Where did that summer break go? It's back to racing action here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Chris Blair

The summer break is officially over! Today was the first day of classes for the kids and all of us here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are putting the final touches on the next two weekends of racing action.

It's the time of year where area residents start to crawl out from under the air conditioning and venture out into the open again after the summer heat. It's a gradual process that begins with outdoor evening activities and then everyone gradually starts venturing out during daylight hours.

The Strip is hosting two days of racing for folks who love the nightlife. Midnight Mayhem returns on Friday night with another exciting round of street-legal drag racing. At this weekend's event all participants will receive a participant decal courtesy of NHRA and also have the chance to make a run at the NHRA 100 mile per hour club. On Saturday, the Wicked HP Championship Drag Racing Series returns for our annual Pajama Party Classic late night drag race.

Normally, I'm hounding on our crew to get the Wicked HP series events done by 10:30 p.m., I'm always pushing our folks to eliminate as much down time as possible and keep the show rolling. One night a year we purposely start running cars three hours later than normal and shoot for an end time of around 2 a.m. It has become a tradition here in Las Vegas and our local drag racing community loves this event. Many of our teams plan post-race tailgate parties in the pit area with many of them hosting breakfast at sunrise. The show takes on a whole new feel and we are always trying to do new and exciting things for the racers and the fans on this special night. Along with the drag racing, the local street rod and motorcycle community will also be at The Strip for another edition of the "Hot Rods, Hot Dogs, Bikes and Budweiser Cruise Night." Anyone with a classic street rod or muscle car, or anyone driving a custom motorcycle, receives free admission to watch the drag racing and compete for car show awards. There's also $1 hot dogs and Budweiser all night long...which makes the evening that much better.

Over at the Bullring we are getting back to our specialty theme nights and this time around it's "Cowboy Night." Between races, our crew will be hosting all sorts of cowboy-related games and will have a variety of special attractions ranging from custom trucks and calf roping, to a kid's petting zoo. The on-track action is exciting as well with all of our NASCAR Whelen All-American racing series classes, plus the final 2009 appearance of the USAC Focus Midget Series. Saturday night's Focus Midget event is a combined points race for the California racers as well as the Utah-based rocky mountain region racers. The best of the best from both series will be on hand for one of only three races all season long where the two groups race together. That means the car count should be big and the on-track action will be exciting.

The best part of all these events is the tremendous bargain for a family to enjoy the races. At both The Strip and the Bullring the admission price is only $10 for adults and $5 for kids. And unlike other entertainment venues, which may charge as much as $20 for parking, parking is always free here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

This weekend is just the start of three months that are packed full of events. Visit www.lvms.com to find out more about upcoming events at the speedway.

This is my first blog entry since late June and part of that is due to the fact that I've been all over the place chasing races for both work and pleasure.

After making a trip to Langley, B.C. in late June for the Quarter Midget Western Grands to race with my son, I mapped out a series of events to visit this summer in hopes of bringing some new and exciting shows to the speedway. In mid-July I put together a road trip that followed the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) on part of their Northwest Tour. The ASCS Series features 360 cubic inch powered, winged sprint cars that run a variety of regional racing programs as well as the Lucas Oil/K&N tour that is showcased on the Versus HD Network. Their racing format features a short practice session, four heat races that are lined up based on a pill draw system (no qualifying!), a couple of last chance races and the A-features that are lined up based on a blind draw among the heat race winners. Everyone has to race their way into the show and their races are never some boring, single file race with the fast guy on the pole (unlike many racing series). Their races always start on time at 7 p.m. and, unless there are weather delays or red flags, the events usually wrap well before 10 p.m.

My first ever ASCS event featured a packed grandstand at Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford on a Monday night...that's right, a packed grandstand for a Monday night show. More than 30 cars were on hand for the opening event and one of the most talented Sprint Car racers in the country today, Jesse Hockett, put on a driving exhibition to come from mid-pack to win in his first ever visit to the track. The checkered flag fell at 9:25 p.m. and it gave me time to visit the pits to say hello to former Bullring Legend racer Zac Zimmerly who is now running his Sprint Car exclusively these days.

On Tuesday night the racing moved just up Interstate 5 to Cottage Grove for another night of racing. Hockett once again won with a pass late in the race after starting mid-pack. It was a great crowd at Cottage Grove as well and the show started at 7 and was over at 9:30 p.m. I instantly fell in love with the ASCS series and immediately contacted ASCS President Emmett Hahn to draw up plans for a future visit.

Following the ASCS experience there was a trip to Sun Valley Speedway in Vernon, B.C. to check out the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the ARCA West support program than ran as part of the A&W 300. Add in a couple of trips to Perris, California for USAC/CRA events and Knoxville, Iowa for promoter meetings and a night of the 49th Annnual Knoxville Nationals and you can see that it was a busy Summer.

The trips have allowed us to come up with some great ideas that fans will see when they attend events such as the Open Comp (Bullring), the Duel in the Desert (Dirt Track) and more specialty events (World of Outlaws, USAC, DIRTcar and ASCS) at the Dirt Track. We even locked in a date with the Traxxas TORC Off-Road Series that will visit us in October just one week prior to our NHRA Las Vegas Nationals. So while we didn't do alot of racing at LVMS when the temperatures were above 110 degrees, we were busy planning for the future and fine-tuning the events we have on tap this Fall. As we've said before, all of our venues do more big races in a three month period than most tracks will do in a full year.

Keep a close eye on our website as important 2009 and 2010 schedule announcements are happening on a daily basis. Make plans now to see it all for yourself.

