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Indy Grand Prix of Alabama /CHECK MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Topic Started: Apr 2 2010, 02:15 PM (1,952 Views)
mouser
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Business News from The Birmingham News
National and local business, financial and economic news from The Birmingham NewsBreaking News »
Southern hospitality is in high gear for Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
By Michael Tomberlin -- The Birmingham News
April 09, 2010, 6:15AM

Organizers of the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama plan to rev up the Southern hospitality to syrupy sweet levels this weekend to make sure Birmingham sticks in the minds of drivers and race officials.

Zoom Motorsports and the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau want to ensure that Birmingham will be a lasting memory when the drivers recall the 2010 season, which takes them to 17 cities in four countries over eight months.

"We want them to feel very, very special," said Gene Hallman, chief executive of Zoom. "We want them to feel like this is a bigger deal here than it is in St. Petersburg or Toronto or Dallas. With all due respect to those markets and as good as those races are, we like to think that this is going to be a better experience for them here and more welcoming."

While the quality of the Barber Motorsports Park is expected to make an impression, an overdose of Southern hospitality won't hurt.



"We called the league about two months ago and let them know we wanted to offer a driver concierge service and would like to talk to another track that was doing this to get some ideas," Hallman said. "They told us it hadn't been done before, so we took a page from our other events, including the Regions Charity Classic, to decide what we could do to put touches on this event to demonstrate Southern hospitality is one of our strengths."

Indy and Pro-Am racers can contact a concierge, day or night, for everything from restaurant recommendations and reservations to pet boarding or laundry service.

Indy drivers can even have a complimentary massage.

"This is a very technical track and very demanding physically, so we felt like a professional sports massage therapist would be a great benefit," Hallman said.

The Indy drivers also get free tickets to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and a 20 percent discount on items in the museum's gift shop.

Plus the drivers will receive a "Southern welcome" in the form of a gift basket from Whole Foods, made up mostly of Southeastern products, including granola from Mountain Brook's Big Sky Bread Co., Alabama-made Naturally More Peanut Butter and two fresh biscuits with either Alabama honey or blueberry butter.

The hospitality is not limited to the drivers or league officials.

As part of the charm offensive, area hotels have put out welcome signs and banners aimed at those attending the race and hotel staffs are wearing special buttons with greetings. Everyone from police and sheriff deputies working traffic to the 400 volunteers and the staff at the CVB have all had special training emphasizing friendliness and courtesy.

The opening ceremonies will have a decidedly Southern feel, from grand marshal Charles Barkley to Randy Owen's singing of "My Home's In Alabama" and Taylor Hicks' rendition of the national anthem. Even the "ladies and gentlemen, start your engines" will have a Southern twist.

"I don't want to ruin the surprise, but the most famous call in all of sport will be done by George Barber himself on Sunday and just might highlight in a positive way our Southern hospitality," Hallman said.


Landing the event

Students and professors from the University of Alabama's sports management school have volunteered to survey visitors to learn what they liked, or didn't like, about the event. Zoom is taking similar feedback through a Web site.

"We want to learn from this year and make it even more hospitable for next year," Hallman said.

Truth be told, there might not be an Indy Grand Prix of Alabama if it wasn't for that friendly, welcoming attitude, Hallman said.

During a test run with Indy drivers at the Barber track last year, officials turned on the charm with touches such as putting the Indy logo on hotel key cards and naming menu items in the restaurant after drivers. Also, they shot a video of fans declaring their hope of hosting a race some day -- a video with "Sweet Home Alabama" as its background music.

"The Southern hospitality aspect was very big in landing the event, it will be very big in making sure everyone has a great experience and it will be huge in helping ensure this becomes a permanent part of our sports calendar," Hallman said.

Darin White, professor of sports marketing at Samford University's Brock School of Business, said the approach is sound.

"I'm sure the drivers are the opinion leaders when it comes to deciding where they will race in the future," White said. "It' s a good idea to roll out the red carpet and use those things that set you apart -- like Southern hospitality."


Business News from The Birmingham News
National and local business, financial and economic news from The Birmingham NewsBreaking News »
Southern hospitality is in high gear for Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
By Michael Tomberlin -- The Birmingham News
April 09, 2010, 6:15AM

Organizers of the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama plan to rev up the Southern hospitality to syrupy sweet levels this weekend to make sure Birmingham sticks in the minds of drivers and race officials.

Zoom Motorsports and the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau want to ensure that Birmingham will be a lasting memory when the drivers recall the 2010 season, which takes them to 17 cities in four countries over eight months.

