Drag racers will compete at Bullring

1714805

Four of the NHRA’s top Funny Car drivers will try to prove that drag racers can turn left Saturday during qualifying for the Thunder Roadsters feature at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Bullring.

Funny Car veterans Ron Capps, Gary Scelzi, Cruz Pedregon and Tommy Johnson Jr. also will compete in a special “grudge race.”

The racers are at the speedway to compete in this weekend’s SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Along with the Thunder Roadsters, racing in the NASCAR All-American Series will consist of Super Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, Legends Cars, Chargers and the USAC Ford Focus Midget Series.

Thunder Roadsters are replicas of open-wheel roadsters from the 1950s and 1960s with 1,250cc Yamaha motorcycle engines and can reach speeds near 100 mph.

Qualifying heats will begin at 5 p.m., with the first feature race scheduled for 7.

• SPEED TRUCKS — Las Vegan Bear Rzesnowiecky, 14, won his first ASA Speed Truck Challenge Series race Saturday on the quarter-mile oval at Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

Darren Young, the reigning series champion and Rzesnowiecky’s teammate, finished second for the United Nissan Racing team in the 100-lap event.

The series will visit the LVMS Bullring on Aug. 8.

• INDY 500 — Henderson resident Sam Schmidt has entered a car in the Indianapolis 500 for the seventh consecutive year. The driver of Schmidt’s No. 99 Dallara/Honda will be 1996 Indy winner Buddy Lazier.

The best finish for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the 500 was in 2002, when Richie Hearn placed sixth.

• LOCAL DRAGS — Bart Smith of Las Vegas defeated Carl Cannavo of North Las Vegas on Sunday to win the Super Pro Easter Bunny Shootout at the LVMS dragstrip.

In the So-Cal Pro Gas Association event, Val Torres Jr. of Valinda, Calif., beat John Phlegar of Las Vegas on Sunday to win the title. Roger Kato of North Las Vegas defeated Greg Ventura of Garden Grove, Calif., in Saturday’s final.

• SPORTS CARS — Las Vegas-based Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing will compete in the American Le Mans Series race this weekend in the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The team will race without driver Tomas Enge, who sustained chest injuries and a shattered elbow in a March 31 crash during a race in St. Petersburg, Fla. Tim Bergmeister of Langenfeld, Germany, and Dirk Muller of Monaco will drive the team’s No. 31 Ferrari F430 GT.