Thank You Chuck... But there's no way I'm going to let you ride off into the sunset

Chris Blair

One of our most important events of the racing season occurs on Father's Day weekend at the Bullring. Each year we honor the late Chris Trickle with a pair of 35-lap Super Late Model features. When people in the Las Vegas racing community think about Father's Day, they start thinking about Chris Trickle and the amazing bond he shared with his father Chuck.

On Saturday night I witnessed the end of an era when Chuck took the checkered flag on an amazing career behind the wheel of a race car. For many, many years people in racing thought of Chuck as "Dick's brother" because of the amazing 1,500-plus win record that his brother recorded on short tracks across the midwest. Then Chuck carried the tag of "Chris's dad" as his son burned up the Bullring and the Southwest Tour and appeared to be on his way to superstardom before the tragic night that he was taken from the racing world. (For our local fans you probably know the story about Chris, for those of you new to Las Vegas Motor Speedway here is a great story.

Through the course of the last 12 years Chuck, with some prodding by his wife Barb, has been on a mission to live life to the maximum and be a motivational force for many, many people. When Chuck took the checkered flag on Saturday night and began his farewell laps around the Bullring I had tears in my eyes. It's always sad to see a great performer take his final bow and it's even more difficult when that person is a friend. Chuck made several laps around the track waving to his loyal fans and then started doing burnouts and donuts in a smokey farewell. Everyone was clapping, cheering and laughing...the perfect salute.

Following the race I stopped by the pit area where more than 100 people were in line to get an autograph, say their goodbyes and to just share a few laughs with one of the most interesting characters you will ever meet. The first thing he said to me was, "I didn't run good but nobody does those burnouts and donuts like me. People will remember those burnouts." Chuck was smiling from ear-to-ear and the massive crowd in his pit area just wouldn't leave. Even though the racing ended at 9:30, the Chris Trickle Father's Day Doubleheader was just beginning when the checkered flag dropped. This massive racing family reunion was special and no one wanted this night to end. Everyone knew that this was the last night of Chuck being a race car driver...actually, THEIR race car driver, and no one wanted to accept it.

Chuck isn't your typical race car driver and he's not your average 65 year-old. The number of people who refer to him as "Dad" or "Granpa Chuck" is amazing. He's one-of-a-kind and he has the ability to make everyone seem special. It doesn't matter if you are a friend of many years or you just met him at the races. Chuck Trickle will find a way to make you laugh and will become a part of your life.

Over the course of the last three years Chuck went from being a person I asked for opinions about racing to being a guy I listen to about how to be a dad. Chuck's grandson Christopher is just a few months younger than my son Austin and the two boys race against each other in quarter midgets and Bandoleros. The racing rivalry between Austin and Christopher isn't about what the two of them are doing on the track, it's mainly fueled by Chuck and I messing with one another. We trash talk, accuse each other of stretching the rules and go out of our way to stir each other up. The little battles have been a lot of fun and we do our fair share of laughing at one another. At the end of every race we slap each other on the back and trade a few racing stories.

On countless occasions my conversations with Chuck have gone from stories about the racing back in Wisconsin to stories about his racing with his kid. Chuck remembers every detail of every race he shared with Chris. He tells me the stories about the road trips, the nights they beat and banged with other racers here at the speedway and the countless Sunday mornings at the breakfast table when Chris would watch the videotape of the previous night's races while eating his cereal. Chuck has told me on numerous occasions that some of his best memories in life are of the times he, Chris and their crew worked on the cars in the shop. A lot of male bonding can be achieved with a race car, a garage and a toolbox.

I don't think I've ever had one of our storytelling sessions end without Chuck reminding me to appreciate every bit of time I get to spend with my son. He constantly reminds me to prioritize my life and don't miss out on the things that matter most. The "Chris Trickle Father's Day Doubleheader" at the Bullring isn't just another event, it's a reminder from Chuck to live life to the fullest and make the most of your time with your family.

That led me to start thinking about what I could do with Austin on Sunday to celebrate the holiday. We began the day at the Strip for the conclusion of the Motorcycle Drag Racing Association and Street Wars event. When it wrapped, I looked around for something special to do and realized that maybe it was time for some male bonding with a race car, a garage and a toolbox...sort of like Chuck and Chris used to do. We headed to the shop, grabbed the toolbox and began working on his quarter midgets in preparation for his next big race. Over the course of the next six hours we talked, we laughed, we got our hands dirty, we scraped some knuckles and we talked some more. Instead of a nice dinner out (as he originally wanted to do) we wrapped up our Father's Day with a trip to the 7-11 for a Slurpee and then grabbed a pizza on our way home. For non-racing people it may seem like we just wasted a day playing with race cars. Racing folks know that days like that are what we live for.

When Austin got ready to go to bed he told me it was an awesome day and, the more I thought about it, I would have to agree that it was a pretty good Father's Day. Last year we enjoyed the Ringling Brothers Circus as our Father's Day treat. I can't tell you that much about the circus of 2008 but I sure learned a lot about my kid today just from a few hours of working in the garage with him. Chuck and Chris had a common bond in racing and they made the most out of the time they had together. It wasn't until I started thinking about this blog for Chuck that I started thinking about the time I spent with my son today. Like I said before, Chuck keeps reminding me to enjoy every moment and value these days because I will never be able to get them back. It looks like racing is the common bond I share with my son and the words from Chuck keep reminding me to prioritize things while I still can. That makes me wonder just how many other people he's given that advice to and just how many have actually listened to him?

