Age merely a number at Bullring

Las Vegas Motor Speedway calls its three-eighths-mile oval the Bullring and its track-side party area the Stockyard.

Like a small rodeo, the Bullring is a proving ground where young drivers can hone their skills and get noticed while old-timers show they can compete with the young whippersnappers.

The Bullring's NASCAR All-American Series could go from one dominated by young guns last year to a veteran-led circuit when its new season opens Saturday night.

Super Late Models champion Dustin Ash, 19, won nine features last season, and points runner-up Justin Johnson, 21, won five times. That's 14 combined wins in 20 races.

Taylor Barton, 23, finished third in points with two victories. Another young driver, Tom Lovelady, 19, won twice and was fifth in points.

However, lack of funding will keep all four from racing full time in the track's premier series this year. That leaves the gate to victory lane open for 41-year-old veteran Scott Gafforini, the 2006 champion.

"They were a blast to race with," said Gafforini, who finished fourth in points with one win last season. "I remember when I was considered a 'young gun.'

"It looks promising for us on paper. We always run hard and run strong."

Ash and his family-owned team do not have sufficient sponsor funds to commit full time and prefer to use their limited budget to showcase his driving skills at other tracks, including Irwindale Speedway in Southern California.

"We've been looking for some financial support, but nothing is coming his way," said Ken Ash, Dustin's father. "The kid can drive anything. It's frustrating."

Ash is attending the College of Southern Nevada and working as a driving instructor for the Mario Andretti Racing School at the speedway.

The Super Late Models division features special-built stock cars with 360-cubic-inch engines that produce about 400 horsepower. They're expensive to maintain and body repairs are frequent.

Gafforini says it costs about $600 -- tires, fuel, crew passes, entry fee -- to put his car on the track each week. With only $1,110 going to the winner, racing becomes a losing venture for most.

For veterans such as Gafforini and 54-year-old Steve Anderson, who had one win last year and was seventh in points, their passion for racing is what keeps them going.

Several of the best young drivers are fired by their passion and aspirations of rising to lucrative careers such as those of NASCAR stars Kurt and Kyle Busch, each of whom began racing at the Bullring.

The sagging economy is making sponsor searches even more of a challenge, and the race-to-riches carrot has begun to dangle from an ever-extending stick.

Barton plans to enter his Super Late Model in at least the first Bullring race, but says he plans to move to North Carolina soon to pursue racing opportunities.

Al Budd, owner of the No. 17 Super Late Model that Johnson drove the past two years, has replaced Johnson with 16-year-old Josh Gross.

Johnson was unable to deliver enough sponsorship money to Budd, so Johnson will begin the year competing in a Thunder Roadster, which also can help him climb the racing ladder.

The open-wheel, open-cockpit cars are manufactured by 600 Racing, a part of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns the Las Vegas track. The cars can reach 100 mph at the Bullring.

Thunder Roadsters have formed a national program in which one competitor will earn a fully funded entry into an Auto Racing Club of America (ARCA) Series event this year. ARCA is considered a step below the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Two racers on the cusp of turning 16 -- the youngest allowable age in a NASCAR series -- could jump to Super Late Models. Bear Rzesnowiecky, last year's Legends Cars Pro champion, and Dusty Davis, a go-kart champion, could jump to the top division after they turn 16 during the season.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0247.