"We want them to feel very, very special," said Gene Hallman, chief executive of Zoom. "We want them to feel like this is a bigger deal here than it is in St. Petersburg or Toronto or Dallas. With all due respect to those markets and as good as those races are, we like to think that this is going to be a better experience for them here and more welcoming."

While the quality of the Barber Motorsports Park is expected to make an impression, an overdose of Southern hospitality won't hurt.



"We called the league about two months ago and let them know we wanted to offer a driver concierge service and would like to talk to another track that was doing this to get some ideas," Hallman said. "They told us it hadn't been done before, so we took a page from our other events, including the Regions Charity Classic, to decide what we could do to put touches on this event to demonstrate Southern hospitality is one of our strengths."

Indy and Pro-Am racers can contact a concierge, day or night, for everything from restaurant recommendations and reservations to pet boarding or laundry service.

Indy drivers can even have a complimentary massage.

"This is a very technical track and very demanding physically, so we felt like a professional sports massage therapist would be a great benefit," Hallman said.

The Indy drivers also get free tickets to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and a 20 percent discount on items in the museum's gift shop.

Plus the drivers will receive a "Southern welcome" in the form of a gift basket from Whole Foods, made up mostly of Southeastern products, including granola from Mountain Brook's Big Sky Bread Co., Alabama-made Naturally More Peanut Butter and two fresh biscuits with either Alabama honey or blueberry butter.

The hospitality is not limited to the drivers or league officials.

As part of the charm offensive, area hotels have put out welcome signs and banners aimed at those attending the race and hotel staffs are wearing special buttons with greetings. Everyone from police and sheriff deputies working traffic to the 400 volunteers and the staff at the CVB have all had special training emphasizing friendliness and courtesy.

The opening ceremonies will have a decidedly Southern feel, from grand marshal Charles Barkley to Randy Owen's singing of "My Home's In Alabama" and Taylor Hicks' rendition of the national anthem. Even the "ladies and gentlemen, start your engines" will have a Southern twist.

"I don't want to ruin the surprise, but the most famous call in all of sport will be done by George Barber himself on Sunday and just might highlight in a positive way our Southern hospitality," Hallman said.


Landing the event

Students and professors from the University of Alabama's sports management school have volunteered to survey visitors to learn what they liked, or didn't like, about the event. Zoom is taking similar feedback through a Web site.

"We want to learn from this year and make it even more hospitable for next year," Hallman said.

Truth be told, there might not be an Indy Grand Prix of Alabama if it wasn't for that friendly, welcoming attitude, Hallman said.

During a test run with Indy drivers at the Barber track last year, officials turned on the charm with touches such as putting the Indy logo on hotel key cards and naming menu items in the restaurant after drivers. Also, they shot a video of fans declaring their hope of hosting a race some day -- a video with "Sweet Home Alabama" as its background music.

"The Southern hospitality aspect was very big in landing the event, it will be very big in making sure everyone has a great experience and it will be huge in helping ensure this becomes a permanent part of our sports calendar," Hallman said.

Darin White, professor of sports marketing at Samford University's Brock School of Business, said the approach is sound.

"I'm sure the drivers are the opinion leaders when it comes to deciding where they will race in the future," White said. "It' s a good idea to roll out the red carpet and use those things that set you apart -- like Southern hospitality."










Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 06:12 PM.
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mouser
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April 8, 2010

Grand Prix races into LeedsIndy Car event expected to bring 100,000 spectators to city
By Robert Blankenship
The Leeds News

http://www.theleedsnews.net/local/x993491542/Grand-Prix-races-into-Leeds

LEEDS — The City of Leeds will see a lot of action this weekend as spectators from across the globe descend on Barber Motorsports Park for the first Indy Grand Prix of Alabama event.

As Indy car racers like Danica Patrick, Helio Castroneves and Will Powers prepare for the big race, city officials in Leeds are preparing to present its best face to, not only spectators, but also to possible businesses who might want to get in on the action at Exit 140 next to Barber Motorsports Park and Bass Pro Shops.

According to officials at Barber, this weekend’s event is expected to bring 100,000 spectators to the park bringing along with them a possible $35 million economic impact on the area.

As early as last week, officials were already reporting that all camping and RV spaces were sold out, as well as on-site parking passes.

Among those scheduled to appear during the race weekend are Americna Idol contestant Taylor Hicks, Randy Owen of Country supergroup Alabama, Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey, and NBA Hall-of-Famer and Leeds native Charles Barkley.
The City of Leeds has been gearing up for the big race, including cleaning the main streets leading into the downtown area.

“We have been concentrating many of our resources on Exit 140, as well as Highways 78 and 411 leading into the city. We are hopeful we can get everything done so that we can present our city in the most positive way to visitors. Local residents may have to wait a week on limb pickup, but we really want the main entrances into our city to be as attractive as possible,” said Leeds Mayor Eric Patterson.

