Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Nextel Cup drivers look for extra work this weekend in Busch Series

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 | 9:17 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.

Saturday's NASCAR Busch Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will have the look of a B-main for Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup race.

The entry list for Saturday's Sam's Town 300 includes 14 Nextel Cup drivers who will be racing in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 the following day, including Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Sterling Marlin, Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler and Michael Waltrip.

Martin, who won the Sam's Town 300 in 1998, is the Busch Series' all-time winningest driver with 45 victories.

Other Nextel Cup regulars who have filed entries for the Sam's Town 300 are Scott Riggs, Dave Blaney, Randy LaJoie, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray and Joe Nemechek.

Three other drivers will attempt to compete in both races: Derrike Cope, Stanton Barrett and Johnny Sauter.

A total of 52 drivers will be vying for the 43 starting positions in the Busch Series race while 49 drivers have filed entries for the Nextel Cup race at LVMS.

PIT BULLS: NASCAR Busch Series officials are looking into an altercation between Robby Gordon and Brad Parrott, crew chief for Carl Edwards, prior to Sunday's Busch Series race in Mexico City, according to a report on nascar.com.

Gordon is quoted on the Internet site as saying Parrott kneed him in the groin. Gordon reportedly grabbed Parrott by the throat before Edwards and other witnesses separated the two.

The incident occurred after Gordon said he approached Parrott during driver introductions and told him, "You should be going to the back (of the field) with me." Gordon changed engines and was sent to the back of the field at the start of the race; Edwards changed engines before qualifying and was able to retain his ninth starting spot, per NASCAR rules.

"If someone is going to knee me in the groin, I'm going to grab him by the throat; it's that simple," Gordon told nascar.com.

Parrott denied Gordon's version of events, but refused to elaborate on the incident.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Las Vegas native Kurt Busch will return to his former middle school this week for a special event on behalf of his sponsor, Sharpie.

Busch will host an assembly Thursday morning at Guinn Middle School and will ask students for their autographs in exchange for $10,000 in school supplies and funding for the school. The event is part of the national Sharpie Retractable Autographs for Education program to collect 1 million autographs from ordinary people in exchange for $1 million in school supplies and scholarships.

Busch also will allow some of the students to sign the No. 97 Sharpie Ford he will drive in the April 3 Nextel Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway.