Side-by-side racing is still the show in a new world of NASCAR racing

Monday, March 1, 2004 | 9:52 a.m.

NASCAR returns to Las Vegas this weekend for the seventh running of the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with new tires and a new aerodynamic package, a new way of determining its season champion and a new title sponsor for its premier division, the Nextel Cup Series.

About the only thing that won't change for this year's race, according to veteran driver Jeff Burton, is the show.

"I really think this track puts on really good races; good side-by-side, close racing," Burton said. "You'll see a lot of good racing here."

Burton admittedly is fond of the speedway because he has won two Cup races (1999 and 2000) and two Busch Series races (2000 and 2002) here, but he said his affinity for the track began the first time he tested here.

Although the relatively flat 1.5-mile LVMS oval has its share of critics that maintain it produces boring races, Burton said that couldn't be further from the truth.

"I thought the first few races here, when they said this was a boring racetrack was just a ridiculous statement," Burton said. "This track already has two grooves ... and it's a fun track to run on. To me, this and Richmond are the two best racetracks because you have good racing. It's nice for the competitors and it's nice for the fans."

The annual Las Vegas NASCAR weekend has become an overwhelming hit with fans across the country, as well. Sunday's Nextel Cup race is expected to draw a crowd of close to 140,000, making it the largest single-day sporting event west of Dallas.

While Roush Racing's Mark Martin ran away with the first Cup race at LVMS, in 1998, and teammate Burton dominated the field here in 2000, he and older brother Ward Burton staged a classic side-by-side battle for the lead in the closing laps in 1999.

"The first race, Mark Martin kicked everybody's butt and the (third) race, we kicked everybody's butt -- that's just what happens sometimes," Burton said. "And then the (second) race -- hell, what else do you want? Ward and I raced side by side the last several laps -- that was a hell of a race. If you don't like that, I don't know what to say.

"I think the track got a bad rap ... I like this racetrack a lot."

Although Roush Racing has won four of the first six Cup races at LVMS -- reigning series champion Matt Kenseth is the defending race winner -- Burton was less sure if he and his teammates will be able to continue that success here this weekend because of all of the off-season changes NASCAR implemented.

In addition to new car bodies and a different Goodyear tire, NASCAR trimmed three-quarters of an inch off the cars' rear spoilers.

"It's so many changes that our setups are a lot different than what we've had here in the past," said Burton, who was among numerous Cup drivers to test at LVMS in late January.

The biggest change, of course, is the new tire, which features a softer sidewall and is designed to wear out sooner than the previous version. As a result, Burton said, you may not see the 55- to 60-lap runs on a set of tires as in past races at LVMS.

"It's going to be real tough at the end of 50 laps -- the tires will last that long, I just think you're going to be really slow," Burton said. "I think the speeds will fall way off. I think they'll last that long but they'll be slow -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's the same for everybody and getting your car to handle well is going to be even more important than it's ever been.

"The more tires fall off, the more important it is to have a good-handling car."

Sunday's Nextel Cup race could make local history in that three Las Vegas natives are expected to make the 43-car field. Kurt Busch, a Durango High School graduate, will be making his fourth Cup start at LVMS and Bishop Gorman High grad Brendan Gaughan, in his rookie season in the series, will be making his first Nextel Cup start at his home track.

Kyle Busch, Kurt's younger brother, will start in Saturday's Sam's Town 300 NASCAR Busch Series race and attempt to make his Nextel Cup debut in Sunday's race.

"You've got three guys from Las Vegas, racing at a track (in a city) that's not known for breeding drivers," Kurt Busch said. "Most of the (Nextel Cup) drivers came from the Southeast or the Midwest and now there's three guys from Vegas and we'll all be racing together -- it's pretty cool."

Kurt Busch comes into the third race of the 36-race Nextel Cup Series ranked seventh in points after a 16th-place finish in the Daytona 500 and an eighth-place effort the following week at North Carolina Speedway. Gaughan is 22nd in points after finishing 19th at Daytona and 20th in Rockingham. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished second in Las Vegas last year, holds a slim 7-point lead over Kenseth after two races.

Kyle Busch, a rookie in the NASCAR Busch Series, is 12th in points after two races.

In addition to Saturday's Busch Series and Sunday's Nextel Cup races, LVMS will host the World of Outlaws winged sprint cars Thursday and Friday nights at the half-mile dirt track and Super Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, Legends Cars, Thunder Roadsters and Mechanix Wear Speed Trucks at the 3/8-mile paved Bullring Saturday night.

Qualifying for Saturday's Sam's Town 300 NASCAR Busch Series race and Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Winston Cup race will be Friday at 1:30 p.m. and 3:10 p.m., respectively.

The 200-lap Sam's Town 300 will start at 1 p.m. Saturday and the 267-lap UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 will begin Sunday at noon.