NorCal Drivers Scott Pruett and Bill Lester Lead the Grand-Am Series Back to Laguna Seca

The Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series returns to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey this weekend for race #8 out of 12 on the schedule. Northern California drivers are the points leaders in both the Daytona Prototype and GT classes.

In the DP class, Scott Pruett from Auburn with co-driver