Burton slams speedway changes

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006 | 8:35 a.m.

As a two-time winner of the NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jeff Burton has been one of the speedway's most vocal supporters.

Not so much anymore.

Burton, a 13-year veteran of NASCAR's elite series, said track officials are misguided in their plans to add banking in the corners of the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

"I think it's a terrible idea," Burton said during a break in testing this week at the speedway.

"I appreciate the idea of trying to make the racetrack produce better racing, but what they need to understand is that there is nothing wrong with this racetrack, and all they're doing is throwing good money away.

"It's one of the best racetracks that we go to. They did a great job when they built it initially, and if they change it, they stand a way better chance of messing it up than improving it."

Owner Bruton Smith is committing approximately $7 million to increase the banking from 12 to 20 degrees in the track's corners in an attempt to "improve the quality of racing."

The renovation, which is scheduled to begin immediately after the NASCAR weekend in March, also will narrow the racing groove from 70 feet to 50.

Burton, who won back-to-back Cup races at the speedway in 1999 and 2000, said critics of the track's ability to produce good racing simply are wrong.

"If you go back and watch the race here last year ... without a doubt there was a lot of side-by-side racing," Burton said. "The longer we're here, the more the second (racing) groove comes in. If they change this racetrack, it'll take three or four years to get back to the point where it is today.

"I hope they have enough wisdom to change their minds -- all they're doing is wasting money. They'd be better off spending money so the fans can get in and out easier than they would (changing the racing surface)."

Need for speed

Increasing the banking in the corners at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will increase the speeds the Nextel Cup and Busch Series cars reach on the 1.5-mile oval, Kurt Busch said.

"I would say we're going to hit 190 (mph) very easily," Busch, a Las Vegas native, said of the Nextel Cup cars. "It'll bump it up toward the Texas type of speeds that we see or the Atlanta type of speeds. Hopefully it's 190-plus."

Kasey Kahne holds the speedway's track record of 174.904 mph, set in qualifying in 2004. Dale Jarrett won the inaugural pole at the track in 1998 at 168.224 mph.

Also noted:

* Busch will join fellow Penske Racing drivers Ryan Newman, Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. as Roger Penske's guests Sunday at Super Bowl XL in Detroit. Penske is serving as chairman of its Host Committee.

* Most of the top drivers in the National Hot-Rod Association Pro Stock category will be in Las Vegas this weekend for Saturday's Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Professional testing will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Sunday; qualifying and eliminations will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Adult admission is $22.

* The Palms, in conjunction with Playboy Enterprises, Uniden Electronics and Vonage, is sponsoring three Daytona Prototypes and three Grand-Am Cup cars beginning this season in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series. The sponsorship agreement runs through the 2008 season.

* Greg Anderson (NHRA), Sebastien Bourdais (Champ Car), Steve Kinser (World of Outlaws), Tony Schumacher (NHRA), Tony Stewart (NASCAR) and Dan Wheldon (Indy Racing League) are the finalists for the 2005 Speed Channel Driver of the Year award.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 -- The number of Indy Racing League IndyCar Series show cars, reported stolen Jan. 21, that were recovered last week in Indianapolis.

2 -- The number of victories Kawasaki's James Stewart has posted in the first four Ampd Mobile AMA Supercross Series races this season.

23 -- The number of NHRA national events to be televised this season in high definition on ESPN2 HD.

Brian Hilderbrand can be reached at 259-4089 or at bh@lasvegassun.com.