The best word to describe the reconfigured 1.5-mile track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is fast. Some of NASCAR's top drivers aren't very happy about that. After Kasey Kahne turned a lap of 184.685 mph Monday in the first of two days of preseason testing on the track, changed from 12 to 20 degrees of banking and completely repaved, two-time Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart was not pleased. "It's just so fast around the bottom. I mean we're running ridiculously fast speeds," Stewart said.

It was a disappointing 2006 season for teammates Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. So team owner Roger Penske made big changes for 2007. Ryan McGee says those changes are enough to push either Busch or Newman into ninth in his driver countdown.

Cal Ripken, who displayed remarkable drive during his Hall of Fame baseball career, will drive the pace car at next month's Daytona 500.

Jeff Hammond says Tony Stewart looked good in his return to the track while Greg Biffle needs to be mentally tough after crashing last month at Las Vegas and again in practice on Monday.

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It didn't take Kasey Kahne long to decide he likes the reconfigured 1.5-mile oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "I actually think it's pretty good. I like these types of tracks," said Kahne, who led the way in the first of two days of testing on the Las Vegas track with a lap of 184.685 mph. That's considerably faster than Greg Biffle's pole speed of 172.

When Juan Pablo Montoya grabbed his first major victory since fleeing Formula One, it solidified just what a special talent the Colombian is. But the win Sunday by his Chip Ganassi Racing team in the Rolex 24 at Daytona - the most prestigious sports car event in North America - also raised questions about what reasonable expectations there should be on Montoya during his first full season in NASCAR. Maybe he won't struggle nearly as much as everyone expects.