SCORE circuit taking shape

Work has begun on transforming the dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway into what promoters are calling "a chunk of Baja" for next weekend's SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup III.

The 1.5-mile circuit that starts and finishes in the infield of the half-mile dirt oval will include jumps and other features for the July 20-21 event, with racing starting at 7 each night.

The biggest change, however, is that the stadium-style race will be contested for series championship points for the first time. That has increased advance entries to nearly 100, about 30 more than raced a year ago.

Individual races will be held for SCORE Trophy-Trucks, unlimited SCORE Class 1 open-wheel desert race cars, Class 7 mini-trucks and open-wheel racers in Class 1-2/1600, Class 10 and SCORE Lite.

Spectators in the permanent grandstands will be able to watch the few remote parts of the course and action in the pits on a large LCD screen erected in the infield.

A first-time event racer in Trophy-Truck will be West Coast Choppers owner Jesse James, who is married to actress Sandra Bullock. Robby Gordon, last year's Trophy-Truck winner, has withdrawn from competition.

The event begins on 6 p.m. Thursday at the Fremont Street Experience with an autograph session, a race car display and the $10,000 Terrible's Pit Crew Challenge for Trophy-Trucks.

General admission for the racing is $15 Friday and $20 Saturday or $30 for both days. Children ages 3 and younger will be admitted free. Reserved seats are sold out for both days. For information or tickets, call 739-3267 or visit ScoreLasVegas.com.

• DRAG RACING -- Speed TV's "Pinks: All Out Las Vegas" will take place Sept. 8 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway dragstrip.

The popular heads-up drag racing show on Cox Digital 329 is an open competition that will pay the winner $10,000 out of an $18,000 purse.

The event is for any full-bodied "door car" -- meaning no dragsters, altereds or roadsters. Cars must complete the quarter-mile in 12.99 seconds or less.

Entrants can register at LVMS.com beginning Tuesday. For information, call 632-8213 or visit LVMS.com and SpeedTV.com/pinks.

• NASCAR -- Brad Keselowski will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in the next three NASCAR Busch Series races for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports team starting Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway. The move comes a week after Earnhardt announced he was replacing Shane Huffman after a midseason evaluation of the team's performance.

Keselowski, a 24-year-old native of Rochester Hills, Mich., drove for Keith Coleman Racing in the Busch Series until the team suspended operations last month. He was a last-minute replacement for Ted Musgrave at Germain Racing two weeks ago, when he won the pole and led four times but was spun out of the lead with nine laps left by eventual winner Travis Kvapil. ...

Las Vegas resident Patrick Carpentier said this week he will compete in the inaugural Busch race Aug. 4 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal in a Fitz Motorsports Dodge. The Quebec native is a regular driver in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, which will compete at the same circuit the same weekend.

• SPORTS CARS -- Las Vegas-based Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing won the GT2 pole for Sunday's American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, but damage from a minor crash relegated drivers Tomas Enge and Darren Turner to a seventh-place finish.