Friday, April 30, 2004
Monterey County Herald | 04/30/2004 | VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF RACING
Several types of machines will be competing this weekend
By DAVID COFFIN
Herald Correspondent
This weekend's Road & Track U.S. Sports Car Invitational, which kicks off the five-event season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, is all about variety.
There is no main event, per se, as at the Superbike, Champ Car and American Le Mans Series weekends, nor a featured marquee, as at the Historics which will showcase Ferrari this year.
What there will be is a number of different types of races from historic stock cars to Superkarts. And there will be stock car legend Bobby Allison, voted one of the 50 greatest drivers in NASCAR history, serving as grand marshal.
"I'm looking forward to a weekend including two of my favorite things, the beautiful Monterey Peninsula and racing," said Allison, who was voted NASCAR's most popular driver six times during his career that included 84 Winston Cup (the series is now called the Nextel Cup) victories. "It's been almost 24 years since I raced there, but I have fond memories."
Allison will be present for an autograph session from 4 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Brats & Brews Area in the track infield.
There will also be two divisions of Porsche Club of America competitors, and there will be competition in Mazdaspeed Miata Cup and Formula Ford Zetec Championship, which is a part of the Cooper Tires Championship Series.
The highlight of the Invitational could be a $10,000 winner-take-all International Drifting Shoot-Out on Saturday. Drifting is a relatively new event that started in Japan. At Laguna Seca, drivers will put their cars into a slide through the Andretti Hairpin (Turn 2), straighten out and go into a slide again through Turn 3. Drivers are judged on execution and style as well as speed through the corners.
Another popular event could be the World SuperKarts. Former World Champion motorcycle road racers Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson will again lead the field. Rainey, a Monterey resident, is paralyzed from the chest down, but whips most of the competition in his hand-controlled shifter kart. About the only one who can consistently beat Rainey in the kart is his good friend Lawson, who actually came up with the idea and design of Rainey's kart.
Today's activities will include a fan party at the Baja Cantina from 6-9 p.m. in Carmel Valley featuring Historic Stock Car drivers and other competitors and a drifting party at Club Octane in downtown Monterey from 8-10 p.m. A CHP officer will escort cars from the drifting competition to the party, where the cars will be on display.
Saturday, there will also be a fan parade lap from 12:10-12:35 p.m. For a $20 donation to the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) Improvement Fund, fans will be able to take a parade lap around Laguna Seca in their private cars.
On Sunday at 1:31 p.m., Lisa Leuschner of Watsonville, who was a top 20 finalist on this season's American Idol competition, will sing the national anthem prior to the Historic Stock Car race. The weekend will be punctuated by a wedding of two long-time SCRAMP assistant directors, James Alit and Judi Slayton, at the start-finish line at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
In addition to the Brats & Brew area, off-track activities will include the Road & Track Classic Car show, live music and the Monterey Experience, which features Monterey Peninsula area attractions.
Tickets are available at the gate or at ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are $20 today, $25 on Saturday and $30 on Sunday. Two-day (Sat/Sun) tickets are $40 and three-day tickets are $50. All tickets include admission and paddock and grandstand access. Log on to www.laguna-seca.com or call the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca ticket office for more information at (800) 327-SECA or 648-5100.
Several types of machines will be competing this weekend
By DAVID COFFIN
Herald Correspondent
This weekend's Road & Track U.S. Sports Car Invitational, which kicks off the five-event season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, is all about variety.
There is no main event, per se, as at the Superbike, Champ Car and American Le Mans Series weekends, nor a featured marquee, as at the Historics which will showcase Ferrari this year.
What there will be is a number of different types of races from historic stock cars to Superkarts. And there will be stock car legend Bobby Allison, voted one of the 50 greatest drivers in NASCAR history, serving as grand marshal.
"I'm looking forward to a weekend including two of my favorite things, the beautiful Monterey Peninsula and racing," said Allison, who was voted NASCAR's most popular driver six times during his career that included 84 Winston Cup (the series is now called the Nextel Cup) victories. "It's been almost 24 years since I raced there, but I have fond memories."
Allison will be present for an autograph session from 4 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Brats & Brews Area in the track infield.
There will also be two divisions of Porsche Club of America competitors, and there will be competition in Mazdaspeed Miata Cup and Formula Ford Zetec Championship, which is a part of the Cooper Tires Championship Series.
The highlight of the Invitational could be a $10,000 winner-take-all International Drifting Shoot-Out on Saturday. Drifting is a relatively new event that started in Japan. At Laguna Seca, drivers will put their cars into a slide through the Andretti Hairpin (Turn 2), straighten out and go into a slide again through Turn 3. Drivers are judged on execution and style as well as speed through the corners.
Another popular event could be the World SuperKarts. Former World Champion motorcycle road racers Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson will again lead the field. Rainey, a Monterey resident, is paralyzed from the chest down, but whips most of the competition in his hand-controlled shifter kart. About the only one who can consistently beat Rainey in the kart is his good friend Lawson, who actually came up with the idea and design of Rainey's kart.
Today's activities will include a fan party at the Baja Cantina from 6-9 p.m. in Carmel Valley featuring Historic Stock Car drivers and other competitors and a drifting party at Club Octane in downtown Monterey from 8-10 p.m. A CHP officer will escort cars from the drifting competition to the party, where the cars will be on display.
Saturday, there will also be a fan parade lap from 12:10-12:35 p.m. For a $20 donation to the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) Improvement Fund, fans will be able to take a parade lap around Laguna Seca in their private cars.
On Sunday at 1:31 p.m., Lisa Leuschner of Watsonville, who was a top 20 finalist on this season's American Idol competition, will sing the national anthem prior to the Historic Stock Car race. The weekend will be punctuated by a wedding of two long-time SCRAMP assistant directors, James Alit and Judi Slayton, at the start-finish line at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
In addition to the Brats & Brew area, off-track activities will include the Road & Track Classic Car show, live music and the Monterey Experience, which features Monterey Peninsula area attractions.
Tickets are available at the gate or at ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are $20 today, $25 on Saturday and $30 on Sunday. Two-day (Sat/Sun) tickets are $40 and three-day tickets are $50. All tickets include admission and paddock and grandstand access. Log on to www.laguna-seca.com or call the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca ticket office for more information at (800) 327-SECA or 648-5100.
