Sound & Speed Press Room
Country Duo Montgomery Gentry, Earnhardt, Jr., Waltrip Ready To ‘Roll’ at Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust
Posted: Friday December 5, 2008
Stars of NASCAR, Country Music To Converge on Nashville
For Fourth Annual ‘Celebration of Music & Motorsports’ Jan. 9-10
NASHVILLE (Dec. 5, 2008) – For the fourth consecutive year, the world of country music and NASCAR will collide in Music City for Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust on Jan. 9-10, 2009. Executives from Sprint, SunTrust and NASCAR announced today that the award-winning country duo Montgomery Gentry (“Roll with Me,” “My Town,” “Back When I Knew it All”) will headline the kick-off concert to be held at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9 at the Sommet Center.
The day-long Sound & Speed Festival will follow on Saturday, Jan. 10, at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium, where fans of racing and country music will once again have the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with drivers, team owners and top-name musicians for autographs, story-telling and question-and-answer sessions. Among the NASCAR stars scheduled to appear at the festival are Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Michael Waltrip, with more drivers and country music artists joining the star-studded line-up to be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust Concert, featuring Montgomery Gentry, will go on sale Friday, Dec. 12, and will be available through TicketMaster (www.ticketmaster.com) and on the Web site www.soundandspeed.org. Tickets for the Saturday festival at Municipal Auditorium are on sale now. Tickets for the Friday-night concert at the Sommet Center will range from $17.50 to $35. Tickets for the Saturday Sound & Speed Festival at Municipal Auditorium are $20 for adults and $15 for children. Combo tickets, good for the concert and the festival, will range from $40 to $50.
Also for the fourth consecutive year, charitable beneficiaries of Sound & Speed are Victory Junction (a year-round camping environment for children, ages 6-16, with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses) and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum.
“This is our fourth renewal of this exciting and very worthwhile event that benefits two great charities,” said NASCAR President Mike Helton. “It has become a fixture on the NASCAR offseason calendar and one that gives fans of both racing and country music a unique opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with their favorites from both worlds. Once again, I look forward to a truly exciting event.”
Headlining this year’s concert, back by popular demand for their second appearance at Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust, are the ever-popular Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, known as the chart-topping duo Montgomery Gentry. Their past 10 years in the limelight have produced more than 20 charted singles, four No. 1 singles, gold and platinum albums, CMA and ACM awards, as well as a Grammy® nomination. With anthems such as “Lucky Man,” “Hell Yeah,” “If You Ever Stop Loving Me” and “Something To Be Proud Of,” Montgomery Gentry have become an indelible part of the honky-tonk landscape.
Country music celebrities scheduled to participate in autograph and question-answer sessions at the Saturday Sound & Speed Festival thus far are Josh Turner, Jason Michael Carroll, members of Diamond Rio and newcomer Rick Huckaby.
Among the NASCAR celebrities already scheduled to join Earnhardt (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) and Waltrip (No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota) at the Sound & Speed Festival are Reed Sorensen (No. 10 Gillette Evernham Motorsports), Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Roush Fenway Racing Ford) and David Stremme (No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge).
The blockbuster event will also feature show car and sponsor displays, as well as a charitable auction with memorabilia from the racing and entertainment industries. The first three Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust events drew an estimated 40,000 fans and raised more than $800,000 for its designated charities, Victory Junction and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum.
