Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Busch senses no home-track edge

Friday, Oct. 12, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

Kyle Busch may be racing in his own backyard in Sunday's Orleans 350 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, but the native Las Vegan said he doesn't have a home-field advantage.

As has been the case with each of his first five starts this season in the No. 99 Roush Racing Ford, Busch had never turned a lap on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval until this morning's open test.

Add the fact that the 16-year-old Durango High junior isn't exactly expecting to be the crowd favorite on Sunday, and you begin to see why he doesn't feel he has an edge going into the race.

"I'm not sure that I have many fans out here but the ones that I do have, I'd really like to do well for," said Busch, the younger brother of NASCAR Winston Cup rookie Kurt Busch.

Despite his overwhelming success at the 3/8-mile track at LVMS in both Legends Cars and NASCAR Late Models, Busch said he hasn't won the hearts of many local race fans.

"There are many people out there, I'm sure, that are against Kurt and me, (because) they all think we're cheating," Busch said.

Although Busch dominated the Late Model division at the LVMS short-track this season, winning 10 of the 15 races he entered, the first five races of his audition for team owner Jack Roush have not been quite so successful.

He made his NCTS debut in August at Indianapolis Raceway Park and finished ninth after starting in the back of the 36-truck field. The following race, at Chicago Motor Speedway, Busch qualified fifth and led the race for nearly 20 laps before running out of fuel. He had a wheel come off the truck in his third start and crashes have put him out of the past two races in which he competed.

Despite the flashes of brilliance -- he has an average starting position of 9.5 in five races -- Busch said he isn't thrilled with his performance to date in the truck.

"I figured I'd be fired at this point for wrecking as many trucks as I have," Busch said. "I've wrecked every single race I've been in -- or ran out of gas -- so I'm not too happy about my performances so far this year, but I think we should be good for Vegas.

"We're just going to go out there and bide our time and basically try to finish the race -- that's my main goal. I don't care where I finish, if I'm 36th or if we end up being in the top five."

Busch, who is negotiating a contract with Roush to drive the Eldon Office Products-sponsored truck on a full-time basis next year, said the Roush Racing team remains upbeat despite the troubles in the past four races.

"Mainly this year it has been rookie mistakes, not really the truck handling bad," he said. "We've actually had pretty good trucks going. It's just me, the radial tires and the 3,400-pound trucks. It's kind of a new experience for me and I'm going to have to go through a learning curve just like everybody has to.

"The team is really psyched about next year and they don't mind a couple fender-benders and body parts and trucks getting torn up. They're just happy that they're running up front and I can actually put the truck out there and ... and hopefully go after Rookie of the Year next year and maybe the title, like Kurt did."

Kurt Busch drove the No. 99 truck last season to a rookie-record four wins, a second-place finish in the points and captured the NCTS Rookie of the Year award.

Kyle Busch, who will run two of the series' three remaining races, said his short-term goal is to gain a little more confidence in the truck.

"I feel that I'm lucky to be here, being only 16," Busch said. "Kurt put in a good word for me and I had some scouts look at me and see what my abilities were. I guess I impressed enough people where they gave me the shot at running trucks.

"Hopefully, in these last two races and even next year, I can boost my confidence level back up to expectations and maybe even run well at the same time."

Shawna Robinson, who made one Winston Cup start this year, will become the first woman in 21 years to compete in the Winston West Series on Saturday. Joining Robinson will be Truck Series regulars Brendan Gaughan of Las Vegas, Scott Riggs and Jon Wood.

Las Vegas residents Jason Allen and Steve Rzesnowiecky will be competing in the Southwest Series race.

"Naturally I am very pleased that we have been able to come together with Jimmy," said Rahal, who owns the team along with David Letterman. "I have always respected his talents. Perhaps he is not given quite the credit he should be given, because ... he certainly has the capability."

Brack, who has driven the car to four wins this season and stands second in series points with three races remaining, is leaving Team Rahal at the end of this season to drive for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing.

"Bobby and I have talked about this for many years and now it has finally come together," said Vasser, the 1996 CART champion. "I am very happy to join the Shell team, which has proven it is a championship-caliber team that enjoys great sponsorship. I think we can be right in the battle for next year's championship."

Carpentier joins fellow CART drivers Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan in being nominated for the award, which honors the Canadian star and fan favorite who lost his life in the 1999 season finale. The award is presented to the driver who best typifies Moore's legacy of outstanding talent on the track as well as displaying a dynamic personality with fans, media and within the CART community.

The winner will be announced at the CART awards banquet Nov. 6 at the Venetian Hotel.

Twenty-four of the world's top motocross riders will compete for $300,000 in prize money, with the winner of the Pro Race guaranteed a minimum of $100,000. Ricky Carmichael, the 2001 Supercross champion, is the defending champion.

The top five drivers from next weekend's Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will be eligible for a million-dollar bonus if one wins the Las Vegas Winston Cup race.

This year, Jeff Gordon won the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 and the bonus.