Friday, June 28, 2002 | 9:29 a.m.
Cory Kruseman will be out to break his own record Saturday in the Summer Dirt Cup at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's dirt track.
Kruseman, of Ventura, Calif., is the Sprint Car Racing Association's all-time leading in main-event wins with 56. He topped Rip Williams' record last Saturday by winning the feature at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.
The 31-year-old Kruseman hopes to carry that momentum into this week's event on the LVMS half-mile.
"The track is such a nice facility for racing," Kruseman said.
Kruseman is the defending SCRA champion and owns several records. In 2001, he won a record 15 SCRA mains, including six straight from June 2-Aug. 25. Kruseman isn't only a master on dirt; he has recently tried his hand in Indy Racing League cars. In February he was in Las Vegas to take the speed phase of his IRL rookie test on the 1.5-mile superspeedway. It was his first time at speed in an IRL car.
With an unofficial speed of 207 mph, Kruseman needed only 81 laps to complete the four 10-lap test phases.
"We passed with flying colors," Kruseman said. "It was an awesome experience. We're thankful we got to do it."
Kruseman said he isn't certain about his next step in racing.
"We aren't very picky about what we're driving," he said. "We're hoping to race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the end of this season."
Kruseman and other SCRA drivers will participate in an autograph session on Saturday from 5-5:30 p.m. under the grandstand. Gates open at 5, and tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, military personnel and high school students with ID and $5 for children ages 6-12.
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