Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Kenseth: New spoilers, tires will help at LVMS

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004 | 9:23 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.

Next weekend's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will give the NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers their first true taste of how the shorter rear spoiler and new Goodyear tire will affect the racing this season.

From Matt Kenseth's perspective, the rules changes should improve passing on the 1.5-mile oval.

"At Vegas, you'll see the spoiler show up more and the tires show up more than (Rockingham)," Kenseth, the defending Las Vegas race winner, said. "At Vegas, though, you should see it a little bit. I don't think it's going to produce more side-by-side racing, but it should be easier to pass the leader or pass the second-place guy or pass whoever is in front of you.

"If you're faster than (the guy in front of you), you won't have to be that much faster than him to pass because you shouldn't be as aero-tight behind somebody ... so I think you're going to see a little bit different race at Vegas than what you've seen in the past -- but I don't think it's going to be nearly as drastic as like what you see at Rockingham or Darlington or anything like that."

Kenseth cruised to a 9-second victory over runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. in last year's race at LVMS.

Another local driver, rookie Brendan Gaughan, finished 20th Sunday and slipped two spots, to 22nd, in the points. Gaughan is fourth in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings and trails Scott Wimmer by 11 points after two races.

Busch will compete in the Sam's Town 300 NASCAR Busch Series race on Saturday, March 6 at LVMS and also will attempt to qualify for the March 7 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race.

Busch, 18, is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Busch Series race at Rockingham and is 12th in the series points standings after two races. Busch has been the top-finishing rookie in both races and is leading the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings by six points over Paul Menard.

Among the seats still available are those in the new Dale Earnhardt Terrace and the Vegas Clubhouse -- both prime seating locations.

LVMS general manager Chris Powell said he was confident the track would break last year's attendance mark for the Sam's Town 300 Busch Series race. An estimated 90,000 people watched Joe Nemechek win last year's Busch race.

Tickets for either race can be purchased online at www.lvms.com or by calling 1-800-644-4444.

Race fans can bid on a chance to meet their favorite driver and ride along with them in a convertible car during a pre-race parade lap before the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400. Other drivers who have committed to take part in the auction are Brendan Gaughan, Kyle Busch, Jimmy Spencer, David Green, Mike Wallace, Paul Wolfe and Stacy Compton.

Tickets for the auction are $35 and available online at www.tickets.com or by calling 702-456-7777.