RACING VENUES - PRO/CELEBS WEIGH IN...

LONG BEACH, Calif., April 11 -- Anybody who thinks it's easy to get behind-the-wheel of a race-ready Toyota Scion tC and race at top speeds through the downtown streets of Long Beach, California, on a 1.97-mile street circuit for this year's Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on Saturday, April 14, can't even comprehend the skills and discipline required. Just ask four celebrities who have done it before: Actor William Shatner, best known for his Emmy- winning role as Denny Crane in Boston Legal and as Star Trek's Captain Kirk; Melissa Joan Hart, star of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer, Dara Torres, and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.

Shatner, who has participated in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race three times - 1978 (the second year of its inception), 2001 and 2006 - offers the perspective of one who has seen the changes over the years. Hart is a three- time participant, too, coming in second in 1999, tangling with George Lucas and Elway in 2000, and competing against Torres in 2004. Torres - who raced against Shatner in 2001, won in 2002 to become the first female ever to win the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, and came back in the Professional Category in 2004 - knows what it takes to be a champion. However, it's Elway who probably knows this year's field better than most, since in 2000 he raced against Lucas and in 2006 he faced off against Bucky Lasek, Martina Navratilova and Dave Mirra.