That's probably the reason so many of those people in the pit area stopped by to thank Chuck and wish him happy birthday. He talks to everyone and I'm sure he has told everyone to take a look around and realize that the people that matter most are the ones we sometimes take for granted. Chuck endured a terrible tragedy and since that time has poured his heart and soul into making a difference in the lives of many people. He's opened my eyes to a few things and I appreciate his words of wisdom.

With that, I just want to thank Chuck one more time for being a hell of a race car driver, a good friend and the best damn motivational speaker I've ever met.

Chuck, I know you don't plan on racing again but I would like to make a special request; Next year you need to drag that car out of the garage and bring it to the Bullring for the Chris Trickle Father's Day Doubleheader. All those people who lined up to see you in the pits after the races need you. We need to be reminded that success in racing isn't about the number of wins but about the friends you make along the way. We need to see that #70 car on the track to remind us about the two amazing people who drove that car. There are dads in the grandstand who need to be able to point to that car and tell their kids some racing stories. We also need someone to come out here and do some burnouts and donuts to teach these young kids how it's done. You claim to be the best at it...keep on proving it.

Weekend racing at the Bullring and The Strip for all race fans

Chris Blair

This is my third attempt to start this week's blog. I had a lot of good ideas for a story to keep everyone entertained but it appears that I'm running out of time. We are in the final preparations for a nice weekend of racing that is sure to entertain racing purists as well as the new fan.

This Saturday night's Bullring event is highly anticipated as it marks the return of the Super Clean Modified Series to the 3/8-mile oval. The Super Clean Modified Series was put together by our friends at Lucas Oil a few years ago to showcase some of the best regional racing in the country. The Super Clean Modifieds basically take elements of the East Coast tour-type cars and combine them with various aspects of the economy-based IMCA modifieds that are popular throughout the West. With a basic 'run-what-ya-brung' mentality on the motors combined with a very competitive tire from Hoosier, you get some cars that are always skating on the edge of control.

The folks at Lucas and Super Clean saw the value in a full field of these cars and are now showcasing them on their television broadcasts. Seventy-five laps with these cars produces some great racing and a very entertaining show. Several local racers are chasing the tour this season and the fact that it is in Las Vegas makes it even more appealing to the Northern California, Idaho and Utah racers. We're expecting more than 30 cars to be on hand to compete for just 24 starting positions. Twenty-four modifieds taking the green flag on the Bullring is going to be exciting and a show that I've been looking forward to since last season.

The modifieds are just a part of race No. 5 for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Our Super Late Model division is getting even more competitive with drivers such as Dustin Ash, Justin Johnson, Taylor Barton, Dusty Davis, Jeff Connors, Robert Ewing, Steve Anderson and Jimmy Parker Jr. all being contenders. Defending track champion Scott Gafforini is still struggling to find the right combination to win, but as the weather gets hot, he could easily break into victory lane. It's an exciting night of action that is much better than anything you'll see on television.

The Strip takes a step back in time this weekend with the second annual Las Vegas Speed Spectacular. The nostalgia-style cars of the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series make their only Las Vegas stop of the season. Old school nitro-burning Funny Cars, fuel altereds, A-fuel dragsters, Gassers and more than 200 hundred sportsman cars are showcased at the event.

Out in the midway the great folks at the Las Vegas Cruisin' Association are putting on a classic car show that will attract some of coolest cars in the region. Rockabilly DJ Flat Top Tom will be spinning his interesting mix of music that will make you think you walked into a scene from American Graffitti. The action begins with a test 'n' tune on Friday night, qualifying on Saturday at 9 a.m. and eliminations start Sunday at 9 a.m. The fire-breathing nitro cars make their runs at 12 and 4 p.m. daily.

Only in Las Vegas can you get such an interesting mix of events at the same facility on the same weekend. That's what makes this place so special.

We're going to slow it down a notch for the Memorial holiday weekend. While everyone else has their attention on that action at the Brickyard or at the Coca-Cola 600, our staff is doing a little prep work on some of our summer events. The only track in action next weekend is The Strip which will host a special Saturday morning edition of Street Wars followed by the first-ever Jr. Dragster night race at LVMS. The Jr's are the only thing in action on Sunday morning as they log another chapter in the Short Line Express Markets/Chevron Jr. Drag Racing Series.

We have a great month of June on tap at both The Strip and The Bullring that showcases the best in local racing. Then our focus turns to July when the Bullring pulls out all the stops on Thursday, July 2 for "Night of Fire" and The Strip is transformed into the 'Las Vegas Drifting Arena" for the Formula Drift Series. Keep a close eye on LVMS.com for up to the minute news on each event. From time-to-time we'll also be putting up some online coupons you can use for our events. Unlike the chicken chains that ran out of product during their promotions, I guarantee you that our online coupons will be valid and we won't run out of our number one product...which is FUN!

For those of you now entering into the world of Twitter you might want to keep an eye on Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the work of Aubrey Hall in our P.R. Department. According to P.R. Director Jeff Motley, the LVMS Twitter site has more than 1,400 followers and is one of the largest, if not THE largest, in all of racing. He was proudly boasting today that Las Vegas Motor Speedway has more people following it on Twitter than the Dallas Cowboys! (That doesn't surprise me too much...please insert joke about Dallas Cowboy fans being technologically challenged here.) I think those guys are still waiting on Al Gore to tell them how to flip that switch on that internet thing he invented.

With that, I am out of here. See you at the races.

Three comeback stories in one weekend! This is what racing for a cause is all about.

Chris Blair

The subject of my last blog was the sheer insanity of the person who scheduled all those events at The Strip and The Bullring this past weekend. It's now the Wednesday after and I'm proud to say that the weekend was a success.

