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POCONO “AUTOGRAPH ALLEY” EXPANDS FOR 2018

Brodheadsville, Pa.– The list of notables participating in the Classic Racing Times’ “Autograph Alley” during the upcoming Vintage Celebration at Pocono continues to grow, with an Indy 500 winner, a Super Bowl-winning coach, a Hall of Fame Indycar team manager and chief mechanic, and short-track champions among them.

The Vintage Celebration at Pocono takes place August 17-18-19 in conjunction with the Verizon Indycar Series’ ABC Supply 500 at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, and is organized by the Classic Racing Times.  On-track sessions for vintage race cars, a paddock car show, and grassroots racing on a specially-erected 1/5-mile oval are all part of the weekend’s schedule.

“Autograph Alley” will take place both Saturday and Sunday, with 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal among those greeting the fans and signing autographs.  Rahal, in addition to winning at Indianapolis, claimed three season championships and today is a team principal at Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing where his son, Graham, and 2017 Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato are the drivers.

Joining Rahal will be Dick Vermeil, who as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles led the team to its first Super Bowl, and who later led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory.  Vermeil has deep roots in racing, as his father, Louie Vermeil, fielded cars extensively in California and is remembered each year with the Louie Vermeil Classic at Calistoga Speedway.

Jim McGee, inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2007, first came to Indianapolis in 1961 where he worked on Eddie Sachs’ pole-winning Offy roadster, and years later was hired by Carl Haas and Paul Newman to managed their championship-winning Indycar team.  McGee has nine national championships and four Indy 500s to his credit, and 90 race wins by a who’s who of drivers, ranking him as the winningest chief mechanic and team manager in Indycar history.

Indy 500 veterans Steve Chassey and Pancho Carter will also be participating in “Autograph Alley.” Chassey is making his first visit to the Pocono event and Carter is returning as he does each year to not only greet the fans but also to climb aboard one or more of the participating cars.  This year, Carter will drive exhibition laps in the restored Ryan Midget that was driven by his late brother, Dana, back in the day.  Chassey, too, is expected to don a helmet and take to the track.

Bentley Warren, the versatile driver best known for his success in Supermodifieds, and Tighe Scott, the northeast Pennsylvania native whose talents took him to the NASCAR Cup series, will return to “Autograph Alley” this year, and they will be joined by Midget racing champions Drew Fornoro and Jack Calabrese.  Fornoro is the winningest driver in NEMA Midget history and a recent inductee into the National Midget Hall of Fame.  Calabrase is perhaps best known for his winning ways on the ESPN televised Midget races of the late 1980s and in 1993 he was inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame.

The Classic Racing Times “Autograph Alley” will take place at the base of the victory lane tower, on the paddock side, at 1:15 PM on Saturday, August 18, and 11:00 AM on Sunday, August 19.

Engine Woes Sideline Evernham

Ray Evernham, scheduled to be a part of the Vintage Celebration at Pocono with his custom-built 1936 Chevy “Ghost” Modified, has been forced to cancel his appearance due to unexpected engine problems following the car’s recent run up Pikes Peak.  Evernham regrets the need to cancel and looks forward to a future visit to Pocono with the car.