Duel in the Desert set for Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s dirt track

Nearly 300 race teams from throughout the country and Canada will bring the dirt track back to life this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The 13th annual Duel in the Desert will be the first race on the half-mile oval since March. Practice and heat races began Thursday and will continue through Saturday night, when the winner of the IMCA Modified race will win $7,777.

The support race for the event will feature IMCA Stock Cars.

Among the Modifieds entered is reigning event champion Johnny Saathoff of Beatrice, Neb. He also won the title in 2004.

Drivers will represent 25 states and three Canadian provinces in the year's biggest dirt Modified race west of Iowa.

Thirteen Las Vegas racers are entered, including Dan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, 37, won the 100th Modified feature of his career in October at Pahrump Valley Speedway, where he is the IMCA Modified points leader.

The Duel in the Desert will be available for the first time on the pay-per-view website SpeedwayChannel.com for live viewing or as a download. Nationally renowned dirt announcer Toby Kruse of Boone, Iowa, and regular speedway announcer Chet Christner will anchor the telecast.

■ CHAMPION'S WEEK -- Plans have been finalized for the second annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion's Week in Las Vegas to be held Dec. 1 through the Dec. 3 awards banquet at Wynn Las Vegas.

Festivities begin Dec. 1, with the Chasers for Charity event in the Neon Garage at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The top 12 drivers in the Cup series will participate in a "Family Feud"-style game show that is free to the public.

The following day, drivers will parade in Cup cars for a "victory lap" from Planet Hollywood on Las Vegas Boulevard to the Hard Rock Hotel before attending NASCAR's "After the Lap" inside the Hard Rock, where limited seating is free to the public for an informal question-and-answer session.

For information: LVMS.com.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.