Drivers excited about Vegas track

2003 champion and Las Vegas resident Paul Tracy believes that the circuit designers have managed to create a challenging layout despite the constraints of the urban environment.

"I had a chance to go down there and look at it the other night and it's going to be extremely fast, extremely smooth," he told ESPN.

"It's really hard to look at things on a map or on a picture, but the way the track lays out is a lot faster than you would see on a street drawing."

Rookie Alex Figge is similarly positive, comparing the Las Vegas design to the original full-length Long Beach layout used in the 1970s.

"The track looks very cool," Figge said in an ESPN interview.

"I know (Jimmy) Vasser had a lot to do with the designing of it and the guy knows his way around a street course, he's been in the game for a long time.

"There's a lot of elevation changes - from what I've seen and heard about it, it's a lot like the old Long Beach. So I think it's going to be really cool."