Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: ‘Racer’s Workshop’ this weekend at Palms hotel-casino

Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2002 | 10:16 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

Former NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief and current Fox TV racing analyst Larry McReynolds will headline a "Racer's Workshop" Saturday and Sunday at the Palms hotel-casino.

McReynolds will be one of several speakers from the auto racing industry who will give insights to local drivers, crew chiefs and mechanics on car set-up, track tuning, team organization, shocks, sponsor hunting, making more power, spotting during a race and other topics.

Former NASCAR Winston West driver Larry Pryor organized the Racer's Workshops last year in response to the need for educational forums for entry-level as well as serious racers and mechanics.

"I had attended and organized many seminars and workshops in the emergency medical services field in which I worked," Pryor, a former paramedic, said. "I felt a need for them in racing as well.

"These workshops will give some valuable information that just isn't readily available to local racers and mechanics."

The workshops will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. McReynolds will hold a question-and-answer period at the end of each day.

For more information on the Racer's Workshop, contact Pryor at 702-914-5778 or 1-800-485-3850.

Atwood will test his No.7 Winston Cup Dodge Intrepid, co-owned by Ray Evernham and Jimmy Smith, on Jan. 30 and 31. Sprague also will be on the track Jan. 30 and 31 in his No. 24 Busch Series Chevrolet, which is owned by Rick Hendrick.

Each team will be allowed to test on two of the four days.

Blaney is the new owner of Sharon (Pa.) Speedway, the hometown track for his racing family and one of the oldest continuously running racetracks in the United States. Blaney purchased the track, which opened in 1929, with his father, Lou, and a group of local investors.

Those teams that did not test last week were scheduled to test Monday through Wednesday at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Thursday had been set aside as a rain date and testing now will run today through Thursday in preparation for the Feb. 17 Daytona 500.

Scheduled to hit newsstands Jan. 21, the full-size publication will be a comprehensive preview of the upcoming season and will feature four drivers (Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick) on four collectible covers.