by Norm Johnson Send Me E-mail

This is the weekend we (those of us who enjoy NASCAR and especially speed) have waited for the last 12 months. The return of the "Boys of Thunder" to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and those wonderful cars that appear to be stock. At one time (during the early years of NASCAR ) drivers actually drove such stock cars as a Hudson, Packard, Studebaker along with the Fords, Chevrolet, Buicks, etc, etc. Today, however, it's comes down to just Dodge, Chevrolet, Ford and a few Pontiac's eligible to compete.

Everything kicks off today (Friday, March 5) with first practice and later in the afternoon qualifying for the two big races: the NASCAR Sam's Town 300 Busch Series race Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., and the NASCAR UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Nextel Cup race Sunday at noon. The Busch race has a total purse of $1,436,867.00 up for grabs with $6,011,590 dangled before the 43 drivers in the Cup race. That's a lot of gold folks! Also on Friday Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Teresa Earnhardt will assist in unveiling a monument dedicated to the late, great Dale Earnhardt near the new Earnhardt Terrace overlooking turns 3 and 4. The public is invited to attend the 1:30 ceremony.

Matt Kenseth, the last Winston Cup Champion and defending track champion, will be one of 46 drivers attempting to qualify for the 43 starting spots in the Sunday event. Other drivers who will be entered in the Nextel Cup race include Michael Waltrip, Bill Elliot, both Bobby and Terry LaBonte, Mark Martin (who won the first race in 1998), Jeff Burton (winner in 1999 and 2000), Jeff Gordon (won 2001 race) and Sterling Martin (took the checkered in 2002). Other champions and strong competitors looking for their first win at the LVMS include previous pole-sitters Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd and Todd Bodine. But the drivers sure to attract the most attention from the Las Vegas residents attending the race (just part of the 140,000 plus expected for Sunday) are Nextel regulars Kurt Busch, Brendan Gaughan and Busch regular Kyle Busch: all native Las Vegans.

Kurt is a veteran Cup racer of four years and drives the #97 Irwin Ford Taurus for Jack Roush Racing. His best finish at the speedway was 11th in 2001. "Las Vegas is like my own Daytona 500, what with all the media, family and friends and the sheer excitement of the city and just being back home," the 25-year-old competitor said. "This year it will be even more intensified as it will be the first time I've been in a race with my brother in five years. I can't wait to run side-by-side with him out there on our home track. It's going to exciting that's for sure!"

Kyle, who is running a full season in the Busch Series gunning for Rookie of the Year, will be driving the #84 CarQuest Chevrolet for Hendricks Motorsports in the Busch race Saturday. He will then, hopefully, jump into the #5 Chevrolet and compete against 42 Cup drivers on Sunday. "It means a great deal to me to be competing at my home track before family and friends for the first time in a Busch and Nextel car," the 18 year-old racer said. "And, being able to compete against my brother (Kurt) for the first time since the Legends Car days in Las Vegas makes it pretty neat, too."

Of course Gaughan, who won at the speedway last year in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck, should be a strong competitor to be among the top 10 at the starting line Sunday in his #77 Kodak Dodge, driving for Roger Penske. Last year, his second complete season in the truck, he came within a hair of winning the coveted Series Championship. It took an accident near the end of the last race of the season to knock him out of the title. Previous to that the 28 year-old former Georgetown University graduate had always come away with a championship title in every class he ever raced in: Be it Off-Road or Winston West. He is going to run hard before his home crowd, you can be assured of that. Brendan is also competing for "Rookie of the Year" honors, which he won in his first year competing in the truck series in 2002.

"It's going to be great being back home," Gaughan told me. "I can't wait to eat at Michael's! I love that place. Don't get me wrong, I love North Carolina (that's where his team is located), but there are no restaurants that can hold a candle to Michael's." Brendan will try to change the statistics earned by the Kodak #77 car: best starting position since 1999 at LVMS 10th and best finish was 16th in 2001. "The Kodak Racing Team has been working very hard to give me a competitive car, but we've missed the set-ups for the start of the race. The car has been great to finish. If we can start with the right set-up in Vegas we will be like a rocket."

THIS AND THAT QUICKLY: The United States Air Force Thunderbirds will do a Delta Formation flyover prior to the start of the Nextel Cup race Sunday at noon. Robert Goulet will sing the National Anthem (this is the second time he has been invited to sing at the track: the first time was for a Busch race two years ago) for the Cup race, while Country star Charlie Daniels will do the honors on Saturday. Robin Leach will host the pre-race activities... Some quick little tidbits for those who love trivia... 21 drivers have competed in every NASCAR Cup race at LVMS... Michael Waltrip and Joe Nemechek have started every Cup and Busch race at LVMS... Jack Roush has posted wins at LVMS with three different drivers, Martin, J. Burton and Kenseth... Jeff Gordon at 29 is the youngest driver to ever win at LVMS, while Bobby LaBonte at 34 was the youngest pole sitter for a Cup race at the speedway... Tony Stewart and Jason Leffler are the only Nextel Cup drivers to compete at the track in an Indy Racing League car, Busch series and Cup. Leffler also competed in the Craftsman Truck Series... Ford has won four of the first six Cup races in Las Vegas... Two rookies have qualified on the front row in two of the past four races: Scott Pruett in 2000 and Ryan Newman in 2002... Three of the six Busch races at the speedway have been won from the pole. Nine drivers are expected to compete in both the Busch and Nextel Cup races this weekend. They are Waltrip, Nemechek (defending champion of the Sam's Town 300), Steve Park (who drives the Orleans sponsored truck for Gaughan this season), Jimmy Spencer, Kevin Harvick, Todd Bodine, Jamie McMurray, Kenseth and Dave Blaney... Steadman and Sterling Marlin will become only the second father-son combination to compete in a Busch race at LVMS. Dale and Jason Jarrett is the other... The only driver to sweep both events in one weekend is Jeff Burton, who accomplished the feat in 2000.

Well, gang, that's it for this week. I'm outa here and headed for the speedway!

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