The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, the only vintage race in the country that is run on city streets, is less than a month away.
For the 25th anniversary of the race, Mercedes-Benz will be honored as the 2007 Marque of the Year.
The race itself is in Schenley Park, but not all of the attractions are at that site. The event, which is staffed completely by volunteers, encompasses much of the city, even going as far as BeaveRun Motorsports Complex.
The BeaveRun events, July 6-8, are scheduled because the Schenley Park course is too tight for some cars, especially Big-Block cars like Mustangs and Camaros. The Schenley Park races are the following weekend, July 14-15.
One of the most promising events is the July 10 Car Cruise at the Waterfront in Homestead. The cruise, with more than 500 cars, is scheduled for 4 to 9 p.m., but the featured attraction is an appearance by NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon at 11:30 a.m.
For more information on the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, visit www.pittsburghvintagegrandprix.com .
Fireworks at Lernerville
Lernerville Speedway always gets a jump on the Independence Day fireworks displays, but Friday night there was plenty of action on the track as well as in the sky. The Late Models and V-8 Modifieds provided a lot of action, both good and bad.
On the good side was David Scott of Garland, who won his first Late Model feature at Lernerville since last June. Scott, an aggressive driver, had to use a little patience to lets things work out before he made his move to the front. Hyde Park's Gary Lyle also had a great run and finished second. It was a great finish for Lyle, who has been up and down all season, and it came about because he started to get more aggressive.
No matter which tactic was used, Scott and Lyle both needed the finish because there are just two weeks before the two-day World of Outlaws Firecracker 100. The Firecracker will pay $30,000 to win and more than $1,000 just to start the feature. The total purse is $140,000.
The start of the Late Model feature had a scary moment when Shane McMeans, who started third, didn't even make it out of the first turn. McMeans caught something on the track and his car flipped and rolled violently. After about 10 minutes, he exited his car under his own power.
Brian Swartzlander put up a scintillating ride in the V-8 Modified feature. Swartzlander started from the back of the 24-car field and stormed to the victory, his fourth straight and fifth of the season. In 2000, Swartzlander twice won four straight features at Lernerville.
Other winners Friday were Rod George in Sprint Cars and Mike Pegher Jr. in Pure Stocks. Both George and Pegher have two victories this season. Midway through the season, point leaders are Ed Lynch Jr. in Sprints, Alex Ferree in Late Models, Swartzlander in V-8 Modifieds and Pegher Jr. in Pure Stocks.
G'day, mate
Racecar drivers have been known to travel quite a distance to race, and then there is Troy Little.
Friday night, Little, of Sydney, Australia, stopped at Lernerville and finished fifth in the Sprint car feature. Saturday at Sharon Speedway, Little improved by one spot with a fourth-place finish. Sunday's races at Tri-City finished too late for this edition.
Topless Tuesday
Pittsburgh's Pa. Motor Speedway will feature a special show Tuesday with the roofs being pulled from the Late Models and the Crate Late Models. All other divisions will be in action as well. Racing starts at 7 p.m.