The staffs of both The Strip and the Bullring are made up of mostly part-time employees who come out here on the weekend for the simple fact that they love racing. They bust their butts for us and everyone at Las Vegas Motor Speedway appreciates their efforts. We had a couple of folks at The Strip who performed 'Ironman' duties this past weekend. They worked Friday night's test session and Midnight Mayhem, Saturday's Junior Dragster event in the morning and bracket show at night and then came back Sunday for another bracket race. Keep in mind that this is after working a full week at their regular jobs! Their driving force and motivation is because they just love racing (...or they just can't resist my warm and charming personality).

One of the best parts of this job is getting to know the behind-the-scene stories of the people who race at our track. On any given Saturday, we'll have more than 250 people racing at The Strip and close to 100 people racing at the Bullring. All of them are there for their love of the sport as well as their own unique motivation for racing. Some are living out childhood dreams, some are hoping to become a professional racer and some are just doing it because they are really, really bad at golf and need to find a way to spend their money. Whatever their reason for being there, everyone has something that motivates them and this week we got to see three people who are motivated by a cause take a well-deserved win.

At the Bullring on Saturday night, Dustin Ash returned to the Super Late Model division and proceeded to win in his very first night back. Dustin is an amazing talent and is one of two or three drivers at the Bullring who have the talent to go to the upper echelons of racing. Dustin scored the Nevada NASCAR title back in 2007 but had to sit out of Super Late Models for the 2008 season due to a lack of sponsorship support. Now he's back with an impressive new team that may serve as the launching pad that he needs. Dustin also announced that he's going to donate 25 percent of his race winnings to Speedway Children's Charities and will soon announce his "Race-a-Thon" program for the charity. Fans can sign up to sponsor Dustin's racing efforts and make pledges for each lap he completes during the 2009 season. (More details will be coming soon). Dustin has a strong desire to win, has proven that he can drive anything and is doing something to benefit others.

The racing for a cause theme isn't just for the stock car crowd. We also saw some highly-motivated individuals score wins at the drag races this past Saturday and Sunday. Super Pro driver Becky Phlegar was racing for a couple of causes of here own. Becky's father, Ron Landram, paid a special visit to the Speedway to say goodbye to the friends he raced against for more than 30 years. Ron has retired from racing, sold the E-Z Money Camaro that carried him to thousands of round wins and is moving to Idaho. He came out to the track in hopes of seeing his little girl follow up her season-opening win in the Wicked HP series. Becky didn't let Ron down as she raced to her second win in four races this season. That alone is pretty special, what's even more special is that Becky is back behind the wheel after missing most of last season because she was pregnant! Her son, Mason, popped out on January 12 (a great day to be born I might add - he shares a birthday with Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern and me) and as soon as Becky got behind the wheel she started winning again. With two wins in four races and only seven more events to go, Mason might be the good-luck charm for Becky in the championship chase. Becky gave her dad a great going-away present and proved that she made the right decision when she strapped back in to her Chevelle.

John Randell, who won in the Junior Dragster Thunder class on Saturday, is another driver who is racing for a cause. John found out last season that he had juvenile diabetes. Since that time, he's been on a mission to find out as much about diabetes as he possibly can while educating others. John designed and produced brochures that he has been distributing at the races and car displays throughout the region. At 12 years of age most kids are very shy and don't want to draw attention to themselves and the challenges they face. Not John! He's been aggressive in his efforts and secured a printing sponsor to produce his D.E.A. (Diabetes Education Awareness) information kits as well as a vinyl graphics sponsor to do a special themed D.E.A. wrap on his car. John is doing an incredible job and all of us at LVMS are proud of what he has accomplished so quickly. He's an inspiration for everyone. His win on Saturday morning was his first since being diagnosed with diabetes and it completes another chapter in the very interesting story of a unique driver.

That's three examples of three winners who were racing for a cause this weekend. Just as author Malvin Wald stated that there are "Eight million stories in the naked city," there are probably just as many interesting stories floating around in the various pit areas at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The only way you can really find out is to experience it for yourself. Sometimes you have to do a little digging to get to know the colorful characters but it's much better than being force fed your entertainment through the television set.

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Back to pushing tickets...

The Bullring is off this weekend as the drivers and crews repair their cars from all the carnage from this past weekend's rolling demolition derby. Those guys get back at it on May 16 when the Super Clean Modified Series headlines another great weekend of Whelen All-American Racing Series action.

This weekend The Strip is active with a test 'n' tune on Friday night, the Wicked HP Championship Series on Saturday night and the Western States Corvette Council Drags and Street Wars on Sunday. Admission each day is only $10 for adults and just $5 for kids 6-12. 5 and under are always free.

Saturday's Strip event is a great night to get out of the house and just relax at the races. We're hosting our "Hot Rods, Hot Dogs, Bikes and Budweiser" Cruise Night in the Club Nitro area. Local car and motorcycle clubs will be on hand displaying classic street rods, old race cars, custom projects and unique choppers (it's free admission if you bring your classic car or motorcycle out to The Strip). Smack dab in the middle of the car show you'll be able to buy a $1 hot dog and $1 Budweiser while looking at the cars or just chatting with your friends.

The action on the track this weekend is very special to us as we host the second annual Jason Whitenack Memorial Motorcycle Shootout. Our local motorcycle class pays tribute to our late, great class champion with a special purse, special trophies and great memories of the guy who helped build motorcycle drag racing in Las Vegas. Jason's father Dave and the entire Whitenack family have worked hard on this event and we expect a tremendous turnout of racers from all across the region for this special event.

