A MOMENT CAPTURED:

Until the race, he makes his own fun

Tiffany Brown

Sunday, March 2, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Brett Lindsey refills during a water-gun fight with his brother in the infield of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“Let me get you just once!” Brett, 7, yells.

“You need to aim, dude. You’re just wasting water,” Justin, 11, yells back.

The two laughed while kicking up dust across the still half-empty RV camping landscape Wednesday afternoon. After an 11-hour, 520-mile road trip from Susanville, Calif., the brothers and 13 other family members were settling into their home for the week, in anticipation of their first NASCAR weekend.

The family was enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures that brought on the season’s first water fight.

“We’ve been watching forever and we always talk about going but never do,” said the boys’ father, David Lindsey. “And we all like different drivers, so it makes it interesting on race day.”

Brett is rooting for Tony Stewart, No. 20, while Justin will be hollering for Jimmie Johnson, No. 48, in today’s 400-mile race.

The extended family, including three generations, is geared up with an estimated crowd of 150,000 for today’s racing excitement.

The sunscreen will be out and the winter back home will be the last thing on the Lindseys’ minds — except, of course, for the cooler of snow they kept around to keep the beer and soft drinks cold.