CORONA, California -- NASCAR driver and Corona electrical contractor, Bruce Bechtel, has entered this Saturday's NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 300 race at the impressive 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Bechtel, past NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour and Winston West driver, has teamed up with Mile High Racing of Colorado for this weekend's race. Bechtel will be driving the #77 2002 FORD Taurus maintained by the Jimmy Means operation based out of Forest City, North Carolina which Bechtel teamed up with in 2002 for handful of Busch Series races.
Coldwell Banker, Orleans Hotel & Casino and Sierra Truck & Body Equipment will join Bechtel Motorsports and Mile High Racing for the Las Vegas race and hopefully other races this season.
Pam and Dennis Melton, owners of Mile High Racing is advancing with his efforts to start and maintain his own Busch Series team and operation and the pairing with Bechtel for the Las Vegas race was a step forward in the process. The partnership will continue for a limited Busch Series schedule to include Texas, Fontana and Pikes Peak races with additional races to be added and details to follow. Mile High Racing expects to finalize their 2003 limited-race program soon with several test sessions in the works prior to the upcoming races. Pam Melton of Mile High Racing offers a "make the race" bonus program that offers a sponsor a refund of their sponsorship commitment if the Mile High Racing team fails to qualify for any race. This concept has turned out to be creative proposition for sponsors in a market and economy with tight budgets and where impact awareness is important.
Bechtel looks forward to the new relationship with COLDWELL BANKER and Mile High Racing and thanks Dennis and Pam Melton for their support. "After last year's races in the Busch Series, I feel that we have more confidence and are ready to step up to the next level in this competitive series. Our goals are still the same - to finish each race and bring the car home in one piece," claimed Bechtel.
The $200 million state-of-the-art facility, Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the ultimate in auto racing. The 1,500-acre complex has complete accommodations for virtually every form of motor sports activity, along with any type of function. The tri-oval features 12-degree banking in all turns, three-degree banking on the backstretch and nine-degree banking on the front stretch. Since its inaugural NASCAR races in 2001, the Las Vegas super speedway has been a fantastic draw for spectators and fans.
Last Monday's rain delayed Rockingham 200 posted 43 entries, sending three entries home and the Las Vegas race expects record numbers as this popular venue for drivers, Winston Cup and Busch are always a record breaker for crowd attendance.
Busch qualifying airs live on Speedvision Friday at 1:30 pm (PST). The NASCAR pre-race show will air at 12:30 pm (PST) and the Sam's Town 300, 200-lap race will be televised at 1:00 pm (PST) on FX.
