New Las Vegas surface
Kurt Busch and Brendan Gaughan were the first two NASCAR drivers to test the new asphalt and added banking at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week. They both turned laps in some Richard Petty Driving Experience cars.
Busch predicted the new track will produce siginificantly faster qualifying laps.
“When we qualify here, it’ll be beyond the track record," Busch said. "It’s hard to tell right now exactly how fast it will be, but I think it will be five-to-10 miles per hour quicker. And what that means for a lap time is probably two or three seconds. It’s that much quicker. And what teams are going to have to do to adjust to all this newness is going to be incredible. I can’t wait for the test session we have here in January."
Another added feature to the race track is that the pit areas are closer to the stands. Busch said it will give race fans a unique perspective to the race.
“There is so much newness and so much adrenaline around this facility right now. I just can’t wait for the finished product. I’m out here, driving around, and there’s construction everywhere. To have them put aside this time for me is incredible, and I feel honored to be able to drive the first laps here on the new track. Moving pit road closer to the grandstands will make the fans feel more like they’re in the action, because they’ll be right on top of the pit stops. Everything is new, everything is different. Bruton Smith’s dream was to see side-by-side, adrenaline-packed racing here and now he’ll have that. With this new surface and the new banking, the fans will definitely get their money’s worth.�
Gaughan, a driver on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and a former Winston West Series champion, was impressed with the smoothness of the new track, even though he was fan of the old Las Vegas layout.
“I liked the old track, so I’m not one of those guys that didn’t like the old LVMS configuration,� said Gaughan, who drives the Orleans Racing Dodge. “I got to talk to the guys who constructed it and they’re really proud of it. There are no seams where the banking rises. Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s front straight lends itself to a much more friendly and racy straightaway. At Charlotte, Atlanta and Texas, with their flat double-dogleg, it can get dicey where you get a little nervous getting through there. This place seems like you’re going to be able to go two or three-wide at the start-finish line much easier than those other tracks. You’ll definitely be able to run more grooves. Like Homestead ( Fla.), where they went to multiple banking, the top groove could be pretty quick. I can’t wait for the Goodyear tire test here next week. Then the Smith’s Las Vegas 350 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race is the first event on the new surface."
The Truck Series race is Sept. 23.
About Haddock
in the Paddock
Tim Haddock covers motorsports — including stock-car and open-wheel racing — for the Los Angeles Daily News.
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