'New' Las Vegas track ready for its big debut (cont'd)

Construction crews worked 12-hour days to get the work done. Powell's project managers told him that if he ever saw crews working around the clock -- which they had the capacity to do -- then it was time to really worry. But it never got to that point.

"These people are professionals," Powell said. "They can get a lot of things done in five or six weeks."

What they've done over the last year is increase the 1.5-mile track's banking from 12 to 20 degrees, move pit road 150 feet closer to the frontstretch grandstand, and build a multi-tiered garage viewing area that will draw immediate comparisons to the Nextel Fan Zone at Daytona International Speedway. One difference is that fans at Las Vegas will be able to look down into the work stalls "similar to the way a surgeon's class looks down on an operation," Powell said.

Now the mystery moves from the infield to the racetrack, where seven different drivers crashed during the two-day Nextel Cup test in January. As a response to that wreck-filled session, Goodyear implemented a harder left-side tire, and NASCAR mandated a smaller, 13-gallon fuel cell. It's a strategy similar to the one employed in the wake of the 2005 tire-blowing debacle at Lowe's Motor Speedway, with the goal of forcing more pit stops and extending tire wear.

"Is it the right thing to do? I hope it is," said former Las Vegas resident Kurt Busch. "I definitely know that bringing a small fuel cell will help ease the pain Goodyear officials think is coming our way. Through the harder tire and the smaller cell, we should have the right balance for the most racing action we can possibly find."

Now, despite a test session and nine previous years of racing at Las Vegas, the track is suddenly very much an unknown. The top speed in testing was Elliott Sadler's lap of 188.772 mph, markedly faster than Kasey Kahne's track record of 174.904 set in 2004. Some drivers will approach practice as if they're racing on a facility they've never seen before.

"I can promise you one thing, I'll make more laps in my first run of the day than I would if I were in a sprint or a midget car practicing at a new track," said Tony Stewart, slated to compete in both the Busch and Nextel Cup events this weekend. "... At Las Vegas, I'll use all of the practice time they'll give us. It's just a matter of going out and using the track time as if you were testing. You go out and sneak up on it, steadily improving yourself with each lap."