News for October 2009
TICKETS ARE GOING FAST FOR THE FAST LANE
Tickets to the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at the Barber Motorsports Park (April 9 – 11) are going fast. Hilltop motorhome sites have sold out completely, and several other limited availability categories, such as the Speed Pass, the Billy’s Sports Grill Club tickets and on-site parking passes are selling quickly.
Barber Motorsports urges race fans not to miss out on the first choice of tickets, hospitality, camping and parking for what is billed as the must see event for 2010. Visit http://www.barbermotorsports.com or call 800-240-2300 to order passes to the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
Edited: October 31st, 2009
THINGS TO DO AND PLACES TO DINE IN SWEET HOME ALABAMA
There’s a reason so many great writers are from the South. Our unique culture breeds creativity. It also produces some fantastic cultural landmarks, such as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the sixth-largest Shakespeare festival in the world, which Variety called “an oasis of optimism and growth.” If you’re looking for more musical fare, catch some of America’s hottest acts at huge concert venues in Birmingham, Montgomery or Orange Beach, to name a few. Or find the next Taylor Hicks at one of Alabama’s hundreds of live music spots, where top upcoming talent is constantly on display.
After a good meal? Alabama features some legendary eateries. Visit the Dew Drop Inn in Mobile and bite into the burger that inspired the Jimmy Buffet song “Cheesburger in Paradise.” Or come see how nationally acclaimed Birmingham chef Frank Stitt – whose restaurants include Highlands Bar & Grill, Bottega Resaurant & Café, and Chez Fonfon – has revolutionized the fine-dining experience in Alabama. Looking to pick up the pace? Catch a race at the Talladega Superspeedway (175,000 capacity) or a college football game at Tuscaloosa’s Bryant-Denny Stadium (92,000 capacity) or Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,000 capacity). Plus, with hundreds of beautiful golf courses nestled throughout the state, including the world-famous Robert Trent Jones golf trail, Alabama offers what Golf Digest has called some of the best golf vacations in the world.
Another good way to relax is a trip to one of Alabama’s beautiful Gulf Coast destinations. Kick back on the white sands. Charter a boat. Visit a bustling water park. There’s no shortage of things to do. In short, it’s paradise. And not just for families but golfers, sun-worshippers, fishermen and vacationers in general. And you’ll find plenty of outdoor activities in the rest of the state. Alabama offers literally every type of outdoor adventure imaginable, from hiking, camping, cycling, canoeing and kayaking to horseback riding, fishing, scaling boulders and rappelling down canyons. Browse our site, and learn more about beautiful Alabama.
Edited: October 31st, 2009
Hoover man on quest to be the first to paddle the Alabama Scenic River Trail
From the article “Hoover man aims to be first person to paddle down, up Alabama Scenic River Trail” by Thomas Spencer in The Birmingham News:
Somewhere on the Coosa River near Gadsden, Warren Johnson is pushing his 16-foot, bright yellow sea kayak against the swollen river, creeping along methodically against the current. If all goes according to plan, by next weekend, the 59-year-old will become the first person to complete the 631-mile Alabama Scenic River Trail forward and backward, paddling down the Coosa from the Alabama-Georgia line to the Gulf Coast, then turning around and going back upstream. This is only the latest in a series of incredible journeys Johnson, a computer support technician, has made since he was laid off from a job with EDS in Hoover in September 2007. After spending the winter in Oak Mountain State Park, Johnson set off from the southern terminus of the Pinhoti Trail in March 2008 and hiked from central Alabama to the Appalachian Trail’s northern terminus in Maine. From there, he bicycled back to Birmingham. That’s 2,530 miles hiked to Maine, 1,750 miles biked from Maine. After another winter at Oak Mountain and a 1,000-mile circuitous bicycle jaunt to Virginia and back this spring, the ex-Marine decided to try the river trail. Despite having no experience as a paddler, he set off July 15. Speaking at a stop in Pell City on Thursday, Johnson explained his motivation: “As far as what makes me tick: I enjoy the challenge.” In nearly eight years in the Marines, he learned that when assigned a task: “You never come back and say, ‘I can’t do that.’”
