News for the ‘BARBER MOTORSPORTS NEWS’ Category
2012 IMHOF Induction Ceremony: An Evening to Remember
“The 2012 class of inductees to the prestigious International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a constellation of racing’s finest achievers. Businesses and individuals alike are urged to purchase tickets and tables today to secure reservations for the induction on May 3, 2012. We can assure everyone it will be an evening to remember, and we hope everyone will join us that evening in welcoming Kenny Bernstein, Richard Childress and John Force into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame,” raved Grant Lynch.
In addition to the three inductees, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame will honor the 2011 Driver of the Year Tony Stewart and 2011 ARCA Champion Ty Dillon.
Edited: March 6th, 2012
It is Year of Food in Alabama and at Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast
Dig in to the new “100 Dishes” brochure
| By Year of Alabama Food Staff
In honor of The Year of Alabama Food, the Alabama Tourism Department has released a new and improved version of one of its most popular travel brochures.
The “100 Dishes To Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure introduces you to delicious eats from Abbeville to Wetumpka and everywhere in between. Whether you’re looking for barbecue, soul food, seafood or something to satisfy your sweet tooth, let this be your guide to Alabama’s signature dishes.
Download the new “100 Dishes To Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure and start planning your next culinary adventure.
Edited: February 10th, 2012
Chasing colors from Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast
The state tourism website alabama.travel has a great interactive toolto help determine when fall color peaks in Alabama. www.alabama.travel/activities/tours-and-trails/fall-color-trail/
Based on its predictions – and you can look out the window yourself to confirm this – slight changes will be evident in North Alabama through next weekend. The Birmingham area to the north should be near its color peak on Oct. 22, and areas north of Cullman will peak around Oct. 29. North Alabama will be past its peak on Nov. 19.
The Alabama tourism department also suggests the following scenic drives/areas:
1. Oak Mountain State Park, Pelham: Peavine Overlook and Peavine Falls
2. Oneonta/Blount County: covered bridges, Palisades Park
3. Cullman/Cullman County: Ave Maria Grotto, covered bridge
4. Bankhead National Forest, Winston and Lawrence counties: Double Springs
5. Natchez Trace: Lauderdale and Colbert counties
6. Joe Wheeler State Park, Rogersville: Joe Wheeler Dam area
7. Monte Sano State Park, Huntsville: Warpath Ridge Trail and its overlooks
8. Scottsboro/Jackson County: Russell Cave National Monument, Alabama 79 across Skyline Mountain, Alabama 65 through Paint Rock River Valley
9. Guntersville State Park, Guntersville: Buck’s Pocket State Park
10. Gadsden/Etowah County: Noccalula Falls Park
11. DeSoto State Park and Lodge, DeSoto Falls, Little River Canyon, Fort Payne: Lookout Mountain Parkway, DeSoto Parkway and Old DeSoto Parkway. Alabama 176, part of Lookout Mountain Parkway, includes scenic overlooks of Little River Canyon.
12. Cheaha State Park, Lineville: Bald Rock and Pulpit Rock trails, Talladega Scenic Drive, Skyline Drive and Skyway Motorway.
www.alabama.travel/activities/tours-and-trails/circle-of-colors/
For the complete article please see http://blog.al.com/living-times/2011/10/travel_feature_enjoy_the_color.html.
Edited: October 5th, 2011
Vulcan Park hosts exhibit of Alabama Folk Art
In celebration of the Year of Alabama Music, Vulcan Park and Museum presents The Music Lives On: Folk Song Traditions Told by Alabama Artists, an exhibition of works depicting the region’s great musical traditions created by the state’s most celebrated folk artists. Those represented in this colorful exhibition include such acclaimed artists as Lonnie Holley, Joe Minter, Charlie Lucas, and Thornton Dial. Through the creations of these great artists, visitors to Vulcan Park and Museum will encounter a parallel artistic universe – the world of blues, jazz, bluegrass, country, and other popular forms of music that define Birmingham, the state, and the region. The exhibit will be on display through Aug. 26.
For more information please see www.visitvulcan.com.
