A past Daytona 500 winner. A popular Truck Series driver known as “The Onion.” One of the prettiest cars on the NASCAR circuit (Jamie McMurray’s No. 26 Crown Royal). A racing tractor. The Food City beauty queen. Freebie hats and pens from O’Reilly Auto Parts. Big-old-fat hamburgers and plump hot dogs on fluffy Flowers buns. A musical group called Old Dogs New Tricks. Oh, and Tony the Tiger.
(Yes, that Tony the Tiger.)
All of the above and a whole lot more will be up, down and around State Street on Thursday when Food City’s Family Race Night 2009 rolls out from 1 to 9 p.m.
Food City spokesman Tom Hembree said the annual event will again give fans and families an affordable chance to share the excitement leading up to Saturday night’s Sharpie 500 race at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
“It will be a great option for so many people who don’t have tickets to the race, and a great extra bonus for people who do have tickets to the race,” Hembree said Wednesday. “It’ll really give people a chance to see a lot of attractions and be part of the fun. And at an affordable price, too.”
Admission to Family Race Night 2009 is $5 in advance and $6 at the event. Children 12 and younger are admitted free.
Among the drivers scheduled to appear Thursday are Kevin Harvick (the past Daytona 500 champ, winning it in 2007), Todd Bodine (known as “The Onion” because of his bald head), Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears, Kenny Wallace, Clint Bowyer and Jason Keller.
Among the vehicles on display will be the NASCAR Sprint cars driven by Harvick, McMurray, Mears, Bowyer, Wallace, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Marcos Ambrose, Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin.
There also will be a concert by FireHouse, face-painting, a performance by the Bristol Dance Academy, Donna the Flav-O-Rich cow, food samples, a Marine Corps Hummer vehicle, appearances by NASCAR president Mike Helton, NASCAR legend Lois Tyler and Miss Food City Lindsey Blevins, race-car simulators, the Martinsville Speedway pace car, mascots such as Capt’n Wafer, the Lance Peanut, Thomas the Turtle and, yep, Tony the Tiger.
(Yes, that Tony the Tiger).
Spectators wishing to catch shuttle buses to and from Family Race Night 2009 can do so from the following locations, between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m.:
n Bruton Smith Building (front entrance).
n Bristol Motor Speedway Tower 9, Speedway Boulevard.
n Highway 11E and Whitetop Road.
n Highway 394 and Whitetop Road.
n Highway 394 and Copperhead Road.
n The Bristol Mall.
rbrown@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512
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