Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

FEATU~·E·· I -_ _--.:-_-'-----'----'----'----_ L .. 1 La~ Vegas Motor Speedway By Scott Rousseau ·------~~~~;~~~~l:::~ Road Course - 2.48 miles Minim'"'1 width - 40 feel Las Vegas Motor Speedway LAS VEGAS, NY, JUNE 26 ead north on Interstate 15 away 'from the glitz and glamour that is Las Vegas, Nevada, look to the right as you pass Nellis Air Force Base, . and you can't miss it. Almost like a mirage, Richie Clyne's vision appears through the searing heat waves that nse up from the floor of the Southern Nevada desert. But the skeletal structure of the 150 hospitality suites that rise above the massive grandstands of Las Vegas Motor Speedway is no mirage_ They signal the coming of something much more permanent, a state-of-the-art mecca of speed to which racers and fans of all forms of motorsports are likely to journey well into the 21st century. And in his vision, Clyne intends to a(commodate them all on the 1500-acre, 24-venue facility, a massive $200 million project that should see completion in plenty of time to host and Indy Racing League event on the facility's 1.5-mile superspeedway on September 14-15. The event is five years in the making, and it Alternate track lengths: I--------------:--~ 1.07; 1.45; 2.14; .78 miles (Above) The shlIded area shows the 2.48-m11e rose! course thst Is contained within the confines of the 1.5-m11e superspeedwsy at Les Vegu Motor SpeedwlIy. (Right) Viewed from the pits, the spsedwsy's 150 VIP suit. . tower above the meln grendstend. Seating capsclty for the superspeeclway Is 102,000. (BeloW) Several permanent garage structures will grace the Infield, providing plenty of service spece for any type of racing. will mark the realization of a dream for Clyne, the executive administrator of the Imperial Auto Palace in.Las Vegas and one of the world's leading experts in classic and antique automobiles. His current collection is estimated at over $250 million. It was the IRL that took center stage during the LVMS media introduction on Iune 26 as several of the series' top Indycar drivers and teams, including 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier, four-time Indy winner A.I. Foyt's Copenhagen-backed team and Team Menard, took to the superspeedway during a twoday test session. And it was apparent that Oyne and the LVMS designers had done their homework where it pertains to the superspeedway. After the early morning practice sessions were complete, Menard's driver Mark Dismore had already posted a top speed of 213.532 mph around the 1.5-mile oval. Lazier was not far behind with a 213.464 mph speed. Clyne may be starting from the top, but the 1ndycars are just the beginning. For among the main attractions, the facility is also home to an Alan Wilsondesigned, 2.48-mile road course and '1egends car" pavement short track oval on the infield of the superspeedway, a quarter-mile dragstrip and two dirt tracks: a half-mile clay oval and an outdoor motocross course. Other four-wheeled sanctioning bodies such as NASCAR, NHRA and the World of Outlaws are all gearing up to hold National events at the facility either in late 1996 or dunng the 1997 racing season. Motorcycle racing was a major consideration when it came time for Wilson, the former director for the world-renowned Brands Hatch circuit in England and the designer of the recently completed GingerMan Raceway in Michigan, to design the road course within the tight confines of the l.5-mile superspeedway oval "I used to race bikes," Wilson said. "So at least I have a feeling for trying to accommodate their needs. I qecided that everything I did I was going to make work for bikes, because if it worked for bikes, then it would work for cars, but not the other way around." Some of Wilson's goals included designing comers that would minimize the chance of a rider high-siding into barriers, leaving the tighter corners for the slower infield section while using sweepers on the entrance to the superspeedway portions so as to bring the riders onto the oval's IS-degree banking as upright as possible to minimize both tire wear and the chance of a rider striking th" outside retaining wall at an acute angle, and getting the track to "flow" while providing "action zones" in the outer portions of the course that will allow spectators to see most of the passing from the main grandstands. Wilson also said that the track design offers enough runoff room virtually everywhere so as to minimize the need for excessive air fencing and other safety barriers, though more than enough will be in place at potential trouble spots to ensure rider safety. "You will have to ask the people who ride it if we succeeded (with the track design)," Wilson said. "But we sure tried." (Left) Speedway president Richie Clyne is the man with both the vision and the $200 million In private financing thst have brought the complex to fruition. (Below) ESPN television announcer Bob Jenkins opened up the medla-

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