Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Fans attending the <strong>UAW</strong>-DC 400 at<br />
LVMS can also experience another<br />
tribute paid to Dale Earnhardt if they<br />
stop by Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.<br />
Last August, the museum unveiled a<br />
first-of-its-kind, $200,000 life-size<br />
wax figure of the legendary driver.<br />
Earnhardt is the first auto racing legend<br />
to have a wax figure in the museum’s<br />
“Speed” attraction. Decked out<br />
in an official driving uniform with his<br />
trademark cap, jacket and sunglasses,<br />
he’s depicted with his arms raised in<br />
triumph, standing in a setting that was<br />
very familiar to him: Victory Lane.<br />
Earnhardt visited that spot 76 times in<br />
his NASCAR career.<br />
While the debut of the Richard<br />
Petty Terrace <strong>com</strong>pletes the Las Vegas<br />
Motor Speedway’s biggest recent<br />
construction project, Powell notes<br />
that the speedway is constantly<br />
making improvements. ■<br />
— Michael J. McDermott<br />
LVMS LANDS ROLE<br />
IN WILL FERRELL<br />
RACING MOVIE<br />
In High, Wide and Handsome, a Will Ferrell <strong>com</strong>edy scheduled for<br />
release this summer, Ferrell’s character, Ricky Bobby, races for the<br />
checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In reality, the racing<br />
scenes were filmed at tracks in Charlotte, N.C.; Rockingham, N.C.;<br />
and Talladega, Ala., but that doesn’t make the movie any less<br />
appealing for NASCAR fans. Ricky is a go-for-broke stock car driver<br />
who finishes first or not at all. The fireworks start when the team<br />
owner brings in a French Formula One driver who quickly be<strong>com</strong>es<br />
Ricky’s biggest rival.<br />
GETTY IMAGES<br />
SPECIAL PAINT SCHEMES<br />
A HIT WITH FANS<br />
Fans of Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Dodge Charger,<br />
co-sponsored by the <strong>UAW</strong>-Daimler<strong>Chrysler</strong> National<br />
Training Center, had something extra to look forward to<br />
when they went to the track during the 2005 NASCAR<br />
Nextel Cup season. Like other cars on the Evernham<br />
Motorsports team, No. 9 showed up decked out in a variety<br />
of different paint schemes at different races. A hit with<br />
fans, the practice continues during the <strong>2006</strong> season.<br />
One of the most popular paint schemes for Kahne’s ride<br />
last year made its debut in August at Indianapolis Motor<br />
Speedway<br />
for the<br />
Allstate 400.<br />
Predominantly<br />
white, with two red racing<br />
stripes running the length of the car, it<br />
was a “reverse” color design based on Kahne’s<br />
trademark red hat. At the Dickies 500 in November, the<br />
car’s paint scheme featured the new Dodge Mega Cab — the<br />
“World’s Biggest Cab” — in a black and red design.<br />
TOMORROW SPECIAL RACING <strong>2006</strong> 7
Change language