Edited: May 24th, 2011
Alabama Music concert series debuts in Birmingham
A major Alabama concert series called “ABALABIP!” and organized by The Oxford American magazine will debut on Saturday, Feb. 5, at the historic Alabama Theatre in Birmingham. The kickoff event begins at 7:30 p.m. and will feature Alabama soul icons Ralph “Soul” Jackson and Mary Gresham, along with the original cast of The Sex Clark Five, a brainy, melodic Huntsville new-wave act, a solo performance from free-jazz sax-man (and cult favorite) Arthur Doyle, and The Secret Sisters, on the heels of the success of their T Bone Burnett-produced debut, Silver Threads and Golden Needles. Concert tickets will also guarantee free entry to an after-party at Bottletree that will feature Huntsville hip-hop duo G-Side. “The Feb. 5 concert will bring to life the idea that to fully appreciate the astounding musical heritage of Alabama a lot of genres must be played with,” said Marc Smirnoff, editor of The Oxford American.
This event is the first of four Oxford American events taking place in Alabama throughout 2011 to celebrate Alabama music and The Oxford American‘s 12th annual Southern Music Issue, which focuses on the musical heritage of Alabama. The concerts are in conjunction with The Year of Alabama Music, an initiative by the Alabama Tourism Department to highlight the state’s rich musical heritage. Details about upcoming ABALABIP! concerts in other Alabama cities will be announced soon. The Oxford American concert series is called “ABALABIP!,” after a 1950 song by Eddie Cole – brother of Nat King Cole, and born in Montgomery – that is featured in the magazine and its accompanying CD. Most of the performers at the Feb. 5 concert were also part of the magazine and CD. Smirnoff said that he also likes how the Feb. 5 concert will serve as a celebration for Ralph “Soul” Jackson’s forthcoming full-length CD debut (by hip Rabbit Factory Records of Chicago). “It’s amazing,” Smirnoff said. “Though Ralph ‘Soul’ Jackson has been releasing choice soul singles since the 1960s, it won’t be until Feb. of 2011 that he releases his first full album, not just singles.”
This event is presented by The Oxford American, Alabama Tourism Department, Florence Lauderdale Tourism, Lucy Buffett’s LuLu’s at Homeport Marina, MINI, and Arkansas Delta Byways. For information on tickets please see www.oxfordamerican.org.
Edited: January 27th, 2011
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Ala. – Barber Motorsports Park and ZOOM Motorsports announced today that tickets are
now on sale for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy Credit Union to be held April 8
?10, 2011, at the Barber Motorsports Park. Tickets are available at www.barbermotorsports.com
Last year’s inaugural Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama brought over 75,000 fans from all over the world to watch the stars of the IZOD IndyCar Series compete on the twists and turns of the 2.38 mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park. The 3 the Stars, defending champion.
In addition to Castroneves, this year’s event will again feature the most dominant names in the IndyCar Series, including 2008 Series Champion and Indy 500 Winner Scott Dixon, 2007 and 2009 Series Champion and 2 Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Danica Patrick.
Spectators can select from a variety of tickets ranging in price from $15 to $425 and are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance, as prices will increase the week of the race. Among the many ticket options this year, are 3 Club, a trackside hospitality area with a sports bar atmosphere located between turns 14 and 15. In addition to tickets, spectators can also purchase tent camping, motorhome camping and onsite parking. Limited quantities of these options as well as tickets are available.
Lodging only 20 minutes away can be made at Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast www.treasureislandbedandbreakfast.com ,can be made online.
Edited: December 30th, 2010
Glenn Leonard & The Temptations Experience
Make a real experience and come stay at Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast www.treasureislandbedandbreakfast.com and come see Glenn Leonard & The Temptations at Pell City; Jan 29. Perhaps the most consistent Motown act from the very beginning. What is remarkable about the Temptations has been their ability to completely change personnel over their 40-year history without affecting the quality of their music or performances. Glenn Leonard had a long illustrious career as the first tenor and lead singer of the Temptations from 1975-1984. Joining Leonard will be Kareem Ali, Pete Marshall, Anthony McRae and Freddy Black in an evening that will be long remembered.
Edited: December 10th, 2010
Talladega Superspeedway president goes to Barber Motorsports Park
Former Talladega Superspeedway President Rick Humphrey is returning to Alabama with a new racing assignment.
Humphrey has been named vice president of Zoom Motorsports and will be in charge of running races at Barber Motorsports Park, said Zoom President Gene Hallman.
“I was fortunate enough to get a heads up that my department was one of the ones that would be looked at to possibly be eliminated,” Humphrey said.
Humphrey replaces Jeff Ewing, who will move to the Bruno Event Team’s golf division. Zoom Motorsports is a division of the Bruno Event Team.
At Barber, Humphrey will oversee a much different track from the high-banked 2.66-mile oval at Talladega that hosts two NASCAR Sprint Cup races each year.
