2008 Speed & Sound Event Revs Up

11/8/2007 Stephen L. Betts Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday, 11/9), at 10 a.m. for the 2008 Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust festival to be held in Nashville, on January 11-12. For the third consecutive year, the racing and music extravaganza will bring together stars of country music and NASCAR and conclude with a Saturday night concert headlined by Alan Jackson. Special guests Taylor Swift and Jason Michael Carroll have been added to the lineup.     Among the festivities Saturday (1/12) at Nashville’s Sommet Center: the annual Backstage Garage Pass festivities, where fans can get up-close-and-personal with NASCAR and country music stars for autographs, storytelling and question-and-answer sessions from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or at the Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust website www.soundandspeed.org, are $39.50 for the concert, $20 for the Backstage Garage Pass event, or $54.50 for both events.  Additional country artists are scheduled to participate including Josh Turner, Diamond Rio, Danielle Peck, and Bucky Covington.  Among the NASCAR celebrities already scheduled to appear are Richard Petty (seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the winningest driver in series history), Kyle Petty (third-generation NASCAR competitor, eight-time winner and founder of the Victory Junction Gang Camp along with his wife, Patty), Darrell Waltrip (three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, third-winningest driver in series history, and current member of the NASCAR broadcast team on the FOX network), Ryan Newman (nicknamed “Rocketman” for his penchant for winning pole positions with regularity as driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge for Penske Racing; 12-time Cup Series winner) and Jamie McMurray (current driver of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, won July’s Pepsi 400 at Daytona).  Joining them from the sports car racing ranks will be Max Angelelli (2005 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series champion as driver of the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Daytona Prototype) and Wayne Taylor (three-time sports car racing champion who co-drove to the 2005 Rolex Series title with Angelelli). More drivers and country music performer appearances will be announced soon. The third-annual Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust will also feature show car and sponsor displays, as well as a charitable auction with memorabilia from the racing and entertainment industries.  The first two years drew an estimated 25,000 fans and raised more than $500,000 for its designated charities, Victory Junction Gang Camp and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.