With that, so long for this edition of Blair's Blog and I hope I can come up with something special for next week. We have the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series invading The Strip with more than 200 nostalgia racers as well as an incredible car show produced by Art Kam and the Las Vegas Cruisin' Association. I'm trying to come up with some "American Graffiti" themed story to get you in the mood for some old school racing action.

P.S. -

For more information on John Randell's D.E.A. campaign you can shoot him an e-mail at prandell@juno.com -or- you can call 702-812-0621.

For more information on Speedway Children's Charities, visit the website through the link at LVMS.com

Who came up with the idea to cram this much stuff into one weekend?

Chris Blair

One of the great things about Las Vegas Motor Speedway is that we have so many racing venues. On any given weekend you can find multiple activities taking place to keep you entertained. This weekend we are cranking it up a bit as both The Strip and the Bullring have three full days of racing activities scheduled. In fact, both venues are hosting multiple events on Saturday, which will make this weekend a race fan's dream.

We'll start out with a description of the activities taking place over at Gate 2 off of Las Vegas Boulevard. On Friday night the great folks at 600 Racing will host another round of INEX National point races for Legends, Thunder Roadster and Bandoleros at the Bullring. The Friday night shows are very laid-back and are focused on fun for the participant. Drivers race strictly for trophies and valuable National points. With this being the first of three days of racing, we expect a huge turnout of racers in the INEX classes as well dozens of cars testing. The great part about Friday night at the Bullring is that spectator admission is free.

The Bullring is very busy on Saturday and the action heats up early. The United States Auto Club (USAC) .25 Midget Series hosts their second points race of the season on the Bullring's kart track. Racers ranging in age from 6 to 16 will be competing on the 3/8 mile oval starting at 9 a.m. and will run until approximately 2 p.m. This is the last race before June's big USAC Blackjack 200 National Qualifying event so there's lots of pressure on these young stars to get their cars dialed-in for the big show. Spectator admission is free and it's a great opportunity for you to check out one of the neatest forms of racing if you have a child or grandchild who may want to get into the spotlight.

Saturday night the Bullring heats up with the fourth NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series event of the 2009 season. In the three races held so far, the action has been absolutely amazing in all of our regular classes. Also on tap for Saturday night is the return of the popular Baby Grand National cars. A large number of cars are traveling to Las Vegas for a gathering of Baby Grand National clubs from Canada, Washington and California. Last year they put on an incredible show that would lead you to believe you are watching a Sprint Cup race on a superspeedway.

The big experiment of the weekend comes on Sunday as the Bullring hosts a very, very rare daytime event. The SRL Southwest Tour will make their second appearance at the Bullring with a full show of qualifying and a 121-lap feature. Back in November, the SRL came to Las Vegas where local teen sensation Bear Rzesnowiecky made his series debut and also captured the win. Several local drivers are looking for rides for this event and the SRL will be bringing along close to 30 of the best touring cars in the Sothwest. In addition to the tour cars, Sunday's event will also feature two features for the Baby Grand Nationals as well as INEX National Championship Qualifier events for Roadsters, Bandoleros and Legends. It will be a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Keep in mind that all of the Bullring events are based on fan-friendly value. If you purchase your tickets before 5 p.m. on Friday you can get admission to each day's racing for just five dolalrs. Add that to our great $1 hot dog, $1 beer and $1 coke menu and that should get your wallet stimulated.

America's Greatest Drag Strip has another busy weekend ahead that will keep all of our local drag racing enthusiasts busy. On Friday night we'll host our standard Test 'n' Tune from 5 - 9 p.m. and then we kick off another night of Midnight Mayhem presented by MetroPCS from 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. All of the local car enthusiasts are fired up after watching the latest Fast and Furious movie so we expect another huge turnout of street legal cars who want to play drag racer. Our Midnight Mayhem events are all based on having fun and giving racers a chance to enjoy their car in a safe environment, we expect to have another successful show this Friday.

On Saturday morning more than 50 youngsters from Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah will converge for race number four of the Short Line Express Market/Chevron Jr. Drag Racing Series. Just as the USAC .25 cars are the stepping stone for oval racers, the NHRA Jr. Dragsters have opened the door for many of today's Powerade Series racers. Saturday's Jr. program includes a round of time trials, qualifying and eliminations. The action gets underway at 9 a.m.

As soon as the Jr. Dragsters clear the track (at approximately 4 p.m.) the quarter-mile heats up with point race number three of the Wicked HP Championship Drag Racing Series. More than 200 cars will be in competition on Saturday night including Motorcycle, High School, Sportsman, Pro and Super Pro brackets. In addition to the on-track activies, the Club Nitro area will feature the second "Hot Rods, Hot Dogs, Bikes and Budweiser" Cruise Night. All classic hot rods and custom bikes are admitted for free and the midway area features the most important part of a Saturday night car gathering: $1 beer and $1 hot dogs!

Racing in the Wicked HP Championship Series continues on Sunday with race number four and another complete program of bracket racing action. The two-day, two-show format is very popular with racers and fans alike and we expect a great turnout .

So, that is pretty much a preview of the busy weekend that's ahead for the racing operations department at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Five complete shows at The Strip and four complete shows at the Bullring. If you love racing at an affordable price the whole family can enjoy, then don't miss out. The weather forecast is great and there's never been a better excuse to get off the couch.

Talking Racing with the Governor

Chris Blair

It was an interesting day today.

First off, the NHRA testing ban on Nitro cars was officially lifted on Monday and today Bob Tasca had his Funny Car on America's Greatest Drag Strip.

