CART: RPM Band featuring Kenny Brack and Carpentier to debut in Toronto
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
July 12, 2001
DETROIT - R.P.M., the newly formed rock band featuring CART drivers Kenny Brack of Team Rahal and Patrick Carpentier of Player's Forsythe Racing, will make its debut Friday at Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant in Toronto during the Molson Indy Drivers VIP Party.
R.P.M., which represents Racing Powered Music, will begin its performance at 8 p.m. ET on an outdoor stage with Brack playing guitar and Carpentier drums in the four-member band. Brack will utilize guitars provided by Gibson and Schecter, and amps supplied by Line 6 while Carpentier will use DW Drums and Zildjan Cymbals. They will be joined by lead vocalist Elizabeth Fornal of CART and bassist Laz Denes of Mo Nunn Racing.
"It is going to be a lot of fun," Brack said. "I feel a little excited - I wouldn't say nervous or anxious - but then it is our first gig to play in front of people. With a new group you never know how good our stage nerves are going to be, but I think we will have a lot of fun. I am sure we will have a lot of fun. I am not so sure about our audience [laughing], but we will have to wait and see."
R.P.M. will play one set during the VIP event at Gretzky's that will consist of eight songs. Among the songs the group has been rehearsing includes "Proud Mary" and "Midnight Special" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Drive My Car," by the Beatles, "Little Deuce Coupe," by The Beach Boys, "Joey" by Concrete Blonde, "Just A Girl," by No Doubt and "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry.
"I'm really excited about getting on stage for the first time with the band," Carpentier said. "I think we've put together a fun set and while we could probably use a bit more practice, I think it will sound really good. I'm especially happy to have the first show on my home turf, Canadian soil. Team Player's has always had a great relationship with Toronto and its fans, and this really is the perfect place to have the premiere of R.P.M.
"Come Friday, I know Gretzky's is going to be really rocking! I hope they like the music as much as the race action. Getting on stage Friday night with fellow CART driver Kenny Brack, I know that we'll probably feel just like someone just said, 'Gentlemen, start you engines.' The adrenaline will flow and we'll be flying off the start. I know that we're all pumped for the show, for the race, for the whole Molson Indy weekend. It should be awesome."
The Toronto debut is the first of five scheduled concerts for R.P.M. during race weekends over the course of the FedEx Championship Series season. R.P.M. is scheduled to perform at Chicago (July 27-29, Target Grand Prix of Chicago Presented by Energizer), Vancouver (Aug. 30-Sept. 2, Molson Indy Vancouver), Houston (Oct. 5-7, Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston) and the season finale at California Speedway (Nov. 2-4, Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota). The highlight for R.P.M. will occur when they serve as the opening act for a yet-to-be-named headliner scheduled for the Pioneer Rock 'N Roar Concert in Houston.
R.P.M.'s tour is sponsored by a cooperative effort between CART Entertainment, Shell and Player's. Pioneer, DW Drums, Zildjan Cymbals, Gibson and Schecter guitars, and Line 6 amps are also assisting with R.P.M.
Brack, who drives the No. 8 Shell Ford Lola for Team Rahal co-owned by three-time series champion Bobby Rahal and entertainer David Letterman, was the 2000 CART Jim Trueman Rookie of Year and finished fourth in the series championship. He currently is the FedEx Championship Series points leader on the strength of the first two victories and inaugural pole of his CART career. He was victorious in Japan and Milwaukee and earned his first career pole at the season opener in Monterrey, Mexico.
Carpentier, who drives the No. 32 Player's Indeck Ford Reynard for Player's Forsythe Racing co-owned by Player's Inc. and Gerald Forsythe, finished a career-best 11th in the championship last season. Carpentier was the 1997 CART Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year and owns two career poles as well as a career-best finish of second twice (1997 Gateway, 1999 Vancouver) to his credit. Carpentier is currently 17th in the points championship, but enters this weekend coming off top-eight finishes, including a season-best effort of fifth at Portland, in two of his last three starts.
The FedEx Championship Series prepares for Round 10 of 21 this weekend with the Molson Indy in Toronto. The series visits seven countries and four continents during the season and climaxes with the season-ending Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota on Sunday, Nov. 4 at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Thanks to a partnership between Marlboro, Toyota, CART and California Speedway, the winner of the season finale will collect $1 million, one of the largest paydays in all of motorsports. An additional $1 million, as well as the prestigious Vanderbilt Cup, will be awarded to the driver who wins the FedEx Championship Series championship.
Text provided by Mike Zizzo
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