Who was third in points last year? Mark Martin, that's who.

But that isn't the only thing Martin has going for him this week in Las Vegas. No, the fact that he happens to drive for Jack Roush is a much better reason to put a few dollars on Martin (don't worry, it's legal here in Vegas). Plus, the driver of the No. 6 Ford Taurus won the inaugural event here in the desert.

Talk about a system that should work.

	All signs point to another successful weekend for Mark Martin.

The catch, however, might be the Pontiacs. But I think if you look at last week's results at Rockingham and say Labonte, Ward Burton and Tony Stewart finished in the top four simply because they were driving Pontiacs, you are selling those teams short.

All three of those cars are well-prepared by very good race teams. The Joe Gibbs team in particular used to struggle at flat-type tracks, but it found something during a test at Indianapolis two years ago with the No. 18 car. Ever since then, they've been pretty good when it comes to flat tracks (remember, Labonte swept Pocono races last season).

I'd expect the Gibbs cars to be pretty good again Sunday. I know there have only been two Winston Cup races held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the track already belongs to Roush Racing.

Two years ago, Roush had five of his cars finish in the top 10. Roush cars have won both races in Vegas -- Martin in 1998 and Jeff Burton last year. Oh, and Burton finished second to Martin in '98. Think he might be pretty good Sunday?

I'd also watch out for Dale Earnhardt, who is coming off a great run last weekend at Rockingham where he finished second. He certainly can run well at Vegas this week. One problem, however, is the Rockingham car won't be in Vegas.

The plan to take the second-place car to the desert was thwarted when it became one of the cars NASCAR took and tested in the wind tunnel Monday. Earnhardt didn't get the car back to the shop in time for the team to complete the maintenance needed on it, thus it wasn't on the hauler when it left North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon for "Sin City."

I still expect that No. 3 team, which tested out here, to be pretty decent. Jeff Gordon, third here last season, also will be among the leaders, but I don't expect him to win.

The No. 24 team still needs more time to come together. It's a new team basically. Sure, it still has the same equipment and driver, but there are so many new people around Gordon. I just think it's going to take a while for the chemistry to develop. I expect it to develop, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Gordon win a race before the month of March is over.

Unlike Rockingham, tire wear won't be as big a factor in determining Sunday's winner. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a nice, smooth, wide race track. But I believe Goodyear is taking a different tire out to the desert. And anytime that happens, it opens up the possibility that one team might hit upon the right chassis set up and run away from the rest of the field. Hopefully, with as much research, development and work these teams do these days, we won't see that this weekend.

As for the race itself, it produced a great finish last season. After 25 lead changes among 10 different drivers, Ward Burton and his brother Jeff put on a great battle to the checkered flag. Jeff wound up passing Ward late to win. So, this race has the potential to produce a good afternoon of action.

Sam's Town 300

WHERE:	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
WHEN:	Saturday, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
DEFENDING CHAMPION:	Mark Martin

Matt Kenseth wins in Daytona. Martin takes Rockingham. The first two Busch races of the season beg the question: Will we see a Busch regular win a Busch race this season?

The answer is, "Yes." But I don't think we'll see it happen this weekend.

I fly into Vegas on Saturday afternoon and the first thing I'm going to do is stop by the nearest casino and put a few dollars on Martin to win the Busch race. He won last week's Busch race in Rockingham -- his series-leading 41st -- and there is little reason to bet against him this week.

Now, the key for the Busch regulars, with all the Winston Cup drivers coming over to run these early-season events, is to have a goal of finishing in the top five or top 10. The drivers who'll ultimately challenge for the Busch Series championship must get as many points as they can until the Winston Cup regulars stop showing up and winning these races.

It's sort of like a race within each race. One to the checkered flag on Saturdays. One to the series championship in November.

The surprise, however, has been the rookies -- particularly Jay Sauter and Ron Hornaday. They both can be found in the top 10 in points, while Hornaday actually led the most laps at Daytona. Had Hornaday not gotten stuck in traffic after a pit stop, he might have won the season opener. And last week, he finished third.

You knew Hornaday had two Craftsman Truck Series championships coming into the Busch Series. You knew, driving for Earnhardt, he was probably going to be a contender for the title. But I think possibly with his truck driving experience in Las Vegas, he could win Saturday. He has run four truck races in Vegas, and in the past three he hasn't finished worse than third. So he knows his way around that race track and knows the line it takes to be fast.

The same can be said for Jay Sauter. He, too, has the experience from running trucks in Vegas. So you can expect both of these "rookies" to be tough Saturday.