Our crew was anxious to get back to doing what we do better than any other track in the country...running nitro powered race cars. We are the premiere testing facility and we've missed out on shooting cars down the quarter-mile...I mean 1,000 footer...for quite some time. I'm glad to say that we're back in business and are proud to be helping the teams get ready for the 2009 season.

After making sure the timing system was hooked up and that our crew had the track dialed-in, I put on the old coat and tie and took off with our P.R. Director Jeff Motley to the State Government Building to meet with Gov. Jim Gibbons. One of the great things that NASCAR has put in place for the Whelen All-American Challenge Series is that each state champion gets a meet-and-greet opportunity with their governor. Motley got our program put in place and we met up with the Bullring track champion Scott Gafforini this morning for this special occasion.

It was an interesting meeting as Gov.Gibbons told us about his love for high-performance driving. He's been through several police agency driving programs and told us about his desire to really go through a high performance racing school. Soon the subject changed from Scotty's championship and trophy to the governor's love of muscle cars. He informed us that he's in the middle of getting an engine rebuilt and is looking at putting a 400 turbojet tranny in his car. That's when Scott told him that if he really wanted to get the car off the line a little better to consider some other options. It was quite surreal. The governor was talking about drag racing, Scotty was talking about street rods and I was thinking about just how cool it is that the governor is a car guy. He asked me to send him a schedule of races because he not only wants to come out to The Strip but he also wants to make a few passes in his own car.

That makes me wonder if we could put together an event out here where we get 50 equally matched cars, strap in 50 governors and let them run the oval, the drag strip and the road course. I'm going to see if our public relations staff of Motley, John Bisci and Aubrey Hall can make that happen. If they can, I'm going to be crew chief for the governor from Alaska...no offense Gov. Gibbons but that would be way cool.

Full Throttle Racing Season

Chris Blair

This week I realized that our incredible "special event season" is now at full throttle.  In some ways it gets me excited as we have lots of great racing ahead of us but, at the same time, there's a lot of work to be done.

This weekend The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway sees the return of the most insane group of drag racers on the planet...the stars of the Pacific Street Car Association (PSCA).  This will be the third stop of the season for PSCA and the final tune-up before next month's $300,000 Street Car Super Nationals IV.  This means that we'll see a lot of new cars and new drivers who are in town gearing up for that event. My good friend Larry Pfister of Horsepowerheaven.com has been keeping me updated with the huge number of cars that are heading this way from Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest and there's some excitement buzzing.

If you have never attended a Pro Street event then you really should check it out.  Pro Street cars are basically a pro stock or pro mod bodied car with huge motors, turbos, nitrous, blowers, flux capacitators, and plutonium.  Well, I made that part up about flux capacitators and plutonium...but most of the guys tuning these cars are mad scientists. They push these things to the limit, and then some.  When they go, they go fast. When they blow, they blow in a big way. 

The only people that are crazier than the tuners are the drivers themselves!  These guys strap themselves into full bodied rockets and the last thing they are going to do is lift.  When they hit pre-stage on the Christmas tree you hear motors redlining, turbos winding, flames shooting out exhaust and then they launch. When they jump off the starting line, you just hope they go straight.  They keep me on the edge of my seat hoping that they make it from point A to point B without crashing through points C, D, E and F!   There have been a few days when I thought that PSCA actually stood for "PLEASE STOP CRASHING AUTOMOBILES!"

If you love fast cars and want to really increase your pulse rate, this is one show you can't miss.  230 miles per hour in a full-bodied car on small tires is something everyone should experience.

In addition to the PSCA event, we're also getting everything dialed in for the Fall Classic Open Competition at the Bullring, the huge week of activities surrounding the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals and the 22 days of racing we have on tap in the month of November.  When we say it's busy season, it's busy season.

A Weekend off to Rest

Chris Blair

This past weekend was pretty unusual for us as The Strip and the Bullring were both empty for a change.  We originally left this past weekend open in the event that a track rental took place and when it didn't, it was too late to put something together.  It all worked out well though because the weather in Las Vegas was really weird, and our crew was ready for a much needed break.

Since I won't have too many opportunities to do something special with my family for the next couple of months, I decided that this would be a weekend of rest, but it didn't actually work out that way.

Most folks look at a weekend of rest as a time to lie around the house, watch football and maybe fire up some brats on the grill.  That was our original plan, but it soon changed.

On Friday, some of my former co-workers invited us down to the MGM Grand to watch the U.S. Open of Supercross. My son, Austin enjoyed the show especially since it was the first time he had seen a motorcycle race in nearly four years. It was also good for me and my wife as we got to catch up with some of our old friends.  I used to work for the company that produces the Supercross, Arenacross and Monster Jam events back in the mid-90's and hadn't seen some of these guys in many, many years. Austin was excited because it was the first time he had seen James "Bubba" Stewart live and was really happy to see him sweep Friday's show.

Saturday I attended my first-ever quarter scale remote control car event at Boulder City RC Raceway.  I've always been interested in the radio control cars and had been promising Austin that we'd check them out.  We drove down there to find factory teams and huge trailers from as far away as Washington racing on this impressive little oval.  It was fun watching the cars in action and the craftsmanship these guys put into them.  From there, Austin and I drove back out to LVMS to watch the Stars of Karting Series presented by Indy Racing League in the infield of the superspeedway. It was a great show and the cubic dollars floating around in karting is absolutely unbelievable.

