Raceway Rant
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Scott Speed, Helio Sells Tickets, and Dead Air...
Lynne Tibbet
Don't look now but one of our local guys will be hopping into a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride. Scott Speed, who had a cup of coffee driving for Red Bull in Formula One...
Don't look now but one of our local guys will be hopping into a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride. Scott Speed, who had a cup of coffee driving for Red Bull in Formula One, is competing full-time in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2008. Speed, who is from Manteca and trained at the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School at Infineon Raceway, will debut in the Craftsman Truck Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7. He will run a limited schedule this season. This is a whole new world for Speed, whose background is open-wheel.
Came across an interesting phone call at the raceway recently. A gal from Las Vegas called to purchase seven tickets for our August IndyCar race. She has never been to an open-wheel race in her life, and quite frankly, is not a huge fan. But she caught a glimpse of Helio Castroneves on "Dancing With The Stars" and decided she had to see him. Hence, she picks up the phone, places an order and will be in Sonoma in August. Maybe she can take part in the track's world-record attempt to break the Twist dance record on Sunday of race weekend!
FOX certainly makes use of dead air time, evidenced by the recent rain delay in Fontana last weekend. Did you catch them asking every driver what they should name the gopher in the new "Gopher Cam?" One driver came up with the name Skid, and that may stick! Here are some of the other highlights from the rain delay:
- Kyle Busch begging to be asked about the Gopher Cam
- Denny Hamlin trying to watch the movie "Michael Clayton"
- "Wedding Crashers" was the consensus choice for favorite comedy amongst drivers/analysts.
Hey, did anyone catch actor/grand marshall Brad Garrett's line just before he said "Gentleman Start Your Engines?" He said a lost 2-year-old has been found in Kyle Busch's ear. Wow, did they say the writer's strike was over. Brad needs a little help.
