NASCAR at Las Vegas 2015: Start Time, Live Stream, TV Schedule and More

Welcome to the wild, wild west portion of the NASCAR season. Following two races in the south, the Sprint Cup series heads west for three straight events, beginning on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Coming off his first win of the season in Atlanta, Jimmie Johnson heads to another track where he has enjoyed a wealth of success. He leads all active drivers with four wins in Vegas and has three straight top-10 finishes at the course.

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Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still in search of his first win this season and in Nevada. He nearly clinched one last year but ran out of fuel on the last lap as Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag.

Prior to the race getting underway on Sunday, here's a look at the full schedule and preview of the Kobalt 400.

Race Information

Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada

When: Sunday, March 8

Start Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Radio: Performance Racing Network

Preview

It's hard to imagine the points race heading into Vegas being any tighter for the Sprint Cup. Just four points separate Joey Logano and Junior, who are first and fourth, respectively.

The only drivers who have their spots in the Chase virtually clinched, however, are Logano and Johnson. By virtue of their wins to open the season, the No. 22 and No. 48 will be in contention during NASCAR's postseason.

What that means is the rest of the field is still in search of a crucial victory. Earnhardt is one driver who believes he can pull out one this weekend, via NASCAR.com:

"

Looking forward to going to Vegas. We fly in on Friday morning, practice and qualify and race on Sunday. It should be a good race track for us. I enjoy the track. ...

I almost had a win there last year. Ran out of gas on the backstretch. I remember we had about a fifth- to 10th-place car. ... If we can improve on that just a little bit, we should be good.

"

Ironically enough, Earnhardt's 2015 season has started in similar fashion. In the Daytona 500, a poor decision led to him falling late and climbing back with a third-place finish. Running second in Atlanta, a piece of debris caused him to drop a spot to finish third again.

Keselowski, the man who benefited the most from Junior's gaff in Vegas, wishes he had the issue of two top-five finishes to start the season. The No. 2 car suffered a blown engine in Daytona, before recovering in Atlanta by finishing ninth.

Though he didn't enjoy much success to start the year, Keselowski's success in Vegas might mean more for the remainder of the season. Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News notes why this weekend will be a truer test of what to expect on intermediate tracks:

"

Las Vegas will provide the first substantial look at how the changes affect racing on the 1 1/2-mile track. The season opened with the Daytona 500, a restrictor-plate race. The series moved to the 1.54-mile track of Atlanta Motor Speedway last week, but it was difficult to get a read on the racing changes because the abrasive surface is hard on tires.

"

Whether it's Johnson or Earnhardt going all in for Hendrick or Keselowski beating the odds again for Team Penske, Sunday will be a thrilling race to watch. That is, of course, if the leader has the gas to get them to Victory Lane.

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