350 Race Entries Sell Out In 15 Minutes for Detroit Event

PINKS: All Out, a spin-off of the popular SPEED program PINKS, is becoming a major racing event at tracks all over the country, turning what was a simple cable television show taping into a racing spectacle complete with all of the logistical challenges of a major league sporting event.

"PINKS: All Out has created a stage where anybody with a performance car, whether a 60's Muscle Car, a race car or an Import can appear on SPEED's version of 'American Idol,' said Steve Earwood, owner and president of Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina. "By accepting 350 entries rather than the original format of two, PINKS: All Out has created a chance for racers to appear on national television, who would otherwise not be given the opportunity. From a spectator point of view, the constant action is easy to follow and presents the opportunity to meet the national personalities such as Rich (Christensen), Nate (Pritchett), Adam (Pritchett) and the entire PINKS group. Of the 100 events we produce annually at The Rock, PINKS: All Out was by far the most entertaining."

The premise behind PINKS: All Out is simple. Tracks invite 350-400 amateur racers to show up for a single day of competition. The PINKS "matchmaking"
team, lead by Nate and Adam Pritchett, spends several hours watching the cars perform, selecting the most evenly matched 16 cars for a single-elimination, bracket-format showdown. Drivers earn $1,000 for each round they win, with the last competitor standing earning $10,000 in cash.

The entire day, with crowd counts often surpassing 20,000, is caught on SPEED cameras, with the grueling effort airing every Thursday at 8 p.m.
beginning July 12.

"We still have people talking about PINKS," said Seth Angel, general manager of Houston Raceway Park. "It brought out the grassroots crowd -- the people who live, eat and sleep drag racing. They are a passionate group of fans. But there were also a lot of new fans who came to the track -- people who had never been to a drag race or Houston Raceway Park before. Now, they are big fans and we've seen them out here for other events. We haven't had an event that's had this type of impact in a long time."

SPEED will tape another episode of PINKS: All Out this weekend (June 29-30) outside Detroit at Milan Dragway, where 350 race entries sold out in 15 minutes (www.milandragway.com).

"This is so cool for SPEED," said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. "With 20 to 25 thousand people showing up to watch us tape a television show … wearing PINKS hats and shirts and cheering on the driver …  we find ourselves with a full-blown motor sports event on our hands. We're still trying to get our arms around it. Rich likes to say 'we've got lightning in a bottle' … and a lot of people in the business are starting to agree with him."

SPEED is the nation's first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 76 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.