LOOKING IN ON: MOTOR SPORTS

Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.

How bad are the bumps?

Greg Biffle, who spent several hours driving a Richard Petty Driving Experience car around the newly reconfigured and repaved Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month, said he would better be able to answer that question today, after the conclusion of a two-day Goodyear tire test.

Some NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers complained that the renovation of the 1.5-mile speedway oval earlier this year left the racing surface - which once was as smooth as glass - with several bumps.

Biffle and Kyle Busch were to spend Wednesday and today testing tire compounds to help Goodyear decide which tire to supply teams for next March's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at the speedway.

Because Biffle was driving a Petty car and not his No. 16 Roush Racing Ford here last month, he said, he could not render a verdict on whether the bumps would be a problem for the Nextel Cup cars.

"It's pretty hard to tell because the (Petty) cars drive different. They don't have the same springs and shocks as we do," Biffle said. "I noticed a little bit of it in that car but, again, it's hard to say. We run our car down on the racetrack so much, with so little suspension travel, that any bump seems like it's rough - any bumps at all will show up a bunch."

Biffle pointed out that each track the series visits has some sort of blemish in the racing surface.

"Those bumps are what give a track character, and it's just something each racetrack has," he said. "You could tell the track is quite a bit different, and it's going to be interesting to see when we get back here how our cars drive."

Busch, a Las Vegas native, also was looking forward to the test, which was closed to the public.

"Last year the No. 5 team wasn't selected for any tire tests," he said, "but the Hendrick Motorsports teams that were selected brought back great information."

Busch also is looking to gain an edge on the competition after finishing second here in 2005 and third this year.

Herbst honored

For the second time in his career, Troy Herbst of Las Vegas has been named to the All-American Auto Racing team as selected by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association.

Herbst, the overall and Class 1 points champion this season in the SCORE Desert Series, earned Honorable Mention in the at-large category. Honorable mention status is awarded to any driver who is named on at least 5 percent of the AARWBA ballots.

In addition to capturing the Class 1 and overall season points titles this year, Herbst won the Class 1 title in last month's Baja 1000. Herbst has 21 class victories, seven class championships and four overall season championships since 1997.

Herbst was a second-team AARWBA All-America pick in 2000.

Rzesnowiecky rules

Steve "Bear" Rzesnowiecky, a regular competitor at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, won a 50-lap Legends Car race at I-10 Speedway in Blythe, Calif., over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Rzesnowiecky, 14, led 49 of the 50 laps on the quarter-mile paved oval en route to the victory. A third-generation driver, Rzesnowiecky finished third in points this year in the Legends Pro division at The Bullring.

The number of drivers who completed all 2,104.44 miles of the five-race 2006 SCORE Desert Series

The number of days until the Daytona 500