Who’s who of drivers turn out for newest Vegas attraction

Robert Macy

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 10:08 a.m.

Thousands of fans turned out Thursday night to watch a who's who of NASCAR drivers inaugurate a $50 million racing attraction on the Las Vegas Strip.

"I feel lucky," said former NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. "I'm going to win a little money here - on the track and off."

Earnhardt was one of 20 stars of the race circuit who showed up for the opening of a new race-themed attraction at the Sahara hotel and casino.

The drivers are in town for this weekend's double-bill race event, the Sam's Town 300 NASCAR Busch Series race on Saturday and the CarsDirect.com 400 on Sunday.

The drivers greeted fans in front of the new NASCAR Cafe, then went inside to autograph panels on a wall of the eatery and sign souvenirs for guests waiting to get in. Balanced over a bar in the restaurant is a 3-ton replica of a Pontiac race car named "Godzilla," billed as the largest stock car in the world.

"This is really neat for the sport of racing," said former Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte. "Ten years ago you'd never have believed you'd see anything like this. This shows how the sport is growing."

Other drivers on hand included Daytona 500 and reigning NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett, Rockingham winner Bobby Labonte and former NASCAR Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace. Other NASCAR drivers included Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart, Sterling Marlin, Kyle Petty, Steve Park, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Lepage, David Green and Dick Trickle.

Mark Dyer, president and owner of the Las Vegas NASCAR Cafe, said he conducted two years of market research before embarking on the Strip venture.

As president of corporate NASCAR Cafe, based in Knoxville, Tenn., Dyer also led the development of similar ventures in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Nashville, Tenn., Orlando, Fla. and Smoky Mountains, Tenn.

Dyer praised Sahara Chairman William Bennett, who has developed the Strip icon into a race-themed resort. Bennett was also one of the original developers of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where this weekend's races will be staged.

The 400-seat, 75,000-square-foot NASCAR Cafe also features the roller coaster "Speed," a Cyber Speedway that features 24 stock car racing simulators, a state-of-the-art arcade and various race memorabilia.