Stewart in for a Busy Weekend in Las Vegas

Tony Stewart isn’t going to get much rest this weekend in Las Vegas.

But it won’t be because the third-year Winston Cup driver is hitting the shows or the slots.

After changing out of his driving uniform each afternoon through Sunday, Stewart will slip into a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt and head for the dirt track, located just behind turn 4 on the big oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

At the dirt track, Stewart switches roles--from race driver to owner and crew member of a World of Outlaws sprint car team.

“It’s a good release for me to go out there and mess around with the car and just have a good time,” said Stewart, himself a former sprint car and midget star in the U.S. Auto Club. “The whole time I’m over at the dirt track, I’m not worried about what’s going on next door at the big track with my Winston Cup car.”

Stewart, the 1999 Winston Cup rookie of the year and last season’s leading winner with six victories, is fielding his World of Outlaws team for driver and friend Danny Lasoski.

“I’ve been in the same position he’s been in as a driver, as far as at the end of the year having your helmet in one hand, your seat in the other and wondering who you were going to be driving for the next year,” the boss said. “He’s got a wife and two kids and a new house and a new race shop. We’re just trying to help him a little bit financially and give him the opportunity to save some money for the future and put his kids through college.”

With Stewart, Lasoski has unusual job security for auto racing.

“He knows that as long as we’re together, and as long as he wants to do this, he’ll always have a ride,” Stewart said.

He laughs when people try to compare him with Joe Gibbs, the owner of the Pontiacs driven by Stewart and defending series champion Bobby Labonte in NASCAR’s top stock car series.

“I really try to play the car owner role during the race,” Stewart said. “I kind of play the crew guy role. If there’s something that needs to be done, and everybody else is busy, then I’m the guy who does it--whether it’s scraping mud off the car or grooving tires.

“We hired the right guys to do the job. I just stand back and help out when I can and stay out of their way when they’re busy. I have fun with it.”

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FLOWERY TRIBUTE: Las Vegas Motor Speedway is paying tribute to the late Dale Earnhardt with a huge floral display.

The Nevada track has configured 33,333 flowers on the berm that overlooks turn 4 of the 1 1/2-mile oval. That includes 28,000 pure white pansies planted in the shape of a giant 3, for Earnhardt’s car number. The trim around the number is composed of 5,333 red petunias.

“We believe this is a dignified way in which to honor the memory of Dale Earnhardt,” said Chris Powell, executive vice president and general manager of the speedway.

Earnhardt died in a crash Feb. 18 on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

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ALL AROUND GUY: If Mike Wallace makes it into the lineup for Sunday’s race, he will be the first driver to have raced at the Las Vegas track in every major stock car division.

Wallace previously raced in Vegas in the Busch, the Craftsman Truck and Winston West series.

The middle of the three racing brothers from Missouri likes the fast, smooth race track, but finds one problem racing in the desert gambling capital.

“Probably the biggest detriment to going to Las Vegas is most of your crew guys lose money when they’re out here,” he said. “A few of them do win, so that’s good. Hey, whatever it takes to keep morale up.”

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STAT OF THE WEEK: Roush Racing put five drivers in the top-10 finishers in the inaugural Las Vegas race in 1998 and Jack Roush’s drivers have won all three races at the desert track. Mark Martin won in 1998 and Jeff Burton has won the last two years.