Tracy welcomes 'home' race

"I guess from my standpoint, I'm speaking for not only myself but the other residents that are Champ Car drivers that live here in town, I can say we're very, very excited to be racing here," said Tracy. "I've talked to CART in the past about, 'Why don't we race in Vegas?' I guess the opportunity really wasn't the right opportunity. But now partnering up with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and our race on a Saturday night, a double-header, I think is a first for any motorsports to pull off two races at night.

"I'm very much looking forward to it. This is a first-class facility, a world-class event we're going to put on. I think we're going to help draw from the NASCAR fans and also show them a different type of a sport and hopefully bring in our own crowd."

When the prospect of a Champ Car race on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas tri-oval was raised in the past, some had questioned whether the track, which features 12-degree banking in all turns, three-degree banking on the backstretch and nine-degree banking on the front stretch, might prove too fast. OWRS principal Paul Gentilozzi said series officials have not yet settled on an aero package for the race, but indicated it will be developed with lap speeds in the 210-215mph range as the target.

"Lee Dykstra, our tech director, is doing simulations and reviewing that package now," Gentilozzi said. "We'll release something to the teams pretty shortly. But it is under study. We want to be very careful about what that final aero package is, based on our experience the last two years."