all-star classic is not about speed

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It seems like Scott and Alex Speed are going to have some company at this year's Stars of Karting All-Star Classic. SOK series president Paul Zalud sent out a press release last week announcing that the Speed brothers would be the hot shoes at next month's Classic (to be run in conjunction with the annual PRI show in Orlando, FL), and followed up that release with a more complete list of "celebrity drivers".

That list is a virtual who's-who of young American aces, and includes Marco Andretti (shown above, in a photo from this year's Indy 500), John Andretti (Indy/NASCAR), Jamie McMurray (NASCAR), A.J. Allmendinger (NASCAR), Bryan Herta (Indy, ALMS), Buddy Rice (Grand-Am), and Moto GP legend Eddie Lawson.

The smart money may still be on Scott Speed to win it, but alot of the smart money was on Lewis Hamilton a few weeks back - and that sound his transmission made in Brazil sounded an awful lot like choking to me. I have Marco winning, followed by Lawson.

nascafe

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Remember when NASCAR was all about moonshine and runnin' from the law? That's all over now - and maybe for the better, but that's a bit metaphysical for a blogger, I think.

I'll let this little gem from NASCAR stand on it's own ... it's strange enough.

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¡Tu Café Hoy!
Cafecito Tour stop No. 3. Presented by Homestead-Miami Speedway and Sprint Nextel, this four-week excursion culminates with Ford Championship Weekend (Nov. 16-18) - NASCAR’s series-crowning race in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, as well as the Busch and Craftsman Truck series finales.

Homestead-Miami Speedway and Sprint Nextel team with local Latin radio station Zol 95.7 FM to introduce motorsports to new fans, with complimentary cafecitos provided in saluting the first Latin NEXTEL Cup driver: Miami resident Juan Pablo Montoya.

Festivities include: music, entertainment, a NASCAR show car on display, and merchandise and prizes provided by Speedway partners. Ford Championship Weekend tickets also will be on sale.

speedfest

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Hello, all. (both of you)

I've been just utterly SLAMMED lately with SEMA, the new SLR 722GT, Dinan work, the WinterTour, and more, so time to 'blog is coming up scarce. All the same, I thought this bit of news from the CRA was worth mentioning, if only because USA International is a neat little track that gets overlooked all too often.

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Officials from the Midwest-based Champion Racing Association (CRA) Super Series, the Southern-based FASCAR/Sunbelt Super Series and USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida have combined to announce the dates for “SpeedFest 2008” at the beautiful central Florida facility. Super Late Model teams and fans will gather for the fourth annual event, January 24-26, 2008.

“SpeedFest has been a great event for our facility and fans as well as the Late Model teams,” noted USA International Speedway promoter Bill Martino. “It has been a true battle of North vs. South, with each side seeming to alternate in claiming victories, Wisconsin’s Charlie Menard won the inaugural event in 2005, Florida’s Mike Fritts won in 2006 and Hoffman last year. It is definitely something we look forward to each year now.”

The event will be under the direction of CRA’s Glenn Luckett and R. J. Scott and FASCAR’s Don Nerone. The CRA will also be co-promoting the event with the speedway - and, while the sanctioning bodies will direct the on-track activities, officials want to be very clear that this is an “open” event. “We welcome teams from all over the country and different organizations to be part of this weekend,” commented CRA managing partner R. J. Scott.

Entry forms, rules, and a schedule of activities can all be found in coming weeks at any of the following sites: craracing.net, fascar.org, asalatemodels.com or usaspeedway.com.