Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Nice weather draws Cup drivers to Las Vegas

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003 | 10:37 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.

With NASCAR limiting the number of tests each Winston Cup team can hold at tracks that host Winston Cup races, some have questioned why teams would elect to use up one of those tests this week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

All one has to do is check the weather map to get the answer, according to second-year driver Jimmie Johnson.

"We've been trying to get to Kentucky (Speedway) to do some mile-and-a-half testing and understand our new Monte Carlo, but the weather hasn't been working so well," Johnson said Monday during a break in his two-day test at LVMS.

"At Vegas, we know we'll get a good environment, there will be a lot of cars out here to gauge off of and see where we're at. It's a great place to come out and get some consistent data and get a couple good days on the racetrack."

NASCAR reduced the number of tests teams can hold at Winston Cup tracks this year from seven to five.

Four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who owns the car Johnson drives, said in addition to the favorable weather in Las Vegas, teams can gather valuable information at LVMS that they can apply to other similarly-configured tracks on the circuit.

"This is a great track (to test) because you need a lot of downforce and the car goes through a lot of transitions and some of the same characteristics that we find at a lot of these mile-and-a-half racetracks now," Gordon said.

"I think we'd all rather be in Kentucky, testing at a non-Winston Cup track that everybody loves, but with all the snow and ice and everything that has been going on back East, you can't do it."

Todd Bodine was one of the few drivers to make a run in qualifying trim and posted a lap of 169.758. Bodine set the Winston Cup qualifying record at LVMS when he won the pole for last year's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 with a lap of 172.850 mph.

Matt Kenseth was tops among the Busch Series cars that tested Monday with a lap of 162.489.

A total of 18 drivers (13 Winston Cup, five Busch Series) tested Monday and 31 are expected for today's session. Testing continues through Thursday, with cars scheduled to be on the track from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

"I am very excited to be a part of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Brevak Racing and I'm looking forward to running for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year," said Gordon, a veteran of the ARCA/ReMax and NASCAR All-Pro Series.