Fans are encouraged to reach track early

Jace Radke

Friday, March 1, 2002 | 9:20 a.m.

Race fans are being encouraged to leave their homes and hotel rooms by 7 a.m. Sunday to ensure they are at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in time for the drop of the green flag for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.

A record crowd of more than 135,000 is expected at the Winston Cup race, which begins at 12:30 p.m.

Las Vegas Boulevard and Interstate 15 are the only routes to the speedway, and traffic is expected to be heavy throughout the day, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Alan Davidson said.

"People wait all year to see this, so they need to leave early to make sure they don't miss it," Davidson said. "The pre-race traffic usually isn't too much of a hassle, but after the race when you have 140,000 people trying to leave at the same time, it gets real bad."

Troopers will also help with traffic congestion expected for today's Winston Cup qualifying session and Saturday's Sam's Town 300 Busch Series race.

Metro officers will be stationed inside the speedway and will coordinate public safety in the track. The NHP also will be responsible for keeping traffic moving around the perimeter of the speedway.

Speedway officials are touting Citizen's Area Transit buses as the quickest and easiest way to get to the race.

Eighty CAT buses will provide transportation from downtown and Las Vegas Boulevard to the speedway for $5 each way, or fans can purchase a $20 pass good throughout the weekend.

Some buses will be routed through Nellis Air Force Base to keep traffic moving faster on Las Vegas Boulevard, base spokesman Mike Estrada said.

The NASCAR buses will stop in front of or across the street from the following locations: Luxor, Tropicana, MGM Grand, Aladdin, Paris, Flamingo, Venetian, Treasure Island, Stardust, Rivera, Sahara, Stratosphere, Fremont Street at Las Vegas Boulevard, Stewart Avenue at Las Vegas Boulevard and the downtown transportation center.

After 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday the NASCAR buses will stop running on The Strip, and fans will have to take a bus to the transportation center and transfer to one headed to the speedway.

Fans could be further slowed by added security in the form of bag checks, which will be conducted by hand, said Chris Powell, speedway general manager. Powell did not rule out the possibility that cars could be searched and that metal detectors could be used.

Bags were searched during the running of the Daytona 500. Also, cars were randomly searched and hard-sided coolers were banned. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway has never allowed coolers, Powell said.

Race officials say there are still a limited amount of tickets available in the temporary bleachers for $75 apiece.