Friday, April 1, 2005 | 9:34 a.m.
Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.
Bristol Motor Speedway is one of Kurt Busch's favorite tracks on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series circuit -- but that wasn't always the case.
"I went there my first time as a rookie (in the spring of 2001) and wrecked out real early," Busch said of his 42nd-place finish in his first start at Bristol. "The fall race, Sharpie decided to sponsor it. I said, 'Wait a minute; this is going to be a problem here. This is my worst racetrack and my sponsor is now the sponsor of the fall race.' "
Busch fared better in the fall race at the half-mile oval -- but not much. He finished 25th but was 10 laps off the pace by the end of the race. It wasn't until he was paired with his current crew chief, Jimmy Fennig, to start the 2002 season that Busch, a Las Vegas native, was able to figure out what it took the be successful at Bristol.
"Early on ... my right foot was very heavy," Busch said. "I had to race hard and I wanted to go quick (and) that hurt me at many places. Then, at Bristol, it definitely killed me.
"It's a place where you have to learn patience. That definitely helped me develop as a driver as I continued on my second year, working with Jimmy Fennig for the first time; he just taught me so much, I knew I had a lot to learn then."
Busch proved to be a quick study. He won the spring race there in 2002, swept both Bristol races in 2003 and then notched his fourth victory at the track last spring.
So what will Busch be thinking when he straps himself into his No. 97 Sharpie Ford prior to Sunday's Food City 500?
"The first thing that crosses your mind is to protect your racecar and allow yourself to look beyond the hood of your car and to absorb what the other drivers are doing immediately in front of you because if they're checking up, you have to be able get on the brakes quick and avoid any type of wreck that's going to happen," he said.
"The biggest thing is just protecting your racecar and knowing when you're able to race hard and when you're able to ride around."
Busch heads into the fifth race of the season ranked fourth in the Nextel Cup Series points standings, 103 points behind Jimmie Johnson.
JUNIOR ON KYLE: In the premiere issue of "Racing Fan" magazine, Dale Earnhardt Jr. offered some unsolicited advice for Nextel Cup rookie and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch.
"You know, Kyle Busch, he's got a lot of confidence and that disguises itself as talent sometimes," Earnhardt told the magazine. "I think he's got a lot to learn. I mean, he made a lot of huge errors -- getting out of the car and denying interviews umpteen times last year (in the NASCAR Busch Series). You can do those things, but you're going to be labeled (a jerk) the rest of your career.
"I hope his brother (Kurt) talks to him a little bit. He's got what it takes on the racetrack, he just needs it right off the track, too."
CHILDRESS APPEAL DENIED: The National Stock Car Racing Commission upheld the penalties NASCAR levied team owner Richard Childress, crew chief Todd Berrier and driver Kevin Harvick for a violation during qualifying for last month's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Nextel Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Childress' appeal of the penalties -- which included a four-race suspension for Berrier -- was denied by a unanimous vote of the Commission. Childress did not deny that Berrier intentionally rigged the fuel cell in Harvick's car to appear full when, in fact, it only held about four gallons. NASCAR rules require cars to make qualifying runs with full fuel cells.
Berrier began serving his suspension at Atlanta Motor Speedway and will miss the next three races.
OUT IN THE STREET: Helio Castroneves admitted to feeling a touch nervous as he prepared for the first street race in Indy Racing League history -- and this from a driver who won three street races and three road-course races during his four years in the rival CART (now Champ Car) series.
The IRL, which has been an all-oval series since its inception in 1996, on Sunday will contest the inaugural Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on a 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit. The series also will contest two races later this season on permanent road courses at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International.
"I feel a little butterfly going on in the stomach because it's been such a long time," said Castroneves, who moved from CART to the IRL prior to the 2002 season. "You're like, 'Oh, that's something I remember enjoying so much.' But when I decided to go to the oval circuit, I knew it was a challenge for me and I was feeling the same butterflies going on.
"But now, it's funny because you're so used to ovals, you're like, 'Ooh, another challenge again, so let's go back to the rhythm.' It's going to take a little time to get used to but it's like riding a bicycle: Once you get going, after three, four, five laps, you're going to be right at your pace."
DOMINGUEZ JOINS FORSYTHE: Forsythe Racing has added driver Mario Dominguez to its two-car team for the 2005 Champ Car World Series season, the team announced this week.
Dominguez, from Mexico City, moves to Forsythe Championship Racing from HVM Inc. (formerly Herdez Competition), where he won two races and posted eight podium finishes in three seasons. Dominguez will team with 2003 series champion Paul Tracy, a Las Vegas resident.
The Champ Car World Series opens its season next weekend with the 31st annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
GILBERTSON ATONES: NHRA Funny Car driver Bob Gilbertson has made a "significant" donation to the Speedway Children's to make amends for an incident that occurred in February at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during NHRA testing.
The NHRA fined Gilbertson $15,000 and placed him on probation for two years after Gilbertson allegedly ran over a scooter, which caused his rental car to catch fire, and then failed to remain at the scene of the accident. In addition to the fine and probation, Gilbertson was required to reimburse LVMS for all property damages and direct expenses resulting from the incident, according to the NHRA.
"Bob Gilbertson is one of the top racers on the NHRA circuit but during our test session, he made a serious error in judgment that put several lives and property in danger," LVMS general manager Chris Powell said in a release. "We have had several discussions with Bob and he seriously regrets the situation. He has made a very generous contribution to Speedway Children's Charities as a way of showing his regret for the incident."
Powell did not disclose the amount of Gilbertson's donation.
Gilbertson is scheduled to compete in the sixth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals April 14-17 at The Strip.
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