Friday, March 11, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Champ Busch plans another outing

By JEFF WOLF
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch hasn't forgotten his roots.

Star Nursery owner Craig Keough of Las Vegas gave Busch his first opportunity to race in a regional series, and he has found another way to return the favor.

Already making a number of special appearances around town since Saturday, Busch has added another date to his hectic schedule.

The Las Vegas native will be at Keough's newest nursery from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday. It's located at 5380 Blue Diamond Road.

• QUALIFYING FORMAT -- The qualifying and practice schedule for the Cup and Busch series this weekend is virtually unchanged from previous years, unlike the schedule used at the previous Cup race in Fontana, Calif., and several upcoming races. ...

This year's format for determining who makes the 43-car fields in each series is new.

Teams that finished last year in the top 35 based on car owners' standings are guaranteed starting positions in each race. This year's standings will not be used until after five races.

The rest of the 43-car starting field will be determined by qualifying speed, but one spot can be used for a past series champion who competed last year but did not make the show based on the first two criteria. However, no past champion entered in this race is outside the top 35, so the eight fastest cars outside last season's top 35 will get in.

• NASCAR DRIVERS: 360 -- Kurt Busch will be shadowed by a film crew from FX (Cable 24) for his part in the cable network's NASCAR Drivers 360, an unscripted series that gives viewers a look at eight drivers, their families and teams mostly when they are not at the racetrack.

Other drivers in the series are Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace.

The second season of the show debuts 7:30 p.m. May 13 and runs for seven weeks.

• SPEED STAGE -- The stage used for Speed Channel (Digital 329) NASCAR programming is erected outside the track near the first turn for several live programs over the weekend.

Here's a summary of the programming:

Today: NASCAR LIVE, 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon; Trackside, 7 p.m. (hosts Steve Byrnes, Jeff Hammond, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip with guests Jason Leffler, Travis Kvapil, Reed Sorenson and Brian Pattie); Trackside, 7 p.m.

Saturday: NASCAR Live, 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 4:30 p.m.; NASCAR Performance, 3:30 p.m. (host Dick Berggren with guests crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Robert "Bootie" Barker ).

Sunday: NASCAR This Morning, 8 a.m. (Hosts John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer, Kenny Wallace and a guest to be announced); NASCAR Live, 10 a.m.; NASCAR Victory Lane, 5 p.m.