Rusty Wallace is keen on Las Vegas

Friday, March 29, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

When it comes to the so-called bullrings on the NASCAR circuit, Rusty Wallace is Winston Cup's leading matador. Eighteen of the popular veteran's 41 career victories have come on short tracks such as Bristol (site of this weekend's Food City 500), North Wilkesboro and Martinsville.

Yet, Wallace said for the good of the sport, it's time for NASCAR to padlock some of its smaller venues and move into expansive, modern facilities such as the under-construction Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"It's about time we got out of the old and into the new," said the driver of the Miller Racing Thunderbird Wednesday upon visiting Las Vegas' 1.5-mile, 107,000-seat tri-oval.

"I've always cried for the sport to get up to the level I think it deserves. With these great facilities and the media attention we've got, we can't back up now, because we're (almost) there."

The problem, Wallace said, is that the race teams already are stretched thin by the current 31-race schedule. A 32nd race has been promised to the new track being planned by Wallace's co-car owner Roger Penske in Fontana, Calif.

Otherwise, NASCAR has declared an unofficial moratorium on expansion and seems reluctant to take dates from its established tracks. That suggests soon-to-be-opened facilities here and in Dallas and Ralph Sanchez's snazzy new oval in Homestead, Fla., apparently will have to wait for a coveted Winston Cup date.

Speedway magnate Bruton Smith, who owns the tracks in Charlotte and Atlanta and is building the new one in Dallas, has taken the bullring by the horns, so to speak, joining with New Hampshire International Speedway's Bob Barre to purchase North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.

The consensus among the NASCAR crowd is that Wilkesboro will lose its two races, with Dallas and New Hampshire taking them. But with Las Vegas Motor Speedway President Richie Clyne having no other speedway holdings, his $100 million project may wind up in a Winston Cup holding pattern.

Wallace guessed that his first laps here might come in 1998, adding that if NASCAR is serious about becoming a national sport, it must broaden its Southeast fan base. Of its 14 tracks, only two (Phoenix and the road course at Sears Point, Calif.) are west of the Mississippi River.

Judging from Wallace's initial reaction, the new Las Vegas track (which will open Sept. 15 with an Indy Racing League event) may have no equal.

"There's no asphalt on it yet, but you look at the track, the way it angles and the way it's dug down ... there's just not a bad seat in the house," he said.

"The only race track we go to that has beautiful visibility like this is Atlanta, Ga. And this place has twice that much."

Backmarkers

* LAS VEGAS SPEEDWAY PARK: The track opens its 1996 season with the traditional Taco Bell Twin Thunder free race weekend. The quarter-mile drag strip will host the Taco Bell Border Blast featuring the Southwest Cop Shootout on Friday. Action moves to the 3/8ths-mile paved oval on Saturday for the Taco Bell Classic, a double points race for NASCAR Sportsman stock cars. Racing begins at 7 each night. Call 643-3333 for details.

* ETC: Las Vegan Chris Trickle sits third in season points heading into Saturday's NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Coors Light 100 at Cajo (Calif.) Speedway. Pahrump's Jim Wulfenstein is third in SWT rookie points. ... Indy 500 legends Parnelli Jones, Johnny Rutherford and Al and Bobby Unser have formed the Indy Legends Driving School, an auto racing fantasy camp for non-racers. Tuition is $14,850 and reservations must be made by May 31. Call (714) 768-2942 for details.

* WEEKEND SLATE:Winston Cup: Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) International Raceway (10 a.m. Sunday, ESPN). Last year's race winner Jeff Gordon is on a roll, averaging a 2.5 finish in his past three races. IndyCar: IndyCar Australia at Surfers Paradise (1 p.m. Sunday, ABC). Nevadan Scott Pruett tries to build on his narrow points lead in the streets Down Under. Formula One: Brazilian Grand Prix (8 a.m. Sunday, ESPN2). Williams drivers Damon Hill and last year's IndyCar champion Jacques Villeneuve shoot for another 1-2 finish after running that way in Australia season opener. NHRA: Slick 50 Nationals at Houston Raceway Park (tape delay, April 14, ABC). Las Vegan George Marnell looks to improve on his 18th-place standing in Pro Stock while Las Vegas Motor Speedway marketing official Gordie Bonin returns to the NHRA wars in Bill Miller's Nevada-based Top Fuel dragster.