Monday, March 13, 2006 | 7:19 a.m.
Gentlemen, thaw your engines.
You knew it was going to be an unseasonably cool day for racing Sunday when Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman strolled into the media center accompanied by a Saint Bernard with a cask the size of North Carolina draped around its neck.
It was a brisk 48 degrees when they dropped the green flag, which had fur on it. But it didn't snow, it didn't rain and the wind didn't blow as hard as Tony Stewart. So the weather, despite all the dire predictions, was sort of like Dale Earnhardt Jr., almost every time he shows up here.
Not a factor.
Other than fans who had planned to call in sick to work today and those working the hot chocolate stand, nobody seemed too terribly upset that the ninth running of the NASCAR Nextel Cup UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 didn't turn into the Iditarod Classic.
Apparently, elected officials aren't the only ones who get passes to a hospitality suite on race day. When the sun came out Sunday, I swear I saw Las Vegas Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith and Mother Nature holding hands in the garage area.
As for the race, it was a lot like the eight that had been run before it: A lot of Roush hour traffic during afternoon drive time.
Only this one turned into a drag race at the finish.
Drivers on car owner Jack Roush's payroll had won five times in eight tries before Sunday when Matt Kenseth, the 2003 and 2004 Las Vegas winner, appeared well on his way to making it six in nine. A late yellow flag enabled a rapidly closing Jimmie Johnson to pull onto Kenseth's bumper for the green-white-checker flag finish, which is NASCAR's version of the Lightning Round.
Johnson, the Daytona 500 winner and defending Las Vegas race champion, passed Kenseth on the outside as the cars charged toward the flag stand to earn the victory by a showgirl's eyelash.
Other than that bit of mascara on his front fender, Kenseth said it was a perfect Sunday afternoon drive. "The day went great until the last corner,'' he said.
That's when Johnson put the hammer in his right foot down. "I knew I wanted to be on the outside,'' the former California off-road racer said. "Once I had the position, I felt like I was in great shape.''
It was a fantastic finish on a track that, ironically, is roundly criticized for its lack of excitement and side-by-side racing. In fact, the track will be reconfigured next year to add more banking, which is supposed to result in better racing and/or more crashes - which a lot of people who don't drive these cars believe are the same thing.
Leave it to Bruton. The track's not broken, but he's gonna fix it anyway.
"It's a lot better than a lot of 'em to pass on,'' Kenseth said.
Just ask Johnson. Kenseth led a race record 146 laps. Johnson led for about 25 yards.
But when he needed to pass, Johnson could. And did.
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