UPON FURTHER REVIEW

By Brian Hilderbrand (contact)

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 | 6:57 a.m.

The sight can be an enticing lure or a cruel tease, depending on a person's perspective.

On any Saturday night at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a racer pulling onto the three-eighths-mile paved short track can't help but see the "big track" - the 130,000-seat speedway that hosts an annual NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race - looming less than half a mile beyond the backstretch.

For many of the 130 or so drivers competing on this particular Saturday night, that's as close as they'll ever get to the "big track" without buying a ticket. For every driver such as Justin Johnson, a promising 21-year-old who won five of the first seven Super Late Models races of the season and aspires to climb the NASCAR ladder, there are dozens of weekend warriors whose only big-time NASCAR fix will come in front of their television sets on Sunday mornings.

Johnson wants to advance to a bigger stock-car series after this season, but acknowledges that talent alone won't get him to that next level.

"Basically, it's all who you know nowadays," he said. "When you're out on the West Coast, it's hard to get noticed."

Seeing Kurt Busch, and then his younger brother Kyle, make it from The Bullring to the top level of NASCAR gives Johnson hope.

"It's a good thing that that happened to the West Coast, but there's so much talent out there that it's hard for the teams back East to pick out good drivers," Johnson said. "It's probably going to have to work out where someone else talks about me, not just me talking about myself."

Steve Anderson, 53, is at the other end of the spectrum. An accomplished sports car driver who won numerous national championships and holds a class victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona, Anderson races stock cars at The Bullring purely for the love of it.

" I'm just trying to have fun and do the best I can do with the resources I have," said Anderson, who last month earned his first Super Late Models victory of the season.

"Every race I get to run, I'm just happy I can muster up the energy to do it. It's a family hobby and it's something I've done for over 30 years , so it's hard not to be doing this every weekend."

Anderson said his primary concern these days is not about making a name for himself, but trying to keep up with the younger drivers.

"I told my wife, 'Make me one promise: If I look like an idiot out there and I'm in the way, you tell me and it'll be time to get out.'

"But it's like a drug, it really is," he said of racing. "I hope I can get it out of my system in the next few years."

Super Late Models

March 31 Tom Lovelady

April 7 Justin Johnson

April 14 Justin Johnson

April 21 Justin Johnson

April 28 Tom Lovelady

May 5 Justin Johnson

May 12 Justin Johnson

May 26 Steve Anderson

June 2 Dustin Ash

June 9 Dustin Ash

June 16 Taylor Barton (first feature); Dustin Ash (second feature)

Late Models

March 31 Doug Hamm

April 7 Doug Hamm

April 21 Doug Hamm

May 5 Jace Meier

May 12 Doug Hamm

May 26 Doug Hamm

June 9 Joe Deguevera

IMCA Modifieds

March 31 Jentry Pisca

April 14 Craig Stewart

April 21 Charlie Wahl

April 28 Craig Stewart

May 12 Charlie Wahl

May 26 Wayne Morris Jr.

June 2 Charlie Wahl

June 16 Tadd Burns

Chargers

March 31 Brian Matzke

April 7 Mike Heck

April 14 Brian Matzke

April 21 Darren Rollins

April 28 Mario Opipari

May 5 Brian Matzke

May 12 Darren Rollins

May 26 Mike Heck

June 2 Phil Goodwin

June 9 Mario Opipari

June 16 Mario Opipari

Legends Cars

March 31 Chris Buescher

April 7 Chris Buescher

April 14 Nick Parmelee

April 28 Chris Buescher

May 5 Chris Buescher

May 26 Scott Anderson

June 2 Nick Parmelee

June 9 Jeremiah Wagner

Thunder Roadsters

April 7 Charlie Wahl

April 14 Roger Hocking

April 28 Matt Lutz

May 5 Charlie Wahl

May 26 Charlie Wahl

June 2 Ed Hohman

June 9 Ed Hohman

Bombers

April 7 Don Sargent

April 21 Don Sargent

May 12 Larry Dittman

June 2 Don Sargent

June 9 Larry Dittman

Bandolero Young Guns

March 31 Jacob Bishop

April 7 Damon Blakeman

April 28 Jacob Bishop

May 5 Kyle Spade

May 26 Cheyanne Schindler

June 2 Jacob Bishop

June 9 Brianna Holley

June 16 Jacob Bishop

Bandolero Bandits

March 31 Dylan Kwasniewski

April 7 Dylan Kwasniewski

April 28 Nicolas Thigpen

May 5 Dylan Kwasniewski

May 26 Jonathan Eakin

June 2 Dylan Kwasniewski

June 9 Dylan Kwasniewski

June 16 Andre Prescott