Tony Stewart called the speeds "ridiculously fast" after his Monday morning test run, where he put up a lap of 29.429 seconds (183.492 mph). If that lap was ridiculous, the one Elliott Sadler turned in on Tuesday afternoon was downright wicked, obscene, crazy, etc.
Sadler piloted the No. 19 Dodge Dealers-UAW Dodge around the 1.5-mile oval in 28.606 seconds, or a speed of 188.772 mph.
There were also a full compliment of wrecks as a result of the speed, including A.J. Allmendinger ruining cars on both days and Greg Biffle getting into the wall in Turn 2 on Monday.
Unlike when he wrecked in December during a Goodyear tire test, Biffle went to the infield care center this time around and was released after getting checked out.
One of the other side stories I found on Monday was the return of Ricky Rudd. After a year away from competitive racing, Rudd rejoined Robert Yates and took over the ride in the No. 88 Ford Fusion from Dale Jarrett, who left for Michael Waltrip's Toyota team and took the UPS sponsorship with him.
Snickers will be on the hood of the No. 88 and like the company's main slogan, Rudd is more than satisfied to be back in a race car.
In my conversation with him in the garage area, he knew mending the fences that were torn when he left RYR was his first priority ("we had a good thing going and were consistently a top-10 team," he said.). Second, with the family - wife Linda and 12-year-old son Landon - on board, the last hurdle was cleared.
Rudd is paired at RYR with second-year driver David Gilliland. In the morning session on Tuesday, the pair were third and fourth on the board. Gilliland drove his No. 38 M&M's Ford Fusion around the track in 28.893 seconds (186.896 mph) and Rudd turned a 29.009 (186.149 mph).
Like the candies that sponsor both drivers, the speeds of Las Vegas will be nothing short of sweet when race weekend arrives.