Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Roush: The more races in the West the merrier

Tuesday, April 29, 2003 | 10:14 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

If team owner Jack Roush had his way, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series would race twice each year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Roush, who fields five Winston Cup cars, also would like to see California Speedway in Fontana and Texas Motor Speedway outside of Fort Worth host two races each season.

"From a racer's point of view, I'd very much like to come to California a second time next year," Roush said after one of his drivers, Las Vegan Kurt Busch, won Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. "I (also would) look forward to going to Texas a second time (and) going to Las Vegas a second time.

"There are a number of venues that we need to attend more than once (a year)."

The rumor of California Speedway receiving a second Winston Cup date picked up steam over the weekend when at least two team owners said they had seen a rough draft of the 2004 Winston Cup schedule and that it included two races at the 2-mile oval.

According to various reports, the track's second date might fall on Labor Day weekend -- the date traditionally reserved for the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway -- or the final weekend of the season.

Darlington and North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham are two of the tracks mentioned by NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. earlier this year as being in jeopardy of losing one of their two Winston Cup dates.

Roush made it clear he was not taking shots at tracks that currently host two Winston Cup races.

"I'm not speaking out against anything that's on the NASCAR schedule," he said. "Which of the old venues wind up having priority and preference over other based on history, I don't go back far enough to have ... any suggestion on that.

"I'll race whatever is on the schedule but I would like to come to California twice, I'd like to come to Texas twice and I look forward to going to Las Vegas twice."

Officials from California Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway, Kansas City Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway are lobbying for a second annual Winston Cup race.

"Over the past three or four years, you've seen a lot of first-time winners," Labonte said. "Week in and week out, there are more cars that could win so your odds are not as good as they used to be.

"The last guy to win a lot of races was probably Gordon, winning 10 in one year. Scenarios aren't going to be like that for a while, it seems like."

Actually, Gordon won 13 races in 1998 after winning 10 in each of the previous two seasons. Last year, Matt Kenseth led all drivers with five victories.

The suspension was not the result of an on-track incident, according to Owen Kearns, manager of communications for the series. NASCAR would not elaborate on what prompted the suspension other than to say that Rose had "issues with (NASCAR) that need to be resolved."

Rose had competed in two of the first four truck races this season.

Super Late Models, Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, Chargers, Legends Cars, Bandolero Cars, Thunder Roadsters and Bullring Bombers will race on the 3/8-mile paved oval, with qualifying beginning at 6:15 p.m. and racing at 7:15.