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Jim Cressman
Sun Media | March 5, 2008 |
Area race fans can get up close and personal with a big piece of NASCAR history.
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Earnhardt's famous black No. 3 GM Goodwrench car is on loan from Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, N.C.
"We're thrilled to have this car here," said Kevin Bulmer of CPT Entertainment.
"There were other options like this, but when we had the opportunity to evaluate what would be the best showcase attraction to bring in, the Earnhardt one just stood out."
Earnhardt, nicknamed the Intimidator, and Richard Petty are the only drivers to win seven NASCAR Cup championships. Earnhardt died from injuries in a last-lap crash at the 2001 Daytona 500.
"It's just incredible the excitement and emotion still generated by him and the image of that car," Bulmer said. "And when the Childress people mentioned this car, the kicker was we could get close to something Dale Earnhardt actually sat in and competed in. He was, and still is, a hero to so many."
Childress Racing is also sending a No. 07 car driven by Clint Boyer, who finished third in Cup points last year after earning his first berth in the Chase.
The CPT Racing Experience is billed as a family-friendly forum designed to gather and celebrate the community of motorsports and its enthusiasts. There will be interactive displays, seminars, round-table discussions, autograph sessions and a wide variety of exhibitors.
Three-time IHRA alcohol funny car champion Rob Atchison of London headlines the drag racing contingent. His 2006 Monte Carlo will be on display both days while he'll appear on the Sunday.
Atchison is the most successful driver in IHRA history, with 20 national event wins. His three consecutive championships began in 2003. He was runner-up the past two years.
He's also the current holder of the IHRA alcohol funny car mile-per-hour record at 249.03.
Atchison will make two area appearances with the IHRA Nitro Jam Series this season, July 18-20 at Grand Bend Motorplex, then Sept. 19-21 at Toronto Motorsports Park (Cayuga).
Three historic vehicles will be on loan from the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame -- the Indy car Scott Goodyear drove to a second-place finish in the 1992 Indianapolis 500, a Champ Car driven by Jacques Villeneuve, an uncle to Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, and Ron Fellows' Player's GM Challenge Series Camaro from the late 1980s.
The '92 Indy 500 was the closest finish in history as Al Unser Jr. beat Goodyear to the line by just 0.043 seconds.
"It wasn't that long ago that the open-wheel stuff was the household stuff," Bulmer said.
"Then you look at how NASCAR has grown and changed this. It'll be interesting to see if the open-wheel cars come back (now that CART and IRL are unified). People coming up in this generation don't have a feel for how big an event the Indy 500 was."
The Villeneuve car will be the one in which he became the first Canadian to win a CART race, at Road America in Wisconsin in August 1985.
For oval-track buffs, there will be late models driven by D.J. Kennington in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and Steve Robblee in the Ontario Sportsman Series, a super modified driven by Mark Sammut in ISMA, and Ryan Litt's Auto Value Super Sprint/USAC Series car.
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IF YOU GO
What: CPT Racing Experience, "A Celebration of Speed"
When: March 15-16; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Sunday
Where: London Convention Centre
Tickets: $12; 12 and under free
Information: www.cptrace.com (see link).
Jim Cressman is a Free Press sports reporter.
