Ken Schrader wowed the crowd at Dixie Speedway last Saturday night, holding off fellow NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Davey Blaney for a victory in a 25-lap celebrity race for charity at the inaugural Bill Elliott 50 Red Dirt Dash.
Others in the celebrity field at the Woodstock, Ga., track included Kasey Kahne, David Gilliland and Ray Evernham.
The super late model celebrity event featured a two-stage format in which the field was inverted for the final 15 laps. Stewart led the first segment, while Schrader wound up on the pole for the second segment.
“I hit the kill switch by mistake,” said Schrader, who brought out a yellow flag near the end of the first 10 laps. “I was able to get away from them a little bit toward the end. Getting away from someone and passing them are two different things.”
Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., won the main event, the Bill Elliott 50 super late model race.
Georgia native Bill Elliott won his first race at Dixie Speedway in 1974.
“I’ve very proud of being able to give back to local racetracks and raise money for local charities,” Elliott said. “I know the economy is bad and things are tough, so to be able to put on a good show, draw a great Dixie crowd and raise money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta makes this event all the more special.”
FOUR-WHEELING: Motorcycle stars Ricky Carmichael, Scott Russell and Jason Pridmore were at Daytona International Speedway this week — on four wheels.
The motorcycle racers were shaking down a Daytona Prototype during this month’s test session in preparation for a potential run in the 47th anniversary of the Rolex 24 sports car endurance race on Jan. 24-25.
For Russell and Carmichael, it was their second sports car test at Daytona, while Pridmore drove a car there for the first time. All have been testing at other road courses as they look to make an attempt to compete in the Grand-Am series season-opener at Daytona.
All three riders have had success at Daytona. Russell is a five-time Daytona 200 winner, a record he shares with Miguel Duhamel.
“It’s a great challenge to come in cold like that with no real car experience,” Russell said. “I don’t think any of us have much car experience. You got a lot of great drivers in this series and I look forward to chasing them around and trying to see if I can get my times down to where they are. It’s such a new challenge for me. It’s great.”
Carmichael, retired from bikes and now pursuing a NASCAR career, is a record five-time Daytona Supercross winner.
“It’s neat to be here and see it from this angle,” he said. “I’ve been around the motorcycle stuff for so long. This is a racer’s heaven for sure. It’s awesome to be able to have done it on a motorcycle, do it on a Daytona Prototype and next on the list is a stock car.”
Pridmore anchors the trio of motorcycle champions with two 750 Supersport victories at Daytona.
“It’s exciting because we’re all nervous,” Pridmore said. “We’re all scared. I don’t think any of us will lie to you. We’re all a little bit nervous for what we’re getting ourselves into. There’s a lot of respect for the guys that do this full time.”
All three riders are being tutored by sports car veteran Guy Cosmo for the potential Rolex 24 start.
MAD MAX: Open-wheel and sports car veteran Max Papis has signed with Germain Racing to drive the No. 13 Toyota Camry in two NASCAR Sprint Cup races this year and at least 18 in 2009.
The car will be sponsored for those events by Geico, which signed a four-year agreement with the Germain team.
Papis will attempt to qualify Friday at Texas for his first Cup race on an oval. He previously raced in both Cup road course events this season, finishing 35th at Sonoma and 43rd at Watkins Glen in a car fielded by Haas Automation. He also has raced in seven Nationwide Series events, with his only oval start at Texas in 2006. He crashed and finished 40th in that race.
He will also attempt to qualify for the Cup finale at Homestead on Nov. 16.Aside from recording three wins in the now-defunct CART Series, Papis has been a top competitor in American sports car racing, posting wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2000 and 2002, as well as winning a Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series championship in 2004. As a member of GM’s Corvette Racing team, Papis has two wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans as well as two runner-up finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“My family and I have been working on this for the last five years and I’m proud that it’s happening with GEICO,” said the Italian-born Papis, son-in-law of former Formula One and IndyCar champion Emerson Fittipaldi.
F1 STANDARDIZATION: Formula One’s governing body is moving forward with its plan to have a sole engine and transmission supplier beginning in 2010, saying some parties have shown interest in the bidding process.
FIA said in a statement Monday that it “received a number of questions from interested parties regarding” the invitation to tender it made on Oct. 17.
The governing body intends to introduce rule amendments “requiring all competitors must use a standardized engine and transmission system” for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Joint bids for engines and transmissions and for engines alone must be submitted by Nov. 7, FIA said. Bids for power transmission systems alone won’t be due until three weeks later.
Some teams have complained about the measure, which is part of FIA’s moves to try and reduce costs amid the global financial crisis.
The exclusive engine supplier will provide either the full engine or the information so the teams can build them. The sole supplier will work with FIA to ensure that all engines and parts are in accordance to the rules.
The supplier of transmission systems will provide them ready to use to all competitors.
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