Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Draw party for LV races at Hard Rock

Thursday, Oct. 21, 2004 | 10:13 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.

The final wild-card spot and first-round matchups for next Saturday's Budweiser Shootout at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be determined during a "draw party" next Thursday at The Joint inside the Hard Rock hotel-casino.

Seven drivers have qualified for the Top Fuel bonus race, to be held in conjunction with next weekend's ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals and the final wild-card entry will be determined through a blind draw. The winner of the event will earn $100,000 from the $147,000 purse.

Doug Kalitta earned the No. 1 qualifying position for the event and will face the wild-card entry in the first round. Other drivers who have qualified for the Budweiser Shootout are Tony Schumacher, Dave Grubnic, Brandon Bernstein, Scott Kalitta, Cory McClenathan and Doug Herbert.

Drivers who will be vying for the wild-card entry are Larry Dixon, Scott Weis, Rhonda Hartman-Smith, John Smith, David Baca, Brady Kalivoda, Morgan Lucas and Mike Strasburg.

The 20th annual Budweiser Shootout, which is being held in Las Vegas for the first time, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 30, with rounds at noon, 1:45 and 3:30 p.m.

"The Bud Shootout is a race everyone wants to win," Bernstein said. "The $100,000 winner's share is phenomenal, but it's also a prestigious victory to have on your resume."

The Budweiser Shootout Draw Party will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28. A limited number of tickets to the event are available through local radio stations. Fans must be 21 years and older to attend.

Immediately following the draw party, the participating Top Fuel drivers will participate in an autograph session from 8-9 p.m. outside the Hard Rock hotel-casino.

CHAMPIONSHIP PICTURE: While the 2004 NHRA championships already have been wrapped up in Top Fuel (Tony Schumacher) and Pro Stock (Greg Anderson), both the Funny Car and Pro Stock Bike crowns could be decided during next weekend's ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip.

John Force needs only to qualify for the 16-car field in Las Vegas to clinch his 13th NHRA Funny Car championship and Andrew Hines can warp up his first Pro Stock Bike title by earning eight more points than Antron Brown, his closest pursuer.

TOP ROOKIES: Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Eric Medlen (Funny Car) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) have been selected as the candidates for the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, emblematic of the NHRA's top rookie.

The winner will be selected through voting by more than 100 auto racing journalists and will be presented a trophy and a $20,000 bonus during the NHRA's season-ending awards ceremony next month in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

ON THE LINE: Tony Pedregon will be looking for his first Funny Car victory of the season -- and trying to extend a personal streak -- when the series comes to Las Vegas next week.

Pedregon, who swept both races at The Strip last year, has posted at least one victory for eight consecutive seasons but is winless in 2004. Pedregon's best finish this season was a runner-up effort at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., back in March.

AT THE STRIP: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will hold its next-to-last "Midnight Mayhem," for street-legal cars and motorcycles, Friday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and the All Harley Drag Racing Association will stage its season finale at The Strip on Saturday and Sunday.

AHDRA racing will begin at 9 a.m. both days and will run until 7 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday.