NASCAR Weekend at California Speedway Just Got Bigger; Singer-Songwriter Chris Isaak Added to Saturday Events
22 April 1999
NASCAR Weekend at California Speedway Just Got Bigger; Singer-Songwriter Chris Isaak Added to Saturday Events
FONTANA, Calif., April 22 -- California Speedway has once
again put together a spectacular season of racing and entertainment, leading
off with this year's NASCAR weekend on April 29-May 2. Over 200,000 guests
are expected to attend the NASCAR weekend which features the Sunday, May 2,
California 500 presented by NAPA Winston Cup race, the Saturday, May 1 Auto
Club 300 Busch Series, Grand National Division race and the recently added
Chris Isaak musical performance. The musical performance is free to all
Saturday ticket holders following the events on Saturday.
Record crowds continue to position the now two-year-old California
Speedway as Southern California's biggest sports attraction. Last year's
NASCAR Winston Cup California 500 presented by NAPA race attracted 114,440
race day guests, establishing the event as the largest attended sporting event
in California in 1998. This year another record crowd is expected to witness
NASCAR's top stars -- Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace
and others -- battle for the California 500 checkered flag. And, for the
first time in the Speedway's young history, the Busch Series race will run on
the same weekend as the Winston Cup race.
Defending 1998 Busch Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won last
year's Busch Series race at California Speedway, will try to defend his title
on Saturday, May 1 against future stars such as Matt Kenseth, Adam Petty,
Casey Atwood and Jason Keller. Also expected to join the Busch field of
drivers are Winston Cup regulars Jeff Burton, Kenny Irwin, Ken Schrader, Terry
Labonte and Michael Waltrip. But the day doesn't end there. Saturday also
features Winston Cup second-round qualifying and Happy Hour, the 200-mile
NASCAR Winston West race, and closing the day's festivities
singer/songwriter/actor Chris Isaak and his band in a 90-minute musical
performance in the California Speedway infield.
Chris Isaak will headline the California 500 presented by NAPA musical
program Saturday night after the conclusion of the 3:30 p.m. Winston West
race. The California-born, one-time boxer, has created fresh music that has
been described as "timeless" exuding a power, mystery and romance that recalls
the equally timeless Roy Orbison. "Wicked Game" brought the Stockton,
California native worldwide acclaim in 1990. Filmmaker David Lynch made
"Wicked Game" the central song of his movie "Wild at Heart." Now the late
film genius Stanley Kubrick pegged Isaak's "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" as the
signature song to his final film, "Eyes Wide Shut." Isaak has been in the
entertainment limelight throughout the '90s with albums like "San Francisco
Days" ('93), the gut wrenching "Forever Blue" ('95), "Baja Sessions" ('96) and
last year's "Speak of the Devil." Immediately following the musical
performance will be a 20-minute fireworks extravaganza.
Tickets for Saturday events are $35-$40 for reserved grandstand seating
and $40 for infield passes. Limited tickets remain for Sunday's California
500 presented by NAPA. Call 800-944-7223 for ticket information.