 The Quarter Mile Foundation has unveiled plans to pay tribute to the "First Lady of Motorsports," Linda Vaughn. "We felt it important to acknowledge one of our icon's careers in a colorful and entertaining fashion" said Foundation Chairman Traci Hrudka.
"Following the success of the Don Garlits 'Rat Roast' and the enjoyment that all had paves the way to pay tribute to Linda, and recall the funny stories of her life. What better vehicle than to have her friends gather around her, and roast and toast her long career as one of motorsports' most iconic personalities."
The roast will be hosted at the "Sports Barn" facility at the Lucas family estate in Carmel, Ind., on Wednesday, August 29, preceding the NHRA's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at the Lucas Oil Raceway/Indianapolis (August 29-September 3, 2012). The evening's schedule will be: cocktails at 6:00 P.M., dinner at 7:00 P.M., followed by the evening's festivities beginning at 8:00 P.M.
The event will feature "roasters" from across the wide range of the North American motorsports community – Drag Racing, IndyCar, NASCAR – as well as the automakers and performance aftermarket companies commenting on Linda's life and times and her contributions and impact upon motorsports and the performance aftermarket for the past 50-plus years. To date, the confirmed "roasters" consists of: Joe Amato, John Force, Don Garlits, Bob Glidden, Don Prudhomme and Jack "Doc" Watson, with NHRA event announcer, Bob Frey serving as the Master of Ceremonies. Other names will be added shortly.
In addition to the "Roast," an auction of donated items from friends in the aftermarket, drag racing, IndyCar and NASCAR will be held. The auction will include a silent auction during the cocktail hour, and live bidding on select items between the presentations of the roasters.
There will be seating for 350 individuals. Tickets will be available on-line at the Quarter Mile Foundation website (www.PROJECT1320.com) beginning on or around June 1, 2012. The VIP/Sponsor tables will be available for $2000/table (seats 8). Non-VIP tables can be sponsored for $1500 per table. Individual seats can be purchased for $100 each. Sponsors will receive several marketing bonuses, which will be announced shortly. As with the Don Garlits "Rat Roast" held in Pomona, Calif., the event will be filmed and the DVD will be made available for purchase to the public.
Proceeds will benefit both Linda Vaughn and the Quarter Mile Foundation in its quest to capture the first person stories of drag racing's pioneers beginning in the late 40's through the 80's; plus the motorsports aftermarket which was spawned from their efforts.
A portion of the purchase for tickets/sponsorship and support will be tax deductible (US only). Additional information will be made available regarding the final roasters and other related details of the event in the near future.
The Quarter Mile Foundation is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit foundation, which is producing PROJECT 1320, a documentary film series about the history of drag racing and the parallel growth of the performance automotive aftermarket.
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