Things get underway at Barbers on Friday morning when the gates officially open and shuttles start running at 7:30 a.m. Throughout that morning there will be a series of practice runs and qualifying races.

On Saturday, gates once again open at 7:30 with qualifying raes for the Firestone Indy Lights and IZOD IndyCar Series being held from 8:15 to 10:50 a.m. There will be autograph sessions beginning at 10 a.m. The Grand-Am: Rolex Series Race–Porsche 250 will be held from 12:30 to 3:15 p.m., followed by the Grand-Am: Continental Tire Series Race from 3:30 to 6 p.m.

On Sunday gates open at 7:30 a.m. with warm-ups for the big races being held from 8 to 9:10 a.m. There will be on-track activities from 9:15 to 11 a.m.

The Firestone Indy Lights Race will be held from noon to 1:15 p.m. followed by the big race, the IZOD IndyCar Series Race: The Indy Grand Prix of Alabama running from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

Legacy Credit Union is presenting the Indy Grand Prix.

This year’s race marks the first year of a contract that runs through the 2012 Indy season.

The Bruno Event Team and Zoom Sports are organizing the race.

The Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be televised live April 11, Sunday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. on the VERSUS channel. For DISH-TV satellite subscribers, it’s on channel 151, DirecTV subscribers will find it on channel 603. Cable subscribers should check their local listings.



The most recent results of the poll being conducted by Andretti Auto Supplies: Only one vote per computer for this poll.
http://www.andrettiautosport.com/

Which celebrity are you most excited to see at the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama?
Charles Barkley (grand marshall)
12%
Patrick Dempsey (Porsche 250 driver)
24%
Taylor Hicks (performing national anthem)
58%

Randy Owen (singing "My Home's in Alabama")
7%
Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 06:28 AM.
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san
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Dish Network channel is 151 and it is scheduled for 12:00, which I think is PST. Check you local listings as they say!

I upgraded (to downgrade later) and I'll be there!

:bls

(If you have dish and want to upgrade, you can do 50 channels for $10 additional and then downgrade in a month or two for $5 fee...first they wanted $99 for the everything package. Tell them you only want the one channel and they should give you 50 instead of everything...try it, if you want to just see this. I also found out that if you hit "0" for operator and you get invalid entry message, keep trying and on the third try, I got the switch to a real person. A person has to do this.)
Edited by san, Apr 11 2010, 09:42 AM.
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san
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Twitter is lighting up with tweets and pics. Taylor Hicks is in the house!
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mouser
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Barbers in Birmingham compliments of Taylor's Tweet Pix

Posted Image



JohnHansen tweets this picture of Taylor at the Speedway. I guess he needed to get up at 4:00 AM to get there in time.

Posted Image
Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 11:35 AM.
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mouser
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If you want a blow by blow of what is happening at Barber's , click on Birmingham Magazine's twitter page.

http://twitter.com/bhammag
Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 11:37 AM.
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mouser
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There will be an interview with Taylor about the 10th lap of the race, SO STAY TUNED TO SEE IT . This was not televised .........

[
Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 02:04 PM.
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san
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National Anthem was not televised. We are watching Birmingham Magazine hoping they captured it. OR, someone who will share captured it!

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mouser
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Birmingham Magazine tweeted : Indy race is getting ready to kick off. Taylor Hicks is about to sing the National Anthem. SO I GUESS IT DID HAPPEN. SOME YOUTUBE GURU WILL SURELY VIDEO THIS , WON'T THEY ????? LOL



Check out this website ( 3 wide life ) later to, hopefully, see the interview with Taylor by Brittney Cason .
http://www.3widelife.com/video

Ms. Cason said that Taylor was " a nice Southern boy".


Posted Image courtesy of 3 wild life
Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 02:31 PM.
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san
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In a short interview with Versus network, Taylor said racing was in their blood and it was great to have Indy racing in Alabama!

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mouser
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The TV show started with showing the Statue that Symbolizes Birmingham's history:

Posted Image


The crowd gathers

Posted Image


Charles Barkley as Grand Marshall shares some humor with the announcers

Posted Image

Posted Image


Barkley sizes up Viso; other notes
By Dave Lewandowski

11 Apr
2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – “Do you want to get in the car?” E.J. Viso asked with a sly smile.

Charles Barkley, the “Round Mound of Rebound,” gave the IZOD IndyCar Series driver one of those are-you-kidding-me? looks. “You don’t have a shoehorn big enough,” he said.

