LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas Motor Speedway is upping the ante on a proven winner by redesigning its tri-oval, hoping to make races more exciting for fans and more competitive for drivers.

But reactions from the guys on the track have been mixed, to say the least.

Jeff Burton calls it a travesty. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is looking forward to it. Jeremy Mayfield is OK with whatever is done.

Even a pair of Las Vegas natives, brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch, who grew up watching the track being built, have opposite reactions to the decision to make it a narrower, higher-banked circuit.

"I think it'll be a trend for tracks to follow," Kurt said.

"It's going to be a shame," Kyle said.

The $27 million speedway reconfiguration will include trackside condominiums. Track work began this month and will be finished in time for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race Sept. 23, according to speedway spokesman Jeff Motley.

It will elevate the banking in the turns from the current 12 degrees to 20 degrees, while slimming down the track from 70 feet to 55 feet. Pit road will be moved closer to the grandstands, and the garages and infield will be rebuilt.

"We certainly don't have boring racing here now, but we will have more exciting racing in the future," said speedway general manager Chris Powell. "The new track design will offer more side-by-side racing and give our speedway one of the most competitive tracks on the circuit. It's all about the fans."

Kurt Busch said his uncertainty about the modifications changed after he talked with some people.

"They came and did such a good job the first time around with it. I'm like, 'Man, there's nothing wrong with it at all.' Then hearing about some of the ideas and hearing the fans' remarks about this track ... the place will be fast and you'll get that side-by-side action."

His brother, who finished third in the March 12 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 while Jimmie Johnson was edging past Matt Kenseth at the finish line, said the track already is good.

"It's a really great race track the way it is now," Kyle Busch said.

He outraced his brother here last year, when they finished second and third behind Johnson.

Kyle Busch sidestepped a question at the post-race news conference when he was asked if he thought flat track racing was boring for fans to watch.

"I don't know. I wasn't outside the car," he said. "Whether it's a boring race, I don't know."