LOOKING IN ON: MOTORSPORTS

Thursday, March 15, 2007 | 7:19 a.m.

Some leftover notes, quotes and observations from the 10th annual NASCAR weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

Opinions from drivers on the changes to the racing surface at the speedway ranged from "really nice" to "awful," but virtually everyone agreed that the new fan-friendly "Neon Garage" was a hit.

The $30 million project, which affords fans both ground-level and second-story viewing areas into the NASCAR Nextel Cup garages, was well received by fans and drivers alike.

"This sets the bar for what every other track should be doing with their infield," said one middle-aged woman from San Antonio, who attended Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 with her husband.

"Now we've just got to get (Texas Motor Speedway) to do the same thing."

Every fan we talked to said the experience was worth the $99 admission charge (or $199 for a three-day pass) in addition to the price of a ticket.

A vote for softer tires

While drivers Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick were the most critical of the newly banked and paved racing surface, speedway officials found at least one ally in Matt Kenseth.

"I think they did a really nice job on the racetrack," said Kenseth, a two-time winner of the Las Vegas Cup race.

"I think the racing is going to be great here in the future, it's just going to take for (Goodyear) to ease up a little bit on the tire, make it a little softer (so) we can race a little better."

Goodyear officials were forced to bring tires made of a harder compound to the races because the changes to the track increased speeds to the point that they were seeing dangerous heat buildup in the previous, softer tires.

Ratings game

Sunday's Nextel Cup Series race from the speedway, which was televised by Fox, was the top-rated sporting event on television last weekend.

The race drew a 6.3 rating and a 13 share - a 2 percent increase over the 2006 race - and was watched by an estimated 10 1/2 million people, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The race drew a higher rating than CBS' NCAA Selection Show (6.3/13 to 4.3/9), the largest margin ever recorded between the two events, according to a Fox Sports release.

Minority report

NASCAR couldn't have picked a better person than former NBA great Magic Johnson to serve as co-chairman of its drive to bring diversity to the sport.

Johnson visited the speedway Sunday and gave the media a thoughtful, well-prepared update on NASCAR's push to bring more minorities into the sport - and not just as drivers.

Johnson said that NASCAR has brought in more than 130 interns under the three-year-old program and that "a lot of them have gotten full-time jobs in NASCAR."

He also noted that 17 drivers are in the Drive for Diversity program, but still are "three to five years" away from making it to the Nextel Cup level - if they advance that far.

"We have to remember that minority drivers must earn the right to be a Nextel Cup driver. Minorities don't want you just to put somebody there to appease us," Johnson said.

"You've got about a 25 percent minority audience that follows NASCAR ... and I don't think that 25 percent is upset that there is not a minority in Nextel Cup. We're patient, we're OK. There is still a lot of work to do before that driver gets here, and we plan on doing that work."

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Kurt Busch, a Las Vegas native, on Las Vegas Motor Speedway's quest to land a second annual Cup race. Sunday's sold-out race drew an estimated 155,000 fans.

"You can't deny that the Vegas race weekend has become one of the most prestigious stops on the circuit. I'm confident that the place could completely sell out two Cup races (a year)."

Number of arrests reported by Metro during the three-day NASCAR weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

403

Number of arrests reported by Metro during the four-day NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas