Numbers game: Busch brothers trying to 86 the No. 48 in Vegas' 13th

Numbers are a big part of Las Vegas and there's a potentially unlucky one staring Sprint Cup drivers right in the eye this weekend -- 13.

Sunday's Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the 13th Cup race held at the 1.5-mile track since it first welcomed NASCAR's top series back in 1998. In that time, eight different drivers have visited Victory Lane at LVMS, with two -- Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton -- doubling up while Jimmie Johnson has a three-peat under his belt.

However, the unlucky number 13 isn't the only thing drivers will have to overcome this weekend.

With his track record and coming off a win last week in Fontana, it's no surprise Johnson is the oddsmakers' favorite on Sunday.

But as the track ages and its surface changes over time, Johnson cautions conditions this weekend will play a big part in anyone's success.

"With the paving job they did a couple of years ago, the track is a lot faster than it's been in the past," said Johnson, who looks for career win No. 49 on Sunday.

"I'm not sure what the asphalt has done over the offseason and how much speed it's lost, but that track went from being a slippery track that you had to manage your time and manage your lap time around the track to a place that you have to manage. So it's a really fun racetrack to drive. I hope it's still that way where you have to attack and drive every lap like a qualifying lap."

Hometown brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch hope to find a way to stop the Jimmie Johnson Express. (Getty Images)

Hoping to upset the Johnson Express this weekend is a pair of Las Vegas natives, the Busch brothers, who usually excel when racing at their home track.

Kyle achieved the ultimate goal last year when he went to Victory Lane for a win he considers the best of his career.

"It was the biggest so far," Kyle said. "It was awesome, just the feeling of a lifetime. I told everyone that it would be just like another race, but it really meant a lot more than that when I got to Victory Lane.

"To have my mom there, and my brother come to Victory Lane, just made it that much more special. We didn't have the best car last year, but I feel like I drove a smart race, anyway, and did what we needed to do. We worked on it all day and kept making it better."

The man responsible for improving Busch's car's performance last season will try to duplicate that effort this year, just for elder brother Kurt. Steve Addington took over crew chief duties for the 2004 series champion this year and Busch believes the experience and success he had with his younger brother will bode well for his No. 2 Dodge on Sunday.

"Little did I know only a year ago that the guy who helped Kyle win the Vegas race would be our team leader coming back into Las Vegas Motor Speedway this time around," Kurt said. "It's really easy to get pumped up."

And just to be on the safe side, Kurt has a little numerology of his own on his side heading to Vegas.

"We're taking the Texas race winner, the 702 car, into Vegas, which everybody knows is the 702 area code," he said. "All the good things seem to be lining up for this weekend. It's a true confidence builder to head back into Vegas knowing that you have a guy calling the shots for us who won the thing there last year."

Who's hot

Jimmie Johnson: Leads all drivers with three Las Vegas wins. Johnson, however, has the 17th-best finishing average (18.0) in the three races on Las Vegas' new configuration.

Matt Kenseth: Two-time winner on the old track configuration, Kenseth tops all drivers in laps led with 438; he has a 23.3 average finish and has led 71 laps on the new Vegas track configuration.

Mark Martin: Winner of the inaugural Vegas race, Martin has finished in the top 10 in nine of his 12 starts. All three of his starts (18.3 average finish) in a Chevrolet came on the track's new configuration.

Who's not

David Ragan: His only top 10 -- seventh -- came in 2008. Ragan has a 28.7 average finish on the new track configuration. He finished 42nd last year after an engine failure and has yet to lead a lap in three starts.

Juan Pablo Montoya: Exited last week's race in Fontana with an engine failure. Montoya has yet to lead a lap or finish in the top 15 in three LVMS starts. Will pilot the same car that finished 38th at Homestead after a mid-race incident with Tony Stewart.

Martin Truex Jr.: Will make first track start in a Toyota; Truex Jr. has the 16th best average finish (19.7) on the track's new configuration. Did not finish in the top 10 in his previous four starts with Dale Earnhardt Inc./Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.

Make a note

•  Kyle Busch became the first driver to win from the pole at Las Vegas last season.

•  Jeff Burton leads all drivers with a 9.8 average finish in 12 starts.

•  Jeff Gordon has finished sixth or better in four of his last five Vegas starts.

•  Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have average finishes of 5.0 and 6.0 with the COT.

•  Clint Bowyer finished second in this event last year.

•  Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart posted average finishes of 10.7 and 11.4 on 1.5-mile tracks in 2009.