Yahoo Autos Drivers and cars confirmed for July IROC event at Lime Rock Park
The lineup of drivers and cars have been confirmed for the first IROC event in more than 20 years. Scheduled for July 19-20 at Lime Rock Park, IROC will enhance an already exciting SpeedTour All-Star Race weekend.
Featuring both an on-track racing exhibition and static display, the event will reunite original IROC competitors with cars raced in the legendary series. Mark Martin, a 96-time winner across NASCAR’s top-three series, 13-time IROC race winner and five-time IROC series champion, will be one of the drivers piloting the historic IROC cars at Lime Rock Park.
“I have always said that the crown jewel of my racing career is what I was able to achieve in IROC,” said Martin. “The event at Lime Rock Park is going to be an exciting opportunity to reminisce about those great times and to reunite with some of the best people in motorsports.”
Joining Martin as other former IROC competitors driving in the event will be Greg Biffle, Geoff Brabham (two-time IROC race winner), Davy Jones, Bobby Labonte (three-time IROC race winner and 2001 IROC series champion), Max Papis, Ken Schrader and Danny Sullivan (one IROC race win). In addition to this impressive list of former IROC drivers, the event will include four-time NASCAR Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday, Grand-Am Sports Car Series and Trans Am champion Boris Said and 1995 NASCAR Truck Series champion Mike Skinner.
An equally exciting component of the event at Lime Rock Park will be approximately 20 authentic IROC race cars spanning over 30 years of racing history. The oldest are a pair of 1974 Chevrolet Camaros — one driven to victory at Riverside International Raceway by Bobby Allison in 1975, and utilized again in 1976 by A.J. Foyt to clinch his second IROC championship; the other was raced by Foyt in 1975, as he finished second to Bobby Unser by just two feet, in what was the second-closest IROC finish in history.
The newest car is a 2005 Pontiac Firebird raced by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves. In November 2005, Castroneves drove the car to a fourth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in his final IROC start.
The event will also reunite several of the original racers with their cars, as former IROC winners return. Fans will instantly recognize the lime green No. 14 Dodge Avenger, which won three times with three drivers from three different disciplines: F1’s Martin Brundle, NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Sr., and IndyCar’s Al Unser Jr. However, it will be the car’s final driver who will get to reunite with it at Lime Rock Park — Mark Martin.
Fans will also recognize the red 1984 Chevrolet Camaro, which is believed to be the most period-correct 1984-era IROC Camaro in existence. Owned by Richard Childress, this car was raced by Dale Earnhardt twice in the 1980s.
Of course, there will be cars that were driven by not only the best names in motorsport, but also those of Hollywood fame. The School Bus Yellow No. 15 1978 Chevrolet Camaro was driven to victory by both Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip, as the two NASCAR Hall of Famers were among 31 drivers who turned laps in the car. However, that count doesn’t include actors Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, James Brolin and Gene Hackman, who enjoyed a private test day in the car at Sonoma Raceway in December 1977.
“We have received such an overwhelmingly positive response from fans since announcing our event at Lime Rock Park and I believe this impressive lineup of legendary drivers and historic IROC cars will just keep that momentum going,” said Ray Evernham, co-principal of IROC Holdings. “It will truly be a unique experience for fans to get up close and personal with cars that have been driven by racing royalty. From Fittipaldi to Earnhardt, Foyt to Martin. These cars are truly time capsules that represent racing on a worldly scale. Pair that with being able to shake the hands of some of the legends that drove them and you have a once-in-a-lifetime experience for race fans.”
“We’re thrilled to have IROC join us at the SpeedTour All-Star Race,” said Tony Parella, CEO of Parella Motorsports Holdings. “As a racing fan, there was nothing better than IROC—it brought together all the best drivers from all forms of motorsports. Personally, I’m really excited to witness this all coming together — with so many of the original cars and drivers — it’s going to be great.”
