There's no better time than race weekend to jump on a bully pulpit, plant my size 10s firmly on it and begin pontificating about what's best for NASCAR.

Let it be heard loudly and clearly that Las Vegas should have two annual Nextel Cup races, more for the good of NASCAR than for the good of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Having two races at California Speedway near Los Angeles, where 90,000 seats can't be filled, is not in NASCAR's best interest. The world doesn't need to see that the country's second-biggest market can't fill its stands for Nextel Cup.

The combined crowds from both Cup races this year at California Speedway in Fontana barely -- if at all -- will surpass the 160,000 expected to attend Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.

The Sam's Town 300 Busch Series race Saturday at LVMS will put about 40,000 more in the stands than the estimated 80,000 that attended the Nextel Cup race in Fontana two weeks ago.

It was embarrassing for the sport of stock-car racing to show empty seats for the California race. It was a disgrace that the track's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on that Friday night couldn't draw more than a few thousand, and the next day's Busch race also was poorly attended.

NASCAR opened the season with another sellout for the Daytona 500, and that burst of enthusiasm shouldn't be followed a week later with such a poor showing in California.

NASCAR needs a bigger presence in Las Vegas if it wants to continue expanding its base among fans and sponsors.

The stock-car racing monolith has established Charlotte, N.C., as its East Coast base and relegated to secondary status its birthplace of Daytona Beach, Fla., the site of its world headquarters and famous Daytona International Speedway.

It's rumored NASCAR might move its headquarters from Daytona to the Charlotte area.

NASCAR picked Charlotte as the site for its new Hall of Fame and museum because that city has become more of a hub for the sport.

NASCAR's efforts to make Los Angeles its second hub have failed miserably. Let the Fontana track, about 60 miles from Los Angeles, have one Cup race, sell that out and create a demand for tickets that does not exist now.

NASCAR needs to follow the country's population shift, and that's shifted more toward Charlotte and Southern Nevada than to Southern California.

NASCAR shouldn't throw Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns LVMS, a bone for the $35 million in improvements we'll see today when the track opens for practice and qualifying.

The France family, which owns NASCAR, should want to showcase to current and potential sponsors its most modern facility. And that now is LVMS.

No city in the country offers more opportunities to entertain fat cats. NASCAR says its decisions are made solely for the good of the sport, and, if that's true, then it should work with SMI to get a second race for Las Vegas and make it part of the final 10-race Chase for the Championship.

NASCAR must quit working to expand schedules for its affiliated tracks owned by International Speedway Corp. Frankly, for the good of the sport, Las Vegas should have received two annual Cup races before Fontana and Phoenix, both tracks owned by ISC. Granted, those races came from other tracks owned by ISC.

The NASCAR doctrine has been that it will not give existing tracks a second date until it has reached its goal of expanding into new markets, such as New York City, Washington state and Denver, which, not coincidentally, are areas where ISC has been trying to build tracks.

NASCAR denies showing favoritism toward ISC tracks, but that's a refrain it should quit singing. Face it: NASCAR is owned by the France family, which controls the majority of stock in ISC.

And that's fine as long as it doesn't hinder the sport's growth.

NASCAR needs another showcase event, and the only market that can provide that is Las Vegas; it now has a racy track as well as the best amenities for fans.

For the good of the sport, stock-car racing needs to be on center stage in the world's entertainment capital more than once a year.

And that's no longer Los Angeles or New York City.

It's Las Vegas, baby.

Jeff Wolf's motor sports column is published Friday. He can be reached at 383-0247 or jwolf@reviewjournal.com.