Steve DeBoalt is one of many friends who’ve been monitoring Johnson’s progress via updates Johnson posts on Facebook. It provides a vicarious thrill for those bound by the regular responsibilities of jobs and family, DeBoalt said. Before the trip, he bought the kayak for $450, picked a paddle and a spare and a life preserver and maps, and consulted with the organizers of the Alabama Scenic River Trail. The first day on the water he made only four miles and said he thought to himself: “This is a bad idea.” But he gained strength and confidence as he went. In July and August, he’d start at 7 a.m. and quit by 2 p.m., exhausted by the heat. Most days, the most challenging task was finding a place to take out his kayak and camp. He descended the river in 46 days, portaging around the six dams, five by himself, one with the aid of an outfitter.
The most precarious moments came crossing the open water of Mobile Bay, cutting over from the Eastern Shore to the Fort Morgan peninsula. At midpoint, he couldn’t see land, just the tops of condos. Waves were getting high and he was happy he’d invested in a spray skirt to keep the water out. “The waves, the wind and the tide made things interesting,” Johnson said. In more peaceful moments, he’s paddled with a pod of dolphins. He’s watched diving pelicans in the bay and soaring raptors over the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. South of Selma, the river is home to alligators, which did him no harm apart from scaring him as they scrambled out of the underbrush and belly-flopped in the water. Camping on floating platforms on the Bartran Canoe Trail in the delta, he went to sleep under the watchful glare of their red-glinting eyes. He encountered wild pigs and beaver and otter, but Johnson isn’t one to go on poetically about the glories of nature. “Once you’ve seen the sunrise a few hundred times from outdoors, you’ve seen it all,” he said. He depends on his waterproof Garmin 60csx GPS and cell phone with Internet access that he charges using a battery and solar cell. Other indispensable equipment includes a portable radio on which he listens to Rick & Bubba for entertainment and weather reports. A 50-foot rope has come in handy for dragging the boat up impassable rapids. He doesn’t intend to write a book, but if he did, he’d call it “Life at 2 Miles Per Hour,” the approximate pace of both his hiking and paddling.
Edited: October 22nd, 2009
Oak Mountain State Park named one of the best places to see fall leaves
Travel and hotel review metasearch site UpTake ranked Oak Mountain State Park near Birmingham second on a list of the “11 Best Places To See Fall Leaves” in the United States. From the UpTake listing: “Oak Mountain State Park is Alabama’s largest state park. This nearly 10,000 acre forest is featured on several sightseeing lists. Admission is only $3 for adults on weekends and holidays. You can visit the park for fall foliage viewing from 7am to sundown.” UpTake collects travel information from 5,000 sources including TravelPost, Expedia, Orbitz, Fodors, Travelocity, Hotels.com, TripAdvisor and Yahoo! Travel. UpTake analyzes and organizes the opinions of more than 20 million U.S. travelers for its website. The UpTake website has more than one million visitors a month. http://www.uptake.com/blog/family_vacations/best-fall-foliage-scenic-drives_5763.html
Oak Mountain State Park is the first site listed on the Alabama Tourism Department’s Fall Color Trail. The Fall Color Trail promotion is being coordinated by tourism department staff member Brian Jones. An interactive map on the Alabama Tourism Department’s website allows visitors to see the predicted fall color change for each weekend this fall. The map, list of recommended viewing sites and a Circle of Color driving route are all available on the state tourism website. http://www.alabama.travel/activities/tours-and-trails/fall-color-trail/.
Edited: October 22nd, 2009
CATHCART INJURED AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Alan Cathcart crashed during a testing session Thursday (Oct. 8th) at Barber Motorsports Park outside of Birmingham, Alabama. The crash resulted in three fractured ribs, one cracked vertebrae, a broken right foot and the top of his left thumb being ground down. Cathcart is currently in the University of Alabama (UAB) Hospital in Birmingham.
Sir Alan Cathcart
Sir Alan Cathcart
Cathcart was on hand for this weekend’s Barber Vintage Festival presented by Michelin to ride Danny Eslick’s Daytona Sportbike Championship winning Buell 1125R. On Thursday Buell asked Cathcart to test a couple of its prototype Buell 1125RR Superbikes to give them feedback.