The final leg of my weekend of rest came on Sunday.  My two favorite teams in the NFL are the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers and it just so happened that they were playing one another and some tickets fell in my lap.  I was able to find a cheap fare, left Vegas at 7 a.m. and arrived in Seattle at 9:40 a.m.  My friend Tony Adams from Renegade Raceways (in lovely Yakima) met me at the airport and off to the game we went.  I found out that Jay Livingston from Woodburn Dragstrip and Jason Murray (who covers drag racing for a variety of websites and magazines) were also in route to the game. It was like a Northwest Drag Racing reunion at Qwest Stadium. 

The last time I saw these two teams play was two years ago during the Monday night game when it snowed like crazy.  This time around it was a perfect fall day in Seattle and the perfect setting for the perfect game.  The good news is that my number two team won.  The bad news is that they beat my number one team. 

When I got home at 11 p.m. on Sunday night, I realized how much I crammed into just a couple of days. I got to catch up with a lot of old friends, got to see some great events, was able to spend some quality time with the family, and got to visit my favorite city all in a period of about 54 hours. Oh, and I forgot to mention that our post game meal was at the Metropolitan Grill in downtown Seattle and the best part was that Tony picked up the tab!

There are lots of things going on and I promise that I will try to keep updating the blog with information on all of the exciting things coming up at LVMS. We're also in the process of working with a few of our celebrity friends to come up with some interesting blogs throughout the Fall Classic, the Nationals, the Lucas Oil race and the other shows so keep checking back!

A Busy Weekend at The Strip

Chris Blair

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway takes on a different feel this weekend. Our Jerry's Nugget Championship Drag Racing Series is behind us and now we're preparing for the 'special events season,' when the various racing groups make their way into town for season-ending championship events. Over the course of the next two months The Strip will host more than 2,500 racers from all areas of the country. This Friday night we continue with our popular test 'n' tune and Midnight Mayhem program.  The 2008 Mayhem season is winding down and we expect to see a great turnout of participants. 

Saturday, we will wrap up the final Short Line Express Market Junior Dragster Championship Series event of 2008. We've had a great season of junior drag racing with lots of new participants, a variety of winners and an overall fun racing atmosphere.  Several of our racers will be racing with us for the final time as they have reached the age limit and are now moving onto bracket racing, super categories and other adventures.  We've watched some of these kids from the first time they ever strapped on a helmet and now they are young adults who are graduating on to bigger and better things.  In some ways it's sad to see them move on but, at the same time, it's fun seeing them tackle a new challenge. 

As I said earlier, our junior program was great this season and we expect it to be even bigger and better in 2009.  We're expanding the schedule to 12 Short Line Series events, an NHRA Jr. Divisional race, a special event that will be co-produced with Lucas Oil, our first ever junior night race and a season-ending special event.  We know that some people are dreading having their cars in the garage for the four-month off season, but they will need that time to prepare for all the racing in 2009.

On Saturday night we have a really interesting show in store: Super Tuner Saturday Night.  This is the eighth season for this popular event that combines the "Supras Invade Las Vegas Show" with a variety of other local car clubs for an interesting night of racing. This year, the Supras will be joined by the Las Vegas Corvette Association, the Buick Grand National club, the Las Vegas GTO owners group, and local bracket racers. You'll be able to see everything from a street legal 13-second GTO, to a nitrous snortin' pro stock style Supra that will run close to 200 miles per hour, all in one night.

Then, on Sunday, we wrap up our weekend with the longest running touring show in Las Vegas drag racing, Bug 'o' Rama.  Steve Hole and the guys from Sacramento, Calif. have been pulling into Las Vegas with this show well before we had The Strip. They do an amazing job with hundreds of show cars, a unique midway and an interesting racing program.  Even if you aren't a fan of Volkswagens, this is one show that's just fun to see.

I plan on posting several blogs in the weeks to come. We have lots of great events coming up at The Strip, the Bullring and the Dirt Track. Every show is different from the next and there's some interesting stories behind each. 

Thanks again to all of the local racers who supported the Bullring and the Strip in 2008.  In spite of the current economy, these folks proved that racing comes first and they made a tremendous amount of sacrifices to keep the cars on the track this season. Our 2009 schedules are about 80 percent complete and we think everyone will be happy with what we have in store.

Gearing up for Formula Drift and Battle of the Imports

Chris Blair

This was truly a special holiday weekend for me and my family as we attempted to do things that 'normal' people do on holiday weekends.  For us we're either at the track hosting a multi-day event (which we do on both Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekend) or we're traveling somewhere in hopes of seeing or participating in a race at another facility.  My wife Heather and I have been together for twelve years and this is the first time we've ever stayed in town or not worked for an entire holiday weekend.

We wrapped up the work week on Thursday with the ninth annual "Night of Fire" event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring.  This event continues to develop as one of the most entertaining events in all of short track racing and is now becoming legendary for the size of the crowd, the amazing fireworks and the carnival-like atmosphere it creates.  This year we not only attracted our core group of fans but also a tremendous number of out-of-town guests.  I met folks from Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Oregon who attended this year's event after reading about it on the internet and hearing about it from their friends.  Many of them were pulling off racing road-trips with visits planned to Las Vegas on Thursday, Twin Falls on Friday and Salt Lake on Saturday.  We gave them an incredible show that you can read about elsewhere on LVMS.com.  Our racing operations team brought together several classes of local racing, a jet car burning a hearse, an exciting USAC Focus Midget race, 10 time World Trials Champion Geoff Aaron doing motorcycle stunts, the Team Mopar drift team throwing it sideways, and a great fireworks show.  It was truly an amazing evening and everyone on the LVMS staff did a fantastic job producing a first class event.  (I would also like to thank everyone who paid $20 to Speedway Children's Charities and tried to drown me in the dunk tank...it actually felt good considering it was 110 degrees outside).

