Sports briefs for December 2, 2003

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2003 | 10:07 a.m.

NHRA Bud Shootout moving to Las Vegas

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next season will become the new host of the Budweiser Shootout, an NHRA all-star event that showcases the eight best Top Fuel teams.

The Budweiser Shootout, which had been at Pomona (Calif.) Raceway since its inception in 1985, will be Oct. 30, 2004, during the fourth annual ACDelco NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.

The total purse for the 2004 Budweiser Shootout will be $239,000, including $92,000 in bonuses to quick qualifiers during NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series events leading up to the Shootout and a winner's share of $100,000 for claiming the victory in the championship race.

In the qualifying procedure, all Top Fuel drivers will earn points at each national event in order to secure one of seven guaranteed positions in the Budweiser Shootout. The eighth spot, a wild-card position, will be awarded via a lottery drawing to one of the eight drivers who qualified in positions 8-15 in the final points.

McCracklin honored

UNLV junior forward Sherry McCracklin was named the Mountain West Conference women's player of the week. McCracklin, the tournament MVP in the weekend's Lady Rebel Shootout, is the conference's leading rebounder at 15 per game and the sixth-leading scorer with a 15.5-point average.

Marlins keep Castillo

Free-agent second baseman Luis Castillo, 28, re-signed with the Florida Marlins. Castillo, who had been courted by the New York Mets, agreed to a three-year contract worth $16 million.

TCU gets its wish

No. 19 TCU, which turned down a bid to the GMAC Bowl because it conflicted with exam schedules at the school, accepted a bid to the Fort Worth Bowl.

Lemieux nixes raise

Mario Lemieux, captain and owner of the financially strapped Pittsburgh Penguins, said he wouldn't accept a $5 million raise tentatively promised him by the team's board of directors.