Off-roaders get jump on 2010 season
Can you believe the SCORE Desert Series opens its 2010 season today in Laughlin?
Or that NASCAR teams invade Daytona Beach, Fla., in three weeks to start their season?
And three weeks after that they'll take over Las Vegas Motor Speedway?
Yeesh. Didn't Santa just leave town?
We have a lot of catching up to do, so let's drop the green flag on 2010.
• NASCAR -- Don't be confused when you see ads for the Feb. 28 Shelby American NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the speedway.
You might see a logo for the event that shows "GT350," part of a Shelby American salute to its historic GT350 car models and not a reference to the race being 350 miles.
This year's Cup race reverts to the traditional 400-mile distance after being extended by 27 miles a year ago to honor the Shelby 427 lines of Cobras and Mustangs. ...
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., chopped 100 miles off its Oct. 10 Cup race. It will go from 500 to 400 miles. No, ticket prices will not be reduced by 20 percent. ...
Glad to see that Las Vegan Brendan Gaughan will return to driving full time for Rusty Wallace Racing in the Nationwide Series.
• DRAG RACING -- Not much news from NHRA other than that legend Don Prudhomme announced this week he will not field a team in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. It will be the first time in 47 years that "The Snake" has not been part of professional drag racing. ...
No official word on how many Nitro Funny Cars will be fielded by John Force Racing, but rumors are it could drop from four to three. The big change would be parking Mike Neff's car and making Neff the crew chief for Force.
• TESTING, TESTING -- Until last year, NASCAR and NHRA pro teams spent a few January days at LVMS. That ended last year when preseason testing was all but eliminated to save teams money.
The only pro preview at the speedway will be the Pro Stock Showdown on Feb. 5 and 6, when several NHRA factory hot rods will compete.
Don't expect many -- if any -- nitro teams to spend time at LVMS before the nationals (April 16 to 18). A few are testing in Florida this week at Palm Beach International Raceway, and others will be at Firebird International Raceway near Chandler, Ariz., in a few weeks.
• OPEN WHEEL -- Good news for Henderson's Sam Schmidt. Not only will he return with teams in the IRL's Firestone Indy Lights Series, but Schmidt has reached a deal to join with Chip Ganassi Racing in fielding an entry in this year's Indy 500. ...
The return of Michael Schumacher, 42, to Formula One after a three-year sabbatical is great news. The seven-time F1 champ will drive for Mercedes.
• FRIENDS LOST -- Last year ended on a sad note, and this year started on a sad one.
Keri Wright, the ticket manager at LVMS who also ran the Bullring in 2002, died on Dec. 23 in Denver, N.C. She was 41.
On Saturday, Jason Dubs, 37, died from injuries sustained in a Jan. 4 moped accident. He had worked at the LVMS dragstrip since 2003, most recently as the race starter.
They left our world too soon and will be missed.
Jeff Wolf's motor sports column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247. Visit Wolf's motor sports blog at lvrj.com/blogs/heavypedal/ throughout the week.
