Ron Kantowski changes his tune about improvements made to the speedway

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006 | 7:36 a.m.

For the record, there wasn't anything wrong with Las Vegas Motor Speedway that a couple of interstate highway interchanges wouldn't have cured.

Then again, many in the motor sports industry believe getting race fans in and out of the parking lot isn't a problem at all. They look at it more like passing time while counting your money.

Inside the gates, there wasn't much to complain about. Oh, there might be a spoiled race fan or two from Bristol or Richmond or someplace like that, who subscribe to the belief that rubbin' is racin'. And who believes the relatively flat and wider than the Nebraska plain 1.5-mile Las Vegas oval wasn't conducive to much of either.

Competitive racing with lots of passing was considered more of a bonus at LVMS.

But as Jimmie Johnson proved in March, when he overhauled Matt Kenseth in the last 50 yards before the checkered flag to win the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, you could pass when you needed to.

"It's a lot better than a lot of 'em to pass on," Kenseth said.

And that was coming from the guy who finished second.

No, the racing groove wasn't broke. Neither was the pit lane, garage area nor infield media center.

But the speedway is gonna fix 'em anyway.

When Bruton Smith, LVMS' mostly absentee but anything but absent-minded owner, announced he would be spending $30 million out of his own - deep - pockets, I thought he was being frivolous.

It would be like adding another nook or cranny to Camden Yards. Or marrying Jennifer Aniston and asking her to cook.

Redundant, I wrote. But that was before native son Kurt Busch gave local media a small glimpse of what racing on a high-banked track is going to look like by christening it with a few hot laps Tuesday morning.

After anointing the track, Busch gave it his blessing.

Now I'm ready to kiss some asphalt, too.

So here's a big thumbs up for 20-degree banking in the corners. A Gatorade shower for a new pit lane that is about 250 feet closer to the not-so-cheap seats, meaning you won't need the Bushnells to see where the races are won or lost. And 50 championship points for the new Neon Garage going up in the infield.

Of all the reconfigurations and refurbishments, the Neon Garage seems to be the one speedway management is most jazzed about. That might be because it's going to cost $99 minimum to observe drivers and pit crews from behind partitions and maybe throw marshmallow peanuts at Tony Stewart or watch Lance Burton pull a rabbit out of his hat.

That's actually what General Manager Chris Powell said - about Lance Burton, not the marshmallow peanuts - to illustrate the Neon Garage's entertainment potential.

"I believe it will change the way speedways do business on race weekends," Powell said.

And you know what? He's probably right.

Just because I have no desire to throw marshmallow peanuts at Tony Stewart (I was thinking more along the lines of a tire iron) that doesn't mean a lot of guys from Alabama or North Carolina won't. Far be it from me to argue marshmallow peanuts with a guy whose track record is almost as good as Jack Roush's, the car owner who has won the 400-mile race five times in nine tries.

Powell says every stone that is turned at LVMS - and that's most of 'em - winds up benefiting the race fan.

I say it also winds up benefiting the race track's bottom line, but hey, Powell's got a business to run. This isn't exactly like racing jalopies around a dirt track at the county fair.

So it's out with the almost new and in with the brand new at LVMS.

"Look at what we've done," Powell said, running down a list of improvements ranging from the obvious, such as the massive grandstands in Turns 1 and 4 with the pictures of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt on them, to the sublime, such as new restrooms that can well, let's just say accommodate more race fans.

All these additions won't guarantee that LVMS will receive a second Nextel Cup race date, which at least indirectly, is what those high banks are all about. But when NASCAR lifts its moratorium on new races or starts moving old ones around, LVMS will be better positioned than Jimmie Johnson coming out a Turn 4 with a full head of steam.

"You've got to give Bruton all the credit," Powell said. "He was the one willing to put his money where my mouth was."