K&N Series to race on dirt at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Are you ready for a quadruple-header?

The first NASCAR K&N Pro Series race on dirt will kick off the second of Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s two NASCAR race weekends in 2018, according to a source close to the series.

The race will get the green flag Thursday night, Sept. 13, followed by Truck Series and Xfinity Series races Friday and Saturday and the NASCAR South Point 400 Cup Series playoff race Sunday.

It is hoped the K&N event will attract drivers from those races to the LVMS dirt track. A race on dirt with a star-studded field combined with an early-arriving NASCAR tripleheader crowd is almost assured to be a success.

The K&N Series, which offers East and West divisions, is considered NASCAR’s top development series. Alumni include Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace, 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and 2018 Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. A number of Cup Series crew chiefs also have developed their skills in K&N.

Other tracks that will host K&N Series races in 2018 are Bristol Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Gateway Motorsports Park, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway.

Green, white, checkered

— Just as soon as he thanked his team and sponsors at the Champion’s Week Awards on Nov. 30 at Wynn Las Vegas, Kyle Busch hopped on a plane to Florida, where he won the 50th running of the Snowball Derby in Pensacola. Noah Gragson, the Las Vegas teenager who drives for Busch in NASCAR’s Truck Series, finished 12th. It was Busch’s second victory in the late model showcase, which attracted the usual complement of drivers from NASCAR’s support series.

— Las Vegan Riley Herbst will receive the 2017 SCOTT Rookie of the Year for the ARCA Racing Series at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on Saturday. The 18-year-old, who won the ARCA event in Pocono, Pennsylvania, in his first drive on the 2.5-mile oval, will return as driver of Joe Gibbs’ No. 18 Toyota in 2018. He will be presented a check for $10,000 for winning ARCA rookie honors.

— The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will open its 2018 season March 10 with the first of 14 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series programs. The season will run through Nov. 17 when the West Coast Short Track Championships return to the three-eighths-mile paved oval. Special offerings include Hometown Heroes Night (April 21), Military Appreciation Night (May 5), the Chris Trickle Classic (June 16) and Pack the Track Night (Sept. 22). The popular Night of Fire is set for July 3, with the Senator’s Fall Cup Classic returning Oct. 19 and 20.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.