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IRL: Popular band Smash Mouth to play at Las Vegas race

10 March 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

LAS VEGAS- There will be two treats for the ears April 22 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway - the distinctive, high-pitched sound of 650-horsepower Indy Racing engines and the music of rock sensation Smash Mouth.

The modern rock band will play in concert after the Las Vegas 500 Indy Racing Northern Light Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 12:30 p.m. (PDT) and will be broadcast live on ABC.

Concert admission is included in the price of a ticket for the race. The concert will be followed by a NASCAR Winston West race, creating a full day of entertainment.

Smash Mouth is one of the most popular modern rock bands today. It was nominated for a 2000 Grammy Award in the Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. The bands most recent album on the Interscope label, "Astro Lounge," includes the hit song, "All Star."

The band scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock chart with "Walkin on the Sun," from its debut album with Interscope, "Fush Yu Mang."

This concert continues the bands growing involvement with Indy Racing. Lead singer Steve Harwell, a racing fanatic, visited the season-opening Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in January as a guest of Kelley Racing drivers Scott Sharp and Mark Dismore.

Harwell also has created a new line of racing-theme clothing, Team Nasty Racing. TNR gear includes hats, shirts and sweatshirts.

Tickets for the Las Vegas 500 can be purchased by calling the speedway ticket office at (800) 644-4444 or by faxing an order to (702) 632-8021. Tickets also will be available on the Internet at Tickets.com.

Text provided by IMS

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.