Las Vegas’ NASCAR weekend likely to be March 1-2 in ’08

Next year’s NASCAR Nextel Cup weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway likely is to be held March 1 and 2, a week earlier than the past three times the event was held.

The Cup race has been on the second weekend of March since 2005, but a report indicates NASCAR is considering changing the early part of its 2008 schedule.

The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported next season will open with three consecutive weekends of racing in the Cup series instead of skipping the one following the Daytona 500 opener to focus on a Busch Series race in Mexico City.

Speedway officials will not comment on next year’s dates for their NASCAR weekend until an annual sanctioning agreement has been signed with the race organization.

From 1998 through 2004, the Las Vegas race weekend — Busch Series on Saturday, Cup on Sunday — was the first weekend of March.

The possible Cup schedule change would send teams directly to California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., after Daytona. They would race the next weekend in Las Vegas.

When the Busch race in Mexico City will be scheduled is uncertain, but the series will continue to compete at LVMS the day before the Cup race.

• BULLRING — A couple of teenage racers from LVMS’s Bullring are doing well in regional racing series.

Alex Haase, 17, finished seventh Saturday in the NASCAR Grand National West Series event at Colorado National Speedway in Erie, Colo. His third top-10 finish in six races moved Haase to eighth in the overall series standings and in second place among rookies.

Bear Rzesnowiecky, 14, was runner-up in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge race Saturday on the road course at California Speedway. He is fourth in the series standings after six races with one victory.

On Saturday at the Bullring, Haase will compete in a Super Late Model and Rzesnowiecky in a Legends Car in the NASCAR All-American Series.