ON THE FAST TRACK

The Dallas Grand Prix Formula One Race at Fair Park this summer won’t be the only unusual car race that Dallasites can see this year. The parks committee of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the Dallas leg of the 3,000-mile Great American Race, which features 110 vintage cars traveling cross-country for a first-place prize of $100,000.

Committee members are hoping that the race will attract a lot of attention May 21 when the drivers stop overnight at the Sheraton Park Central Hotel & Towers at LBJ Freeway and Coit Road. The drivers will leave their cars on display at the hotel, and a $2 admission fee for spectators will help raise money for the development of Campbell Green Park in North Dallas.

Interstate Battery System of America, a manufacturer of car and truck batteries, is sponsoring the event nationally. Cars and drivers pay $5,000 to enter the race, which begins May 17 in Los Angeles and travels to Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Dallas, Wichita, St. Louis and Chicago before reaching its Indianapolis destination May 25. The cars cannot exceed the posted speed limits on interstate highways, and drivers are scored by the Sports Car Club of America.

Five drivers are from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. They are John Holden of Dallas, driving a 1928 Packard; Curtis Graff of Irving, driving a 1911 Oldsmobile; Jeff Singleton of Irving, driving a 1917 Packard; Lew Riggan of Euless, driving a 1937 Cadillac; and Joe Atkinson of Arlington, driving a 1936 Chevrolet pickup. (Holden is pictured below in his 1928 Packard.)

Spectators should arrive at about 5:30 p.m., when public viewing of the cars begins. The parks committee is also sponsoring a Gatsby-era costume party for 5,000 invited guests. Proceeds from the $25-per-person tickets will also go toward the Campbell Green Park development.