 | 3 |
| 47 | Jay Robinson | 66 | 8 | -126 | 3 |
| 48 | Curtis Key | 30 | 2 | -132 | 2 |
| 49 | Robby Benton | 129 | 0 | -134 | 3 |
| 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Standings | ||||
| After Race 3 of the 2015 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | ||||
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Points | Behind | Wins |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 137 | Leader | 2 |
| 2 | Ford | 126 | -11 | 1 |
| 3 | Toyota | 120 | -17 | 0 |
