Friday, March 11, 2005 | 9:55 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.
It has been seven years since Mark Martin took the checkered flag in the inaugural NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but Mark Martin still calls his 1998 victory here one of his most memorable.
"We went there, it was a brand new track and we had a brand new team looking to see what we could do," Martin said. "Once the race was all over with and we took care of all the Victory Lane stuff and all the media, we were leaving in the helicopter and I looked down at the track and it dawned on me what we had accomplished."
Martin said that before that victory, he never had taken the time to enjoy his success because he always was focused on the next race.
"It was pretty overwhelming," Martin said. "I've had a lot of success in racing, but I never really paid much attention I was always so busy looking ahead to the next one, but when I flew out of there and saw that track, it dawned on me that it wasn't just some quarter-mile dirt track in Arkansas and it dawned on me just what we had done."
Martin, 46, announced in October that the 2005 season would be his last in the Nextel Cup Series. Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 will be his final Nextel Cup race at the 1.5-mile oval and Martin said he is looking forward to returning to the track where he has finished in the top 10 in six of his seven Cup starts.
Martin, who also won the 1999 NASCAR Busch Series race at LVMS, finished fifth in last year's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
"It's been a racetrack where we have run well," Martin said. "We haven't been back to Victory Lane (in the Cup car) since the first year, but we sure have run well and we've had some really strong finishes.
"It suits my driving style (and) it's a race that is orientated toward handling and in the past we have excelled in that area."
Martin comes to Las Vegas on the heels of a sixth-place finish in the Daytona 500 and a seventh-place effort at California Speedway two weeks ago.
Martin is third in the Nextel Cup standings, 39 points behind Roush Racing teammate and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch.
BUSCH-WHACKERS: NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers have won two of the first three Busch Series races of the 2005 season and 14 Nextel Cup regulars will attempt to qualify for Saturday's Sam's Town 300 Busch Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Although some Busch Series regulars have complained in the past about the so-called "Busch-Whackers" coming in and taking much-needed prize money from their teams, Robby Gordon said the Cup drivers have helped pump up the second-tier series.
"Without the Cup drivers in Busch, you don't have people watching the events because the people want to watch Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex, et cetera," Gordon said. "Without (fans) watching those events and having a TV audience that's strong like that, it makes it very difficult for a privateer or a younger driver to find sponsorship.
"Because those guys are racing in the event and getting the attention, it makes it easier for someone to find sponsorship to compete at that level.
"I think if you eliminate the Cup drivers from it, I believe the viewership will take a big dive and you won't have people tuning in and watching the Busch races as much."
Gordon, who has competed in two of the first three Busch Series races this season, will not be attempting to make the field for Saturday's Sam's Town 300.
HISTORY LESSON: This year marks the 50th anniversary of NASCAR's debut in the state of Nevada.
According to NASCAR archives, the 43rd race on NASCAR's premier series schedule was held at the 1-mile Las Vegas Park Speedway (now the site of the Las Vegas Hilton) on Oct. 16, 1955. The race was scheduled for the same day as a points race at Martinsville Speedway and did not attract many of the sport's top drivers.
Norm Nelson of Wisconsin won the race, which was called on lap 111 because of darkness, and earned $1,325 for the victory.
The winner of Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will earn a minimum of $450,000.
BUBBA STEWART TO RETURN: Team Kawasaki's James "Bubba" Stewart, who broke his left forearm in a practice crash in January, plans to return to the THQ AMA Supercross series next weekend at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
Stewart, 19, fractured the radius bone in his left forearm during a practice before the second race of the season at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.
"I was really pumped to race for the championship this year and my Kawasaki was running awesome," Stewart said. "It was huge letdown for me and my team when I got hurt. But I've been working hard and between training and therapy, my arm is now 100 percent. I'm ready to get back in the mix."
Stewart is the first black American to win a major motor sports championship. He won four AMA 125cc championships before stepping up to the highly competitive 250cc class this season.
MacCACHREN OUT FRONT: Thanks to a victory in Class 1-2/1600 at last month's Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas is leading both the Overall and Class1-2/1600 points standings after two of five points race in the 2005 SCORE Desert Series.
MacCachren holds a 7-point lead over Class 10 leader Kash Vessels of San Marcos, Calif., and a 9-point margin over Darren Hardesty (Class 10) of Ramona, Calif.
Josh Frederick of Moapa is the points leader in Class 25 for Pro ATVs.
Round 3 of the SCORE Desert Series, the 37th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500, will be June 3-5 in Ensenada, Mexico.
ON THE MOVE AGAIN: American open-wheel driver Ryan Hunter-Reay has signed to drive for Rocketsports Racing this season in the Champ Car World Series. It will be Hunter-Reay's third team in three seasons in the open-wheel series.
Hunter-Reay was the only American driver to win on the Champ Car circuit last season. His lone victory came at The Milwaukee Mile, where he led all 250 laps.
"It's a great move for me to continue my Champ Car career," Hunter-Reay said of joining Paul Gentilozzi's team. "The potential to win races is there, proven by (Alex Tagliani's) win last year.
"Paul has put together an excellent program and I feel that I will fit into that program very well and our driver/team learning curve will be short."
Hunter-Reay has two career Champ Car victories, one pole and three podium finishes in two seasons.
The Champ Car World Series will open its season April 10 with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
SPORTS CARS: The Las Vegas Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) will be holding its second Autocross event of the year Sunday at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Autocrossing allows drivers to compete in a safe and controlled area to learn the limits of their car. Previous racing experience is not required.
Additional information on the event can be found at www.lvrscca.org.
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