Barber is a 2.38-mile road course that hosts the NASCAR-owned Grand Am Series, the IZOD IndyCar Series and the AMA Pro Superbike Series.
“During my time at ISC I have gained some knowledge of Grand Am and the IRL,” Humphrey said.
He was also involved in ISC’s negotiations with the IndyCar Series about whether the open-wheel series would continue to race on ISC tracks. IndyCar ended up dropping all four of ISC’s tracks — Homestead, Chicago, Kansas and Watkins Glen — from its 2011 schedule because of disappointment with ISC’s marketing of IndyCar races.
Despite the ISC-IndyCar split, Barber has always had a close relationship with Talladega. Talladega, for instance, has loaned its trams to Barber to shuttle fans around the track.
For the spring races, which are only a week apart, the tracks are planning to offer special package deals to see both the April 10 IndyCar race at Barber and the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega on April 17, plus spend the week in between playing golf.
Still, Humphrey said, he doesn’t regret leaving Talladega for Daytona.
“You never look back,” he said of his decision to take the ISC job and leave Talladega. “Nobody knew what would happen when we moved down here.”
Fortunately, he said, he had not yet bought a house in Daytona Beach, so moving back to Alabama will be easier, even though “we’ve been unsettled for eight months.”
But he does admit he’ll miss the NASCAR culture.
“It’s been a part of my life since ’92 or ’93,” he said. “So yes.”
Edited: November 12th, 2010
Barber Motorsports to hold Vintage Event
The sixth annual Barber Vintage Festival will be held this weekend, October 8 – 10 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL. The nation’s fastest growing celebration of vintage bikes will offer on- and off-track racing, as well as many other activities dedicated to the history and preservation of motorcycles.
The Barber Vintage Festival’s racing centerpiece will highlight several classes of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) competing throughout the weekend, including Road Racing, Trials, Cross-Country and Motocross. Each of these divisions will be featured in its own unique venue at the Barber Motorsports Park.
In addition to the racing aspect, spectators will have plenty of off-track activities to enjoy, including:
• World Famous Barber Swap Meet
• VJMC Pancake Breakfast (Saturday only)
• AMCA and VJMC Motorcycle Show
• Motorcycle Classics Magazine Bike Show
• Vintage Motorcycle Auction
• The Great American Wall of Death Thrill Show
• Southern Vintage Fire Apparatus Association Show
• Aeroshell Aerobatic Team Air Show
• Motorcycle Parade Laps
• Technical Seminars
A complete listing of weekend events can be found at www.barbervintagefestival.org/event-schedule.php. Please note that some activities and attractions may require the purchase of an additional ticket.
Advance tickets start as low as $15, and ticket prices will increase at the gate. Tickets, parade laps, camping reservations, and more for the sixth annual Barber Vintage Festival can be purchased at www.barbermotorsports.com or by calling 800-240-2300. Children 12 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult.
Also returning this year is “Motorcycles by Moonlight”, a fundraiser dinner benefiting the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, which will be held on Friday, October 8. This year’s honored guest will be Sir John Surtees, the only man to win a world championship on both two and four wheels. Cocktails will begin at 6:00 p.m. with dinner and a live auction at 7:00 p.m. An evening with John Surtees and host Alain de Cadenet will begin at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to “Motorcycle by Moonlight” may be purchased by calling 205-699-7275.
Edited: October 9th, 2010
Thousands expected for bike races at Barber near Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast
College football won’t be the only sport with a huge following this weekend.
Motorcycle enthusiasts will get their fix when Barber Motorsports Park hosts a series of races for the AMA Pro Superbike Championship.
Forty-thousand fans are expected to attend and bring a large economic impact to the area.
It’s a season-ending event. So there’s a lot more interest in these races.
Locals and tourists are expected to generate more than $12 million into the local economy. Tickets have been sold in more than 30 states for this event. Most of the out of town fans will arrive Friday. “I love watching it. The sound of it is exciting. The people…. everyone here with a common thing …we all enjoy makes it fun,” said Chad Jatko.
The manager of Hampton Inn in Leeds, Patrick Brankin, said, “We had a really slow summer being a brand new hotel in a kind of struggling economy. It’s a huge weekend. We are going to sell-out actually two of the next three weekends just because of events at Barber.”
Qualifying is Friday and races are Saturday and Sunday.
Two series champions could be crowned this weekend and that’s what the fans want to see.
Edited: September 24th, 2010