Bloggin' is Racin'

Laps for Charity event scheduled for Sept. 26

The Texas chapter of Speedway Children's Charities will host Laps for Charity II on Sept. 26 (Saturday) at Texas Motor Speedway.

For a $30 donation, fans can drive their personal vehicles on the 1.5-mile oval for three laps -- rain or shine -- as they follow the lead of a TMS pace vehicle. Eighteen car clubs are scheduled to participate beginning at 5 p.m. and the laps for the general public will be from 7-10 p.m. Participants can also take a photo of their vehicle in Victory Lane for an extra $10 donation.

Special VIP packes are also available that include a reserved time for a five-lap driving session, photo in Victory Lane, two event t-shirts, a two-week trial membership to The Speedway Club at TMS and dinner for two in The Speedway Club that evening for $250. A limited number of VIP packages are being offered and they must be purchased in advance by calling Speedway Children's Charities at 817-215-8421.

For more information about the Laps for Charity event, visit www.scctexas.org or call 817-215-8421.

-- TMS release

Cowtown Speedway now selling premium reserved seats for final three events

There's some good news for fans looking for a premium seat to watch the final few events at Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale.

Cowtown announced this week that, for the first time in the speedway's history, a limited number of reserved-seat tickets will be available for the remaining three events: the Race Fan's Dream on Sept. 26, the Cowtown Sprint Nationals scheduled for Oct. 9-10, and the November Sprint Shootout on Nov. 13-14.

The new "Blue Section", which will accommodate 200 reserved-seat ticket holders, is located in the top five rows of the first two sections, both east and west of the press box, in the center of the frontstretch. Each seat is a little wider to allow fans space for personal items, like a small, six-pack-size cooler. The existing "non-alcohol reserved section" located under the press box will not be affected by this change.

Reserved tickets to each of Cowtown’s remaining 2009 events are now available for purchase on the track Web site www.cowtownspeedway.com while supplies last. General seating advance ticket sales offered on the track Web site are still available, and are not affected by this change.

Reserved seat prices for the three remaining events
Race Fan's Dream: $20 for adults, $10 for children 12-under
Cowtown Sprint Nationals: $40 for two-day adult pass, $20 for two-day pass for children 12-under. No single-day reserved tickets will be sold.
November Sprint Shootout: Same as Cowtown Sprint Nationals  
 
Plenty of racing next Saturday at Cowtown
The Race Fan's Dream event on Sept. 26 will feature eight racing classes plus the final demolition derby of the season. Cowtown Sprints (season championship, $1,000 to win), Late Models ($1,000 to win), Cowtown Modifieds ($2,000 to win), LSDCC.com Dwarfs, Winged 600s, Limited Modifieds, Streets Stocks and Bombers are all scheduled to run. The 9/11 Memorial, postponed because of the rain, will feature a video presentation and fireworks. Gates open at 3 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m.

Cowtown Sprint Nationals news
Cowtown Speedway announced this week that popular track announcer Bill Wright, aka Bill W, will be on hand for the Cowtown Sprint Nationals in October. Wright will call the Sprint portion of the $85,000 event, which will feature the stars of the ASCS Lone Star, Gulf South and Sooner regions. Several Lucas Oil National ASCS Sprint Series drivers are also entered.

High Vista Video will be returning to Cowtown to professionally videotape the entire Cowtown Sprint Nationals weekend and publish it to DVD. Fans and teams will be able to purchase the DVDs at Cowtown Speedway throughout the weekend. The complete 2009 Cowtown Sprint Nationals DVD will be for sale at www.highvistavideo.com and at www.cowtownspeedway.com soon after the conclusion of the event.

Last year’s Cowtown Sprint Nationals event DVD provided lap-by-lap coverage, plus several behind-the-scenes interviews with drivers. Go here for a look at some the Cowtown Sprint Nationals action from 2008 (with Bill W providing the voice).

-- Michele Vincze

Follow some of your favorite Chase drivers on Twitter

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship begins this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and fans can get an inside view of the drivers and teams through Twitter.

Several drivers have been using the social media site throughout the season to keep their fans in the know. Starting Thursday, Kurt Busch's entire Miller Lite team will be tweeting about preparing for and running in the Chase. Legal drinking-age fans can follow "BlueDeuce2win" on Twitter. For more information, visit the Miller Lite “Taste Nation” page on Facebook, PenskeRacing.com or Twitter.com/PenskeRacing.

According to a team release, members of the Busch's “inner circle,” including Miller Lite pit crew members, will be sending tweets at various times during the week and from the garages and trackside during race weekends.  Content will include race-related tweets about things such as adjustments made to the car and the mindset and strategy of the race team, as well as non-race tweets such as insight on appearances and what was on the team’s lunch menu.

“How cool is it going to be for fans to read that (crew chief) Pat Tryson really likes the way the race is setting up, or that our tire specialist has concerns about the wear and tear he is seeing on a set of tires,” Jackie Woodward, vice president of marketing services at MillerCoors, said in a release.  “It’ll be an unprecedented look at the Miller Lite Racing team during the pressure cooker that is the Chase, and we think fans will love it.”

Other Chase drivers who use Twitter daily are:

Juan Pablo Montoya @jpmontoya

Ryan Newman @RyanNewman39

Kasey Kahne @kaseykahne

Brian Vickers @brianvickers83

Go here for a complete list of NASCAR drivers who use Twitter. Texas Motor Speedway fans can get track news @TXMotorSpeedway

-- Michele Vincze