“Buell wanted me to give them my thoughts on their prototype and specifically how it compares to the Ducati and KTM Superbikes I’ve ridden that are campaigned in the national-level Superbikes Series in Europe,” Cathcart said Friday. “Testing was going along just fine and the lap times were coming down into a very good range, when on the last lap of the last session I ran out to the curbing coming onto the front straight and the rear tire spun up. When it came on the tarmac again it hooked up rather violently and spit me off.
“I was able to get enough laps to know that Buell’s 1125RR is quite good and compares favorably to the Superbikes raced in national-level series in Europe. Obviously I would have liked it better with traction control,” Cathcart said with a grin.
“Buell is very popular in Europe and I believe some team will decide to race the 1125RR, perhaps in the IDM Series in Germany as soon as next year. The bike is very powerful and torquey.”
Cathcart is perhaps the best known motorcycle journalist in the world. He received the prestigious Journalist of the Year Award for 2008 from the Guild of Motoring Writers.
“They found two fractured vertebrae, but just like Nori Haga this summer, they discovered one of the fractures was actually an old injury,” Cathcart explained. “The injury to my foot is like David Beckham’s, a broken metatarsal, an injury common in soccer.”
In spite of his injuries Cathcart has not lost his trademark sense of humor.
“Having made a tour of hospitals around the world on five different continents, I can say the UAB Hospital rates a five star,” he quipped. “Unfortunately I would have to give the food only a three-star rating.”
Cathcart went on to say doctors told him he would be fine in about six weeks, his ribs are the most painful at the moment and he hopes to be out of the hospital by Sunday, if not sooner.
Edited: October 10th, 2009
Barber Motosports Vintage Motorcycles
f you are at all into the Vintage and classic bike scene- or think you might want to be, don’t miss this event. It is 3 days of exhibits, swap meets, races and tons of very cool bikes. Really, I went last year and highly recommend it. The museum is world class and should be on your “don’t miss” list. The club displays are great and the racing is really fun to watch since the bikes are vintage but still fast. Tickets and pricing are here and there are good camping spots as well. Barber’s main website is here and the museum is here.
Edited: October 6th, 2009
Michelin Crowns U.S. Motorcycle Grand Champions At Barber Motorsports Park
Michelin crowned nine Grand Champions and handed out $87,500 in purse, bonuses and trophies to racers Sunday, the rain-affected second day of the Michelin U.S. Motorcycle Championship at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Butler Machinery’s Robert Jensen had a less-than-perfect afternoon, but a win in the Supersport Pro race and a second place (after crashing and being saved by a red flag) in the Superstock Pro race gave the North Dakota resident the Grand Championship in each class and a total of $14,000 in purse and bonuses.
Edited: October 5th, 2009
Danica Patrick will join other Indy Racing stars at Barber Motorsports in 2010
Indy racing sensation Danica Patrick signed a three-year contract last week that will keep her in the IndyCar Series. Patrick will be racing in the “Indy Grand Prix of Alabama” at Barber Motorsports in Birmingham during the weekend of April 9-11, 2010. Joining Patrick at Barber Motorsports will be 3-time Indy 500 Winner Helio Castroneves, 2008 Series Champion and Indy 500 Winner Scott Dixon, 2007 Series Champion and Indy 500 Winner Dario Franchitti, and 2005 Series Champion and Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon. Intense lobbying efforts by the State of Alabama, City of Birmingham, Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau and Zoom Motorsports resulted in Birmingham’s addition to the 2010 racing season schedule. This will be the only IndyCar Series race in the deep-south meaning it is a great tourist draw for the region,” said Gene Hallman, President of Zoom Motorsports, the Track’s exclusive promoter. Barber Motorsports Park opened in 2003 and is the largest philanthropic project in the history of the state of Alabama with more than $70 million private funds contributed. The track features 17 turns and 80 feet of elevation changes over the 2.38 mile circuit.
Tickets to the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama are available at the Barber Motorsports ticket office and online at http://www.barbermotorsports.com/indy-grand-prix.php
Edited: October 1st, 2009