Complaints about the reconfigured track and the hard tires Goodyear has provided then dominated the postrace conversation, as drivers warned the Nextel Cup race tomorrow could be a disaster.

''The race will suck,'' said Kevin Harvick, who finished seventh. ''The paving is awful. It's rough. They had some guys that pave parking lots out there doing it. It's pretty awful.''

Las Vegas officials repaved the track during the offseason and increased the banking from 12 degrees to 20 as track owner Bruton Smith sought to improve the competition. But it made speeds extremely high, forcing Goodyear to bring a hard left tire that Matt Kenseth called ''treacherous'' to the track.

Greg Biffle said it felt like he was driving on black ice, and Kasey Kahne said every lap is a fight to keep the car from wrecking.

The race winner said they were all right, but also defended Goodyear.

''They are all right. I am not disagreeing with any of them,'' Burton said. ''The question is, 'What would you do different?' We don't live in a perfect world. I am not saying the tires are perfect. They are not. It is treacherous. Restarts are a mess. Driving underneath someone is very difficult.

''But what are you going to do? Put your head in the sand and pretend there's not a problem. They had to come here with a tire that could run a whole race without having a problem. You can't come to a racetrack knowing you are going to have tire problems and not do something about it.''

The Busch race was marred by a record 12 cautions for 58 laps, and the postrace debate overshadowed a spectacular finish that denied Busch a victory on his home track.