Sound & Speed mixes stars of NASCAR, country music

AJ and Little E are among celebrities at event that expects to attract up to 20,000

BY CINDY WATTS
Staff Writer

Racing and country music fans, start your engines.

A record turnout is expected at this weekend's Sprint Sound & Speed presented by SunTrust at Sommet Center. That's partly because of a performance by country music star Alan Jackson and the return of ever-popular NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., said Steve Buchanan, chairman of the Sound & Speed board.

"The fact that Dale Jr. is going to be there is huge to people," said Buchanan, who is also senior vice president of media and entertainment at Gaylord Entertainment. "And obviously we're thrilled to have a superstar like Alan Jackson performing. It's a great thing."

But AJ and Little E are just two pieces of the racing-meets-country event that is expected to attract between 15,000 and 20,000 fans this year.

In addition to Earnhardt, drivers who plan to donate their time for autograph sessions and other fan interactive events include Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Michael Waltrip, Juan Pablo Montoya, Darrell Waltrip, team owner Richard Childress, Ryan Newman, David Stremme, Jamie McMurray and Grand Am racer Max Angelelli.

As for the sound portion of the Sound & Speed experience, country music performers also will sign autographs, including Taylor Swift, Jason Michael Carroll, Craig Morgan, Josh Turner, Richie McDonald, The Oak Ridge Boys' Duane Allen, members of Diamond Rio, Danielle Peck, Josh Gracin, Bryan White and Bucky Covington.

Swift and Carroll will join Jackson at the end-of-festival concert on Saturday.

"The whole genesis of this is that there's this great synergy that exists between country artists and NASCAR drivers," Buchanan said. "And there's a significant overlap between fans of country music and fans of racing, so it's the opportunity to bring the two worlds together for an event like this. It's great because not only can fans enjoy, but also the artists and drivers really enjoy it themselves. When it comes down to it, a NASCAR driver is a big of fan of a country artist as any other fan, and vice versa."

'I had a blast'

The green flag falls on this year's event at 6:30 p.m. Friday with the red-carpet arrivals of country stars and motorsports' elite to The Groove, an invitation-only charity benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Victory Junction Gang Camp at the Wildhorse Saloon. After the red carpet, Sound & Speed ticketholders can participate in Honkytonk Pit Stop, an event from 7 to 10 p.m. at Legends Corner, The Stage, The Second Fiddle and Nashville Crossroads. Sound & Speed merchandise will be given away, as well as vouchers for autographs on Saturday.

Sound & Speed kicks into high gear at 8 a.m. Saturday with the opening of Sponsor City, which is free and open to the public on the plaza in front of Sommet Center. Sponsor City is home to assorted booths, presentations and activities by the event's sponsors including Great American Country, which will offer its Pit Stop Challenge.

"It's an interactive tire-changing game where people have the opportunity to change tires like they do in a real pit stop," said Scott Durand, vice president of marketing at Great American Country. "Men, women and kids compete against each other all day long, and then we take the top three finalists and they compete to win an autographed guitar."

Backstage Garage Pass from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday is the ticket portion of the festival when fans can meet and chat with their favorite drivers and country stars. And while it's obviously a good time for ticketholders, David Stremme said the drivers have a lot of fun, too.

"Last year I went and didn't know what to expect, but I had a blast," said Stremme, who drives the No. 40 car. "I told people last year that I had so much fun I was going to go back every year."

Fellow driver Ryan Newman agreed. "It's a great function and a great event for a great reason," he said, referring to Victory Junction Gang Camp. The children's charity, founded by fellow driver Kyle Petty, is one of two beneficiaries of the overall Sound & Speed event, along with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

In addition to the musicians and drivers, more than 20 Sprint show cars also will be on hand reflecting new paint schemes for the 2008 racing season. Fans can except to see cars from Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart.

The festival will close Saturday night with the Jackson-headlined show.

"We're going to try to keep people as entertained as possible," Carroll said. "Trust me, I know they're going to have Alan Jackson and Taylor Swift to get their money's worth, but even if we were the only ones they were seeing that day, we still want them to feel like it was worth it and that they had a good time."