While at nearby Davidson College, members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, one of the best-known theatre groups in the world, wanted to experience local culture. That¿s why they visited Lowe¿s Motor Speedway where members road around the 1.5-mile superspeedway at nearly 150 mph in Richard Petty Driving Experience stock cars.

A late model stock car doubleheader, the Friday night portion of the Pit Pass Cabarrus Super Nationals will feature the Southern All Stars East Tour while the Saturday night program will be part of the nomadic Lucas Oil NARA DirtCar Series.

All restarts during the Pit Pass Cabarrus Super Nationals will be double-file and the Choose Rule gives competitors the option of lining up in either the inside or outside row.

One lap prior to the green flag, drivers will have to make a choice. If the first four cars select the inside line and the fifth-place man moves to the outside, he advances to the outside of the front row.

Longtime Lowe¿s Motor Speedway employee Danny Taylor and the Nationwide Insurance Jet Dryer he built from the ground up have dried race tracks across the country, but the greatest adventure for man and machine may come during their March 6 visit to Mexico City.

Taylor and the track jet dryer will be at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course Sunday, March 6, when the NASCAR Busch Series runs its first race outside the United States.

Scheduled for Wednesday night, May 25, at The Dirt Track @ Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Ferris Commercial Mowers presents the Eckerd 75 marks the first time the Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series has served as a preliminary event for a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race.

The car show schedule opens April 7-10 with the spring version of Food Lion AutoFair, a four-day automotive extravaganza that annually attracts more than 160,000 people.

The event includes a car show featuring various makes and models from some 50 clubs; more than 7,000 vendor spaces that offer a plethora of automotive parts and memorabilia; and a collector car auction conducted by Tom Mack. A car corral, which completely circles the legendary 1.5-mile superspeedway, includes nearly 1,500 vehicles of all makes and models that are available for sale or trade.

Operating hours for the track¿s ticket office have been extended with agents on hand from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Fans can purchase tickets during these hours by calling 1-800-455-FANS or visiting the ticket office on the second floor of Lowe¿s Motor Speedway¿s Smith Tower. Tickets are also available online 24 hours a day.

In his new position, Druckenbrod, 29, will spearhead the speedway¿s electronic marketing; execute on- and off-site promotions with advertising partners; and manage the speedway¿s web site.

Druckenbrod previously worked in a variety of promotional capacities for Charlotte radio station WKKT. He most recently served as internet producer for WKKT¿s parent company, Clear Channel Charlotte, managing web sites for its five area radio stations.

Members of the Performance Racing Network broadcast team swept first-place honors in the three radio categories during the recent National Motorsports Press Association awards banquet.

Kent Bernhardt, production coordinator for the radio network, earned first-place in the Long Feature category for a story chronicling the life of veteran NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Morgan Shepherd.

Bernhardt also earned third-place in the Spot News category and was named co-winner of the prestigious Barney Hall Award, presented annually by the NMPA to the top award winner in the radio category.

The UAW-GM Motorsports Media Tour gives registered participants the opportunity to tour race shops, meet with drivers, crew chiefs and team owners, and discuss the latest developments and news with motorsports industry leaders.

The promotion is part of a restructuring which merges the speedway¿s marketing initiatives into the public relations department. Cooper had been senior manager of promotion and media relations since joining the speedway in 1999.

¿The restructuring brings our advertising, marketing and promotion together and Scott is the ideal person to oversee this very important part of our business,¿ said H.A. ¿Humpy¿ Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe¿s Motor Speedway. ¿Scott has proven to be a very creative and effective manager who will take our marketing and promotion to the next level.¿

¿Tickets for the NEXTEL All-Star race start at just $33 and tickets for the Coca-Cola 600 are as low as $49,¿ noted H.A. ¿Humpy¿ Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe¿s Motor Speedway. ¿For just $82, an individual can attend two of the most exciting NASCAR races of the season.¿