Before his duties as grand marshal of the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy Credit Union at Barber Motorsports Park, the native of nearby Leeds took in the sights of the IZOD IndyCar Series paddock, pit lane and paused every few feet to oblige a spectator’s photo request.

Under the canopy of KV Racing Technology, he also received a brief tutorial of the multi-button steering wheel and car aerodynamics from Viso and attempted to try on his racing gloves.

“Not my size,” joked Barkley, all 6 foot 6 and maybe just a few ounces heavier than his listed playing weight of 250 pounds to the 5-5 Viso.

“I’m a racing fan and have followed a few of the guys and girl (Danica Patrick),” said Barkley, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member. “It takes a lot of courage to go out there and race at more than 200 mph. This event is great for Birmingham, great for Leeds and great for Alabama. I’ve been at Barber Motorsports Park a few times before, but I’ve never seen so many fans. It’s just great.”

‘Idol’ winner hits the road
Taylor Hicks, the 2006 “American Idol” winner, received an up-close and (maybe too) personal view of the 2.38-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park circuit in the front seat of a Honda Accord Pace Car courtesy of Firestone Indy Lights driver and Pace Car Team member James Hinchcliffe.

Hicks, a Birmingham native, sang the national anthem before the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy Credit Union.

“I’ve never been to an IndyCar race and this is the first IndyCar race for a lot of people in the state of Alabama,” said Hicks, who is on tour in “Grease.” “To be able to get out on this course and see what the IndyCars do, you feel like you’re really there and feeling the turns. (Hinchcliffe) did a great job and I had a great time.”

Hinchcliffe appreciated the compliment.

“I may have turned the notch up just a bit in some of the turns,” he said. “I like to think we give everybody pretty good rides, and it’s cool to be here in Alabama and give him a taste of an IndyCar race. I’m pretty sure IndyCar has a fan for life now in Taylor Hicks.”


Of note
Danica Patrick will be a presenter at the ESPY Awards July 14 in Los Angeles. … Racetrack founder George Barber gave the command to start engines. … John Brunner has joined conquest as team manager. He formerly was with Forsythe. … Eddie Allison, longtime chief mechanic for brother Bobby’s stock cars, was a guest of A.J. Foyt on race day.

Get the recap and preview on IndyCar Weekly
Host Mike King is joined by Dario Franchitti, the defending Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach winner, and IMS Radio Network driver analyst Davey Hamilton as they preview the April 18 race in California on IndyCar Weekly. Listen live at 7 p.m. (ET) on indycar.com.

They’ll also recap the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights races from Barber Motorsports Park. E-mail your questions at askmike@brickyard.com.

http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/35222-barkley-sizes-up-viso-other-notes/




Taylor was finally interviewed and I was in front of the wrong TV.....drat , but here is a little taste of what you will see in the captured video.

Posted Image

Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 02:41 PM.
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Oldiebutgoodie
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Found this-nice pic with the guy driving the pace car-

http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/35222-barkley-sizes-up-viso-other-notes/
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mouser
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Oldiebutgoodie
Apr 11 2010, 02:33 PM
Found this-nice pic with the guy driving the pace car-Posted Image


The interview with that photo is in the previous post. Looks like Sir Charles has returned to the Round Mound for which he was once famous. Love Mr. Barkley. Thanks OBG>
Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 02:46 PM.
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Oldiebutgoodie
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I know-but if you scroll down to the actual article, there's a pic of TAYLOR with the guy driving the pace car-THAT's the one I meant-sorry--
Edited by Oldiebutgoodie, Apr 11 2010, 03:08 PM.
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mouser
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Oldiebutgoodie
Apr 11 2010, 03:08 PM
I know-but if you scroll down to the actual article, there's a pic of TAYLOR with the guy driving the pace car-THAT's the one I meant-sorry--
OK, my scrolling finger wasn't working correctly .... THANKS AGAIN !!! AND AGAIN........... LOL
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mouser
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HERE IS THE VIDEO OF THE INTERVIEW FROM THE INDY GRAND PRIX.


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pat
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Nice video from that interview at the race -I really like Taylor's comments! All the articles and photos from this event have been great, and I have enjoyed catching up!! Thanks to all!!
Edited by pat, Apr 11 2010, 03:55 PM.
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Oldiebutgoodie
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Now that closeup of the pic from the Indy site-THAT's a pic!!!! Thanks Gypsee!
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medolark
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Love that lavendar shirt on Taylor with his tan. Ü
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mouser
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Singing the National Anthem

Posted Imagecourtesy of flickr


From ScrambleBee @ http://feeltiptop.com/Charles%2BBarkley

Randy Owen, Taylor Hicks and Charles Barkley

Posted Image
Edited by mouser, Apr 11 2010, 05:15 PM.
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