Cars 'n' Stars: The Stars Shone at Silverstone Ferrari Bash, Customer Rebates for '97 Models, CART Pro-Clebrity Bike Ride for Charity
14 September 1997
Chrysler sponsored the salute to Ferrari at the famed Silverstone, England race track. Not only did it attract 750 Ferraris, but also 62,000 motorsports enthusiasts. Racing celebs in attendance were Sir Jack Brabham, Cliff Allison, Tony Brooks, Froilian Gonzales, Jody Schekter, John Surtees, Stirling Moss and Phil Hill. They all celebrated 50 years of Ferrari.Top customer rebates for 1997 models currently in effect include:
Chrysler Concorde $2,000 Dodge Intrepid $2,000 Ford Taurus $2,500 Lincoln Town Car $6,000 GMC Safari $2,000 Cadillac Deville $2,000 Subaru SVX $3,000
The annual CART Pro-celebrity Charity Motorcycle ride took off from Monterey, CA right after the Laguna Seca race and headed for the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, Ca. CART drivers taking part in the event spearheaded by Parnelli Jones are, Jimmy Vasser, P.J. Jones, Max Papis, Tony Bettenhausen, Roberto Moreno, Dan Gurney, Bobby Rahal and Adrian Fernandez.
The most recent FIA World Rally event in Finland saw Mitsubishi drivers Tommy Makinen and Seppo Harjane take the win over the Ford of Juha Repo in a three-day slugfest. In the U.S. version of big time rallying, Michelin SCCA Pro Rally the Ojibwe Forest, Mn rally was won by Paul Choinere in a Hyundai Tiburon as Choinere's father-in-law John Buffum who was leading the event pulled to the side of the road to let the 1996 champion take the points and the win.
Don't know where all the purse money is coming from in ProSportsCar racing but Exxon has announced they are pulling out of the various race series they sponsor and the club says so what...we'll manage. In fact the first race for Andy Evans American Stock Car road racing series in Las Vegas has a $300,000 purse.
There's another Petty on the racing horizon as Adam Petty tested his father Kyle's Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway. The 17 year old has been driving late models in the Carolinas. Mike Skinner has re-upped with Richard Childress and Ernie Irvan will join MB2/Skittles Motorsports taking Derrick Copes ride for next year.
A.J. Foyt formally appealed the finishing order of the IRL Texas Motor Speedway race and USAC formally denied the appeal.
CRT has entered into a cross-licensing agreement with Warner Brothers to promote caps, T-shirts carrying logos of cartoon characters. Also in CART Bruce McCaw announced that both his drivers, Mark Blundell and Mo Gugelmin have signed on for 1998.
Recent NHTSA recalls:
Ford Explorer 1996-97 Mercury Mountaineer 1996-97 23,000 vehicles Carburetion problems Chrysler Dodge Caravan Plymouth Voyager 1997 60 vehicles damaged steel road wheels
Bill Maloney The Auto Channel
