Winston Cup eyes Las Vegas

      Richard Petty said Thursday night that Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be a "super facility" for the Winston Cup Series. NASCAR officials appear to have the same opinion.
      KTNV-TV reported Thursday night that LVMS will have a Winston Cup race the first weekend in March 1998, quoting two unidentified NASCAR sources. An official announcement will come in a few weeks, the station reported.
      Petty, the King of NASCAR, is in town to speak to a group of guest drivers at his Richard Petty Driving Experience. He confirmed he was aware a race had been approved for Las Vegas, but said he didn't feel it was his place to make the announcement.
      LVMS chairman Richie Clyne said any confirmation would be premature.
      "Nothing's been confirmed," Clyne said. "I know that rumor has been flying around, but nothing's in concrete yet. That news, when there is news, would have to come from (NASCAR president) Bill France. It would be music to my ears if that news was to be announced, but right now, we don't have anything confirmed."
      Petty said a Winston Cup date will immeasurably strengthen LVMS's stature in the racing community.
      "When they run the Winston cars here, it'll be great because it'll be new territory," he said. "From our standpoint, everybody who comes to Vegas comes from someplace else. We'll get people from everywhere to come here.
      "It'll really help the Vegas area in the sense that (speedway owners) have spent a lot of money, a lot of time. They have a super facility here, but nobody knows about it or pays any attention. But once they run a Winston Cup race, everybody will pay attention."
      Clyne said Wednesday's hiring of New Hampshire International Speedway owners Bob and Gary Bahre is part of the game plan to secure the top-level NASCAR race for Las Vegas. Opened in 1990, NHIS received its first Winston Cup race in 1995 and will host two races this year.
      "It took them five years to get a (Winston Cup) race there, and we're following their footsteps," Clyne said. "We had a successful Busch Grand National race there (LVMS) in March, and we want to build from there."
      Petty said he thinks LVMS is ready to have Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and the gang on the 1 1/2-mile tri-oval.
      "It's a super facility," Petty said. "They've run (NASCAR) truck races here, (NASCAR) Busch races here, so now we're ready for Winston Cup."
      Richmond, Va., is the traditional site for NASCAR on the first weekend in March. Poor weather in recent springs has race officials there looking at moving their date to April or May, which would open the door for Las Vegas.