Champions Take Green Flag On
Toyota Showdown Festivities
By Official Release
January
20, 2009 - 6:26pm ANAHEIM,
Calif. – Brian Loftin edged Antonio Perez to
take the early bragging rights as the top drivers of
the NASCAR Developmental Series jumped into go-karts on
Tuesday for a special competition with Los Angeles-area
media.
Five NASCAR champions from across North
America took part in the event, one of many special
activities planned for them leading up to the
prestigious NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota
Speedway at Irwindale on Friday and Saturday.
Loftin, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified
champion, shot into the lead on the final lap to take
the honors in the go-kart challenge at K-1 Speed in
Anaheim. Perez, the NASCAR Mexico Series Champion,
appeared to struggle with a slowing kart as they dashed
to the finish.
“It was a lot of fun, but
everybody’s still very competitive,” Loftin said.
“Everybody wants to win and go as hard as they can.
It’s still an honor to beat them, anytime you can get
on anything. Four-wheelers, motorcycles, go-karts, race
cars – it don’t matter. We’re going to go
hard.”
In addition to Loftin and Perez, other
champions taking part in the event were Matt Kobyluck,
the NASCAR Camping World Series East champion, Scott
Steckly, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion, and
Philip Morris, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
champion.
Joining the NASCAR champions at K-1
Speed on Tuesday were residents of Covenant House
California – Los Angeles. Established in 1988,
Covenant House California has opened its doors to more
than 145,000 homeless youth who suffer from the trauma
of trying to survive on the streets.
The
champions’ celebration kicked off with a welcome
brunch Tuesday morning. Following the go-kart action,
the group headed to a Champions/Media Dinner at the
Petersen Auto Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Los
Angeles. Tuesday’s activities will wrap up with the
champions taking in a behind-the-scenes viewing of the
Emmy Award-winning “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Wednesday’s schedule for the champions
includes a VIP trip to Universal Studios, in Universal
City, Calif. Wednesday evening, the champions will head
to the Staples Center to take in a Los Angeles
Lakers-Los Angeles Clippers NBA game.
The NASCAR
Developmental Series is the umbrella under which all of
the NASCAR series that lead up to three national series
(NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series,
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) fall.
The
best short-track drivers throughout NASCAR’s
developmental series are headed to Southern California
this week to compete in the postseason NASCAR Toyota
All-Star Showdown. It will feature a 250-lap Camping
World Series race, as well as NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series Super Late Model and Late Model
races.
