His Utah Jazz have evened their best-of-7 playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers at two games apiece heading into Wednesday night's showdown at Staples Center, and Sunday's 123-115 overtime win means there will be a Game 6 on Friday in Salt Lake City.

Almost as important to the Jazz owner is that his three-year-old racing facility, Miller Motorsports Park, is set to host one of its biggest events of the season, the American Le Mans Series' Utah Grand Prix.

The race itself is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m., but that's just the culmination of several days of activities at the track as the top professional sports car series in North America makes its annual visit.

"It's a big-time deal in the world of auto racing," Miller told The Salt Lake Tribune in an exclusive interview last week. "The trouble is, most Utahns don't know it yet."

Miller said he is "pleased" with the progress his $100 million facility in the Tooele Valley has made heading into the first big event of 2008, Round 4 of the ALMS. The road course has drawn rave reviews from just about every racing aficionado who has paid it a visit or raced there, and in two weeks it will play host to perhaps the biggest international sporting event to visit Utah since the 2002 Winter Olympics, the HANNspree Superbike World Championship's USA Round.

"On a national and international basis, we're on the radar screen," he said. "Yet in Utah, we have yet to be discovered. People here don't understand the magnitude of what we have coming here. The Le Mans series draws 70,000 to 100,000 fans in some parts of the country, but here we can't seem to get even 20,000 to care."

Maybe this week's events will change that perception some, but Miller acknowledges it will take years and years to grow a fan base. Admission is free on Friday, and at 6 p.m. fans will be permitted to walk among the cars and drivers on pit lane.

"We find that when people make the trek to the races and everything else we have going on out there, it blows their mind, and then we get converts," he said. "We are slowly earning fans, one by one."

Storylines abound this week, and the course is one of the biggest.

The field will compete on the 3.048-mile, 15-turn perimeter circuit this year, rather than on the 4.5-mile full course and its 24 turns as in the previous two years. With fewer turns and twists this year, the changes favor the bigger, more powerful LMP1 AUDI R10s, several Acura ARX drivers of the LMP2 class said during testing two weeks ago.

At any rate, some are saying it will be the fastest venue in ALMS history.

"I think it will be one of the tracks that will be a favorite of both drivers and fans because they like the speed," said Adrian Fernandez, who will co-drive the Lowe's Fernandez Acura ARX-01b with Luis Diaz.

Other storylines include the return of former Indianapolis 500 champion Gil de Ferran to competitive racing after a four-year absence and, of course, the hometown team (Corsa Motorsports) competing in the GT2 class.

Corsa's No. 48 Ferrari F430 GT, piloted by Gunnar Jeannette and Johnny Mowlem, was fourth in its class at both St. Petersburg, Fla., and Long Beach, Calif.

drew@sltrib.com

Utah Grand Prix

What: American Le Mans Series' Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix

Where: Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

Also: Practice sessions on Friday, qualifying on Saturday

Support races: SPEED World Challenge, IMSA Challenge by Michelin, IMSA Lites, Star Mazda Championship

Tickets: Admission to the park is free on Friday. Call 435-277-RACE for information on Saturday and Sunday tickets