Monday, March 24, 2003 | 10:02 a.m.
Kurt Busch and Paul Tracy, two of the hottest drivers in their racing series, headlined a banner day for professional racers with ties to Las Vegas.
Busch, a 24-year-old Las Vegas native, earned his fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee at about the same time Las Vegas resident Paul Tracy was taking the checkered flag in the CART Champ Car race in Monterrey, Mexico. It was Tracy's second win in as many races this season.
Brendan Gaughan, a 27-year-old Las Vegas native, nearly made it a trifecta for local drivers. Gaughan took third in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif., after leading with 28 laps remaining.
Busch, a Durango High graduate, gambled with his pit-stop strategy late in the race and that put him in position to earn his second consecutive victory in the spring race at Bristol. Busch has finished either first or second in seven of his past 11 races, dating to last season.
Busch elected to wait for a caution period rather than pit with the race leaders on lap 388 of the 500-lap race. The gamble paid off as a caution flag came out two laps later, allowing Busch to pit under a yellow flag and remain on the lead lap.
"I was told to pit two laps before (the caution came out) and I saw debris in Turn Two and I took it upon myself to stay out on the racetrack," Busch said. "Sometimes it just takes that gut instinct behind the wheel to know when to stay out."
The victory allowed Busch to move from sixth to second in the Winston Cup points standings, where he trails Roush Racing teammate Matt Kenseth by 138 points.
"It's a wonderful feeling ... being able to come here to Bristol and get off to a great start," said Busch, who has a win and three second-place finishes in six races this season. "We've been close so many times this year, it was somewhat bittersweet but I knew we'd eventually piece things together."
Kenseth, who won the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway three weeks ago, was second. Bobby Labonte, Ricky Rudd and Greg Biffle rounded out the top five.
In Monterrey, Tracy took advantage of a miscue by rookie race leader Sebastian Bourdais and notched his 21st career victory. Bourdais was told to pit with the rest of the leaders during a caution period on lap 14 but he failed to hear his crew chief's instructions because of a faulty radio.
Tracy grabbed the lead when Bourdais pitted on lap 17 and stayed in front the remainder of the 85-lap race despite battling an intestinal ailment.
"Right about from mid-race (on), my stomach has been upset," Tracy said. "I don't know what the problem is ... the only thing I can think is maybe the drink bottle in the car didn't get cleaned properly from the last race until now; maybe there's some bacteria.
"I had a few gulps of water before the beginning of the race. About 30 laps into it, my stomach started getting really upset. I had to run to the bathroom after the podium (celebration)."
Tracy held off a charging Michel Jourdain Jr. by 2.039 seconds as the two drivers duplicated the finish of the season opener a month ago in St. Petersburg, Fla. Alex Tagliani, also a Las Vegas resident, was third, Adrian Fernandez took fourth and Bruno Junqueira was fifth. Las Vegas residents Patrick Carpentier and Jimmy Vasser finished eighth and 14th.
In Bakersfield, Gaughan held the lead in the NCTS race for 32 laps before Dennis Setzer followed a lapped truck to the lead on a restart with 28 laps remaining. Jon Wood also got past Gaughan, who settled for his second consecutive third-place finish. Bobby Hamilton and Ted Musgrave rounded out the top five.
Gaughan, with three top-10 finishes in three races, moved up one spot to third in points and trails front-running Bobby Hamilton Sr. by only 31 points.
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