Interesting Challenge at Las Vegas – Drivers UPDATE 4 final: Thanks to The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, drivers who race in both the NASCAR Winston West event at the Bullring and the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race will compete for three nights of luxury at the Strip resort in The Venetian Challenge. Officials at The Venetian have agreed to offer any driver who can finish in the top three in both the Feb. 28 NAPA 300 and Sunday’s UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 the following:. a three-night stay in the hotel’s Penthouse suite and the driver’s spouse or significant other will receive a $20,000 shopping spree in the Grand Canal Shoppes.(LVMS PR). So far Brendan Gaughan is the only one I know of who will attempt both(2-6-2001) UPDATE: Michael Waltrip has committed to compete in the Feb. 28 NAPA Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Winston West Series event at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Waltrip, who drives the #15-NAPA Chevy for Dale Earnhardt in Cup, will make his first NASCAR Winston West starts since he won at Pikes Peak in July of 1997. Waltrip will be driving a car prepared by Orleans Racing and will be a teammate of defending series champion Brendan Gaughan and NASCAR veteran Herschel McGriff. Waltrip and Gaughan are scheduled to compete in both the NAPA Auto Parts 300 and the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 NASCAR Winston Cup event on Sunday, March 4. As part of The Venetian Challenge, they both will be eligible for a special bonus from The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino. If either driver places in the top three in both races they will receive a three-day stay in The Venetian’s penthouse suite and their wife or significant other will receive a $20,000 shopping spree in The Grand Canal Shoppes(LVMS PR)(2-8-2001) UPDATE 2 – Hornaday Added: #14-Ron Hornaday has decided to compete in the NAPA Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Winston West Series event on Feb. 28 at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hornaday, who will be competing in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 on March 4, will be driving a car prepared by Las Vegas’ Bobby Pangonis. Hornaday has six career wins in the NASCAR Winston West Series, but his last win came in 1996 at Colorado National Speedway in Erie, Colo. One of his wins came in 1994 at the old Las Vegas Speedway Park, which was the forerunner of the Bullring. Hornaday joins Michael Waltrip and Brendan Gaughan in The Venetian Challenge. “That is awesome,” Hornaday said. “We.re going to win that deal and enjoy it. I’ll even take the money and give it to charity.”(LVMS PR)(2-11-2001) UPDATE 3 – postponed: NASCAR and LVMS have postponed the NAPA 300, NASCAR Winston West Series event, scheduled for Wednesday, February 28th at the ‘Bullring’ at LVMS. The event will be run on Thursday, March 1st as a prelude to the BGN and Cup Series events at the 1.5-mile LVMS. The 300-lap event is scheduled for a green flag at 7:30pm on the .375-mile Thursday with gates opening at 8:00am and NASCAR Winston West Series Bud Pole Qualifying at 12:00pm. Waltrip and Hornaday are scheduled to compete in the 300-lap event along with the competitors from the Winston West Series including 2000 series champion, Brendan Gaughan(NASCAR PR)(3-1-2001) UPDATE 4: Rookie Mark Reed got his first career victory in the NASCAR Winston West Series on Thursday night at the ‘Bullring’. Mike Duncan crossed the line second, followed by Sean Woodside, Austin Cameron and Kevin Richards. Michael Waltrip was credited with a 23rd-place finish after dropping out of the race with a damaged radiator on lap 96. Fellow Winston Cup driver Ron Hornaday’s effort ended with a 20th-place finish due to an engine failure(Las Vegas Sun). So no driver wins the prize(3-2-2001) (3-1-2001)
