Trucks: PARTS Pro-Truck Gains National Attention
17 March 1999
ORLANDO, Fla. - The debut of Piantieri Motorsports truck racing effort in the PARTS Pro-Truck series is getting some serious attention thanks to a high-tech movie process associated with the team. Steve is the #95 entry in this nationally televised race. The Professional Association of Racing Trucks season opener is March 20th.The racing truck has been equipped with a unique video presentation complete with surround sound and a digital 3-D camera mounted in the passenger's area of the driver's cockpit.
"It is the first time this type of filming has been done on a race vehicle. This technology and entire procedure is state-of-the-art, a patented product" said Piantieri. "We did see some of the video from the test session last week and everyone's very excited to see how an actual race is going to work out."
The race is scheduled for this Saturday, March 20th at Lanier, with racing scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Interest in the video production has come from a wide range of media, including the Guinness Book of World Records, CNN, several local television stations and representatives from Ripley's Believe It or Not will also be on hand to witness the endeavor.
Any race fan will tell you that watching a television broadcast with an on-board camera makes the show even more exciting. Piantieri's truck will carry this effect to the extreme.
"It's kind of funny how it happened," said Piantieri. "I have a business acquaintance that is involved in producing Panomax movies. They wanted to test the system on a vehicle and knew that I raced in the PARTS Pro Truck series.
"The next thing I know, they show up with this huge piece of equipment. It weighed almost 130 pounds, and in racing, you are always trying to lose weight," he said with a laugh.
"Together, we made a few changes and think we have it in a size and weight we can deal with. It sure is unique way to have my truck be the center of all this attention." Virtual Concepts is the company that is outfitting the truck. They have produced several 360 degree and three dimentional movies for various attractions, but this is their first effort in putting the camera equipment in a racing platform. At St. Petersburg, FL, last week, the truck was rigged with eleven (!) cameras providing 360- degree view of all the race action. That footage is being prepared for inclusion in a "Total experience movie" that will appear in movie theaters around the nation.
Steve's other sponsors are Columbia Jewelers, a Winter Park, FL based jewelry store, Quik Promotions, a St. Petersburg, FL and Atlanta, GA business form and promotional goods provider, Lugo Performance, an Orlando, FL speed shop, and Irish Mike's Towing & Recovery service. Steve has been racing sportscars for the past twelve years and is now trying his hand at short track ovals.