Waltrip the driving force of annual Sound & Speed gala

Darrell Waltrip always speaks his mind. If he could carry a tune at all, he no doubt would sing his mind, too.

And he says that NASCAR has gotten away from its roots somewhat by tailoring to a new crowd when it comes to the music that often is used to help promote the sport. That's one reason he's so excited about the 2008 Sprint Sound & Speed presented by SunTrust festival, to be held in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 12.

Concert tickets

Tickets are on sale for the 2008 Sprint Sound & Speed concert, which will feature Alan Jackson along with special guests Taylor Swift, Jason Michael Carroll and other top country-music stars.

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"Quite honestly, NASCAR has really in my view kind of gone in the wrong direction with their choice of artists and music that they use at some of the races," Waltrip said. "I think country music is more appropriate for what we do. So this is kind of a nice marriage of traditional old stuff that we've always done -- country music, racecars, drivers."

Among the drivers and racing celebrities signed up to attend this year's third annual event are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Montoya, Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Richard Childress, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Dave Blaney, Scott Wimmer, David Stremme, Waltrip and his younger brother, Michael.

They are scheduled to participate in the Backstage Garage Pass festivities at Nashville's Sommet Center, where fans are promised to be able to "get up-close and personal" with racing and country-music celebrities for "autographs, story-telling and question-and-answer sessions" from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Among the country-music artists scheduled to participate in the Backstage Garage Pass events are Josh Turner, Diamond Rio, Danielle Peck and Bucky Covington.

There will be a limit of 200 fans permitted access to each driver/country artist.

The day-long Backstage Garage Pass festivities will be followed by an 8 p.m. concert, also at the Sommet Center, headlined by country-music star Alan Jackson and special guests Taylor Swift and Jason Michael Carroll. Tickets are available through TicketMaster ($39.50 for the concert, $20 for the Backstage Garage Pass, or $54.50 for both events).

Jackson is a superstar in the country-music industry, having sold more than 49 million albums. He also is an unabashed NASCAR fan and avid car collector with a garage full of classic cars.

All proceeds from Sound & Speed will go to the Victory Junction Gang Camp and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The first two years of the event, attended by an estimated total of some 25,000 fans, raised more than $500,000.

"It's a really neat event," Waltrip said. "The first year was really chaotic, because we had never done it before. Last year was better -- much better organized. And this year is going to be the best yet. Every year it's gotten better."

There also will be a private auction of racing and country-music memorabilia at Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville on Friday night, Jan. 11. Last year Michael Waltrip served as impromptu auctioneer along with NASCAR president Mike Helton -- and Michael said he will serve again this year if spontaneously elected to do so.

"I've done that in the past, when asked, and I like doing it," Michael said. "But I also like to sit there and watch. Whatever I need to do to make the event fun and entertaining for the kind folks that show up to buy items up for bid, that's sort of my goal, just to help out."

Of last year's Michael and Mike auctioneering show, Darrell laughed and added: "They cracked the joint up. You know my brother. He can make a fool of himself real easy."

Michael Waltrip added that it is never hard for his big brother to talk him into helping out at Sound & Speed.

"Nashville, Tenn., is one of my favorite cities in the whole country," Michael said. "To get the chance to go over to Nashville and for it to be for such a great cause, Sound & Speed is just something I won't miss.

"I'm just a huge country-music fan. So getting to hang out with some of the stars of that world, and to always have some time with my brother and his family, it's just great. Whenever you see me at Sound & Speed, just know I'm happy.

"To me, it's sort of like vacation. It's like getting to take a little bit of time to have some fun. That time of year is just prior to things ramping way up in our world, and it's nice to take a little break and enjoy a little time off -- and that's what I look forward to doing."

In the end, it's all for a couple of good causes, Darrell added. And he said that he's certain NASCAR fans of all ages will enjoy the mix of sound and speed.

"I think of it sort of like the old preview that we used to do in Winston-Salem [N.C.]," Waltrip said. "It's got a little bit of that going on. It's also got a little bit of Fan Fare going on, if you're familiar with Fan Fare in Nashville where all the country-music folks come in and the fans visit with different artists and they set up booths and do all that kind of thing. So it's got all that going on. It's a marrying of music and cars -- country music and racecars.

"There are a lot of people who are anxious for Daytona to get here. This is sort of the first event of the new year."