My original plan for the weekend was to do nothing in an attempt to stay cool.....that lasted for just a short time.  With our Formula Drift event coming up this weekend there was a lot to do in preparation for the show.  This Thursday we're hosting a karting event at Pole Position Raceway with the stars of drifting versus the stars of sport compact drag racing.  Since I'm going to be racing against people like Samuel Hubinette, Tanner Foust, Rhys Millen and several other "pros" I decided some practice was necessary so I called up a group of friends to give me a challenge.  In our first race USAC Midget driver Lance Butler (who only weighs 125 pounds) took the win followed by me, Heather, chassis builder Michael Turner and Lance's dad Steve Butler.  The first event ran caution free, no one destroyed anything and everyone was laughing and smiling...then we made the mistake of having a second race and inverting the field.

In the second race I accidentally stuffed Lance into the barriers on the start. He slipped by me going down the first straightaway and squeezed my kart into an inside barrier.  On the start of the second lap Lance gave Heather a shove going into a tight hairpin and she stuffed her kart under the barricade (it took 24 hours to get him to admit that he did it...everyone was convinced it was me).  It took three people to get her out from under the barrier and I seriously thought the wife was done for the night...WRONG!  Heather was given a replacement kart and we restarted the event with her directly in front of me.  For the next 11 laps we had an all out dogfight.  Just when I thought I had her set up for a pass she would change her line or brake hard in the turn. She would pull away a bit on the straights and I would catch her in the turns.  I wanted to race her clean but I saw that the only way I was going to get her would involve me knocking her out of the way.  

This is where I had a dilemma.  Do I race her clean, let her finish in front of me and then have to hear about it for eternity? -or- do I treat her like one of the guys and race her hard?  I took the second option.  With two corners to go on the final lap I gave Heather a slight tap to knock her out of the groove, stuck the nose of my kart to the inside of hers and when she tried to get back in the racing groove I turned her sideways.  Heather is an amazing driver and, even though I had her almost completely sideways, was able to keep the car from spinning out but it was just enough for me to get by for the position.  As I passed by the finish line I could see the look on the faces of Flaven Butler and Marissa Turner and I realized the magnitude of my actions...I actually took my wife out to get a third place finish in a go kart race!  This is where I will go on record as saying that I have the greatest wife in the world and she understands how competitive I am and she shares that same drive.  I know that if it ever came down to it she would probably crash me out to win as well...and I love her for it!   It was a great time and I appreciate Brad Mark and the crew at Pole Position for not tossing us out.  I'm dialed in and ready for this Thursday's event...my goal is to finish ahead of at least one of those aforementioned professional racers.  We might also have the "Battle-of-the-Blairs Round 2"...find out between 7 and 8:30 p.m. this Thursday at Pole Position.  You can meet some great drift and drag racers, watch them race and you might get to see me beaten by my wife. 

Saturday was spent at home with 18 of our closest friends, watching the Daytona race, grilling out and playing mini-golf as well as the Jeg's bean bag game.  This time around Heather and I decided to play on the same team in the bean bag game (also known as cornhole) and went 5-0 in tournament competition - we didn't engage in any competitive activity against one another after Friday night's battle.  Sunday was more prep for Formula Drift and Battle of the Imports as well as a great day viewing the British Grand Prix, the IRL race from Watkin's Glen, the Pinks All-Out Out Takes show from our event last September and watching my buddy Gary Scelzi on Wind Tunnel.   Other than working on my son Austin's quarter-midget and doing some shakedown runs on his Bandolero it was all about relaxing this weekend.  It felt nice and I hope to do it again sometime.

We're now knee deep in preparation for the Formula Drift and Battle of the Imports event.  Throughout the weekend I was exchanging calls, e-mails and texts with both sanctioning groups to fine-tune the show.  Our midway is going to be bigger than expected, we're going to have more than twice the number of drift teams than last year and the support we're receiving from the sanctioning groups is amazing.  It's a tremendous balancing act to keep everyone on the same page but I feel like everyone is working together to create a fantastic event.  We're in the process of transforming our dragstrip pro pit area into a 6,000 seat "drift arena," we'll have more than 200 sport compact drag racers (and a couple of jet cars), a huge car show and all sorts of other automotive lifestyle activities.  It really is a three-ring circus for automotive activity that everyone should experience at least one time. 

Once that show is behind us we slow down for our summer break.  The drag strip is quiet until August 1 and the Bullring is on a break until August 2.  For the first time in many, many years I'm skipping the NHRA National Event in Seattle to go back to Charlotte for a few days.  The family and I are going to watch the Summer Shoot-out event at Lowe's Motor Speedway, tour the construction site for the new zMAX Dragway and visit with my parents who are meeting us in Charlotte.  Our racing operations staff is using this time to finalize our 2009 event schedule as well as prepare for our huge September, October and November races.  I'm also working with the great folks at Belfab Racing Products and Tanner Racing to put together a new quarter midget for Austin to replace the one he just outgrew and we're getting dialed in for his debut in Bandoleros next month.

I would like to thank all of the fans and participants who not only visit our live events but also check out LVMS.com.  This is my first official blog entry and I'm honored that our public relations staff asked me to participate. I'm sure I'll be visiting with you again soon to talk about our incredible events, brag about my kid and to give you updates on the marriage counseling and/or divorce proceedings should the wife and I join one of the karting leagues.  Until then, see you at the races.