Columnist Ron Kantowski: LVMS still seeking an identity

Monday, March 4, 2002 | 9:13 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

Before Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, someone from the out-of-town media who sounded an awful lot like comedian Jeff Foxworthy asked me to characterize the Las Vegas Motor Speedway 1.5-mile oval.

And here I thought LVMS general manager Chris Powell's music trivia queries were tough.

It took an entire green flag segment to recall that Bertie Higgins was to blame for "Key Largo," but I left the track following the fifth Winston Cup race at LVMS still searching for an answer that would satisfy the Foxworthy clone.

Which means that after watching 2,000 miles of Winston Cup racing here, I might not be a redneck, because I still can't come up with a catch phrase to describe the 1.5-mile Las Vegas oval.

Dover, Del., has "The Monster Mile." North Carolina Speedway is known as "The Rock," while "The Brickyard" is synonymous with Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And Darlington Raceway down in South Carolina is so steeped in tradition that it has two nicknames -- "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and "Lady in Black."

But five years into its lucrative relationship with NASCAR, LVMS is still searching for an identity. "The Mellow 1.5 Mile?" "The Track That Shawna Robinson (Almost) Tamed?" "Lady in Earth Tones?"

If there's one thing about our hometown track that everybody agrees on, it's that it's beautiful. If there's a second thing about our hometown track that hardcore racing enthusiasts agree on, it's that it has yet to develop a personality.

In that regard, LVMS might be the ideal blind date.

Sunday afternoon's drive was typical of the five that have been held here. To take the blind date analogy a step further, it wasn't a Pamela Anderson, whose sidepods were on prominent display during driver introductions. But it wasn't a Bea Arthur, either.

Sterling Marlin finally caught a break from the schizo NASCAR stewards, as he was allowed to slide on a 15-second penalty for speeding on pit lane after losing control of his No. 40 Silver Bullet while coming into the pits. So it was Dodge ball at the finish, as Marlin drove away from fellow Dodge runner Jeremy Mayfield in the closing laps to win by 1.163 seconds. That's the NASCAR equivalent of 21-7 in football.

Basically, after the first pit stop it was a four-car race. Marlin, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Las Vegas' own Kurt Busch were in a class by themselves until Busch's No. 97 Ford got its wires crossed at the end -- an electrical problem relegated him to a distant 20th-place finish.

Occasionally, there was a pass for the lead. But most of the side-by-side racing for which NASCAR is known transpired back in mid-pack.

As for the wrecks ... well, personally, I prefer my auto racing without the grinding of sheet metal. But that's never been a problem at LVMS.

The wide, symetrical track is more forgiving than a priest hearing confession following a Notre Dame victory. Only one and a half drivers (Bobby Hamilton and Robinson) of the 43 who started made contact with the wall, making head and neck restraints a moot point. Heck, the drivers could almost run around LVMS in leather helmets.

One of these days, LVMS surely will develop some character befitting its well-thought-out blueprint. But Sunday still wasn't it.