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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEATHER, RACING HIT JACKPOT AT LAS VEGAS!!!
MARCH 6, 2008 --- Ideal weather conditions, contributing to the best-groomed Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in memory, greeted USAC/CRA participants and fans when the series visited the gaming capital of the world last weekend. The two-night “Las Vegas Dirt Classic” produced spectacular racing and great crowds and proved to be financially rewarding for those who excelled.
A stellar field of 27 cars for the Thursday-Friday events served as a catalyst for the facility’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Weekend. Dirt Track Manager Chris Blair and his staff created an excellent racing surface that had the fans on their feet for the final laps of Thursday night’s thrilling final laps of the 30-lap feature. The moving of infield and barrier tires created a wider racing surface and contributed to the exciting competition.
Extensive track preparation led to minimal tire wear as Blake Miller in the Gardner #93 overcame challenges from series point leader Cory Kruseman, Jesse Hockett and Cole Whitt to post a stunning victory. Fortunately there were no driver injuries in any of the flips, although Jason Reynolds was treated for a mild concussion and released. Casey Shuman in Bob Price’s car and Tyler Brown in a Gardner entry performed well and took third and fifth places respectively.
A near-capacity crowd on Friday watched National Champion Levi Jones and his Walker/Guiducci entry soar to victory in the 30-lap finale. Despite the fact that he led from flag to flag, racing behind him was heated, with Hockett and Kruseman taking second and third ahead of Danny Sheridan’s Kittle entry.
The teams certainly look forward to a return engagement at the 1/2 mile dirt oval and the appreciative fans were enthusiastic.
The Gardner team, which fielded cars for Miller, Brown and Nadine Gardner, earned over $5,200 from the two nights of racing, while the Kruseman team, with drivers Whitt, Kruseman, Austin Mero and Henry Clarke, earned nearly $5,000. Jones and Dustin Morgan also raked in nearly $5,000 for their two-car Walker/Guiducci team.
The average payout per car for the two events was $1,332.27, while each team who ran both feature events received a minimum of $675.
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