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Countdown: Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 2009 NASCAR Weekend Begins on Feb. 25

The days are counting down at a rapid pace as Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 2009 NASCAR Weekend draws near. As of today, just 34 days remain before more than 100,000 fans will converge on the 1,600-acre facility for an action-packed weekend of oval-track motorsports that stretches over five days.

Racing action begins at the grass-roots level on the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 25, with United States Auto Club (USAC) Sprint Cars on LVMS’ half-mile dirt track.

Racing continues on Thursday, Feb. 26, at the dirt track with the triumphant return of the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series. This year, the WoO Sprint Car stars will be joined by the Bomber division.

Race fans will not want to miss the annual Speedway Children’s Charities NASCAR Driver Auction at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, at Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall.

The focus switches to the 1.5-mile superspeedway for zMAX Pole Day on Friday, Feb. 27, with qualifying for the Shelby 427 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.

Driver introductions will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, for the annual Sam’s Town 300 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series (formerly known as the NASCAR Busch Series). The Sam’s Town 300 almost guarantees fans an exciting finish. Last year’s thrilling finale saw veteran Mark Martin win the race after making contact with Carl Edwards, who then crashed with Brad Keselowski as the checkered flag waved. In 2007, Jeff Burton grabbed the checkered flag as hometown hero Kyle Busch spun across the stripe.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, dubbed this year the Shelby 427, will begin at 1:30 p.m. (Pacific) on Sunday, March 1. Thanks to the race’s sponsor, this year’s event has been lengthened from 400 to 427 laps. Last year, winner Carl Edwards treated fans to one of his famous celebratory back flips off the car’s window sill on the front straightaway.

KDWN-AM 720 in Las Vegas will broadcast the Sam’s Town 300 and Shelby 427 and also provide traffic information. Tickets for the Shelby 427, Sam’s Town 300, USAC Sprint Cars, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, Neon Garage fan experience and Lucky 7 VIP parking lot may be purchased by calling the LVMS ticket office at (702) 644-4444 or online at www.LVMS.com.