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- Press room. It's behind the line. The big bleacher you see in the TV coverage and the ads parallels the track (OBVIOUSLY), but its size makes the track look short. Just an opinion.

- Track is just like the city. The lines between the rich and poor are sharply drawn. On the pitside, the big bleacher, an army--yes AN ARMY--of vendors hawking beer in the grandstands, the race cars, good food selection. The spectator side? Bleachers for

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maybe 2,000 butts, dirt and gravel, two beer kiosks, a couple of ice cream carts and a barbeque stand, and that's it. The view of the action, though, is as good as the rich guys.

- One good thing. It's windy in the desert. That big bleacher does protect the racers from the crosswind and they go pretty good ... until they get to the 1,000-foot, then well, it can get hairy.

- Back to the beer being sold in the stands. I love it. People come to Vegas to play, to party. Why not? As much as NHRA likes to present an image of corporate respectability (and that includes a conservative approach to beer sales) the Vegas people obviously have a different attitude. This is a wide-open town. Thank God or the Devil. The ghost of TOM PENDERGAS is alive and well in Las Vegas. I mean look at the world. When I get time off, I want that time off ... off the hook, son-of-a-gun.

- And now, the times. The first session of Pro Stock was awful, must be the 2,000-foot plus altitude, but one 6.8 (Hooray Scott Geoffrion), and three 200s. Look at the Winternationals times.

- Despite the great 4.4s of Friday, things changed overnight. A 4.60 from Larry Dixon Jr., one of three, and a couple of 4.8s from the "flops" ... disappointing.

- In sum, though, for a first time experience, the Las Vegas track rates close to the top. Pro deal every which way. They treat the fans great, the prices aren't off the map, the food is a B-plus, and the press feed is an A, maybe the best on the tour. Easy access in and out.

- Talked with Greg Anderson, who set Pro Stock low e.t. for qualifying at 6.88. "Yesterday (Friday), we had a tail wind, today, we got a crosswind and it affected the way the car ran on the top end. That and the sun beating down on the track, affected the performance."

- More to come, but I gotta be at the Palace Station Hotel in three hours.

THE NEXT DAY:

I GOT LOST ON MY WAY TO CHURCH AND WOUND UP AT THE STRIP at LAS VEGAS ... and the Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! NHRA Summit.com Nationals.

"1-2-3-4-5-6," "1-2-3-4-5-6," "1-2-3-4-5-6," the sex kitten mewed. I gotta say the first time I heard that commercial it caught my ear. Baby Doll voice counting the time and then it turns out to be an ARMY ad. Good form, shitty content. The Army? Hey at $300 billion U.S. tax dollars a year or whatever we give them, the ads better be at least ear-catching.

- Then there's good old next-trailer-over neighbor Tom Bodette and Motel 6 mythology. At the end of the ad, he swears that he will leave the light on for you, which means, if nothing else, the son-of-a-bitch gets around, certainly to hit the switches at 600 outlets. And what is an A-Core Hotel or whatever the umbrella for Motel 6 is. A money-laundering outfit for some unseen corporate menace? Wait a minute.

- I'm still in my Saturday jag. Enough with cheap criticism, you can get that anywhere. The curse of too much sun, Don Patron white, and $5 beer. . .ah, never mind.

Did do one thing I always wanted to do at Vegas or anywhere -- I made a legit casino bet, tote boards and all on a drag race. The Palace Station posted the prices for the three pro classes and I bought in for $20 on a 5-2 Larry Dixon Jr. in Top Fuel. For those who don't gamble that means you bet $20 to win $50. Great price, I thought. Of course having been National Dragster's "Tricky Tipster" for 12 years, what would you expect?

- Qualifying was decent. Personally, Funny Car racers Bob Bode (4.87) and Jack Wyatt's (4.97) were the highlight of the session.

- Remarkably, I did not venture into Las Vegas. Well, I did but the intended partying never took place, and I was in bed at 11 p.m. To some of my acquaintances, a 11 p.m. crash is as likely as George "Dubya" dumping his wife and running off with a Guatemalan servant.

- Also the second-to-the-last pair in Saturday's Top Fuel qualifying, were Dixon and Brandon Budweiser. Dixon stretched him out on a 4.52 to 4.58 count, and that pushed me over the line.

- Speaking of "over the line," that's what I intend to do today after a relatively tame Saturday. Also, (this is an aside here, folks) the crowd was terrible for the final day of qualifying. I spent some time on the scant spectator side of the track and the big job across track was at very best 3/5 full during nitro. This track deserves a lot better than that.

- In a nutshell, the Las Vegas race is worth an extra effort to get to. It is professionally run and not in an oppressive way. With the food, clean track, good personnel, not to mention the megalopolis itself, you gotta be here. If there wasn't a Dallas, Texas, this would be my favorite stop on the NHRA tour. I think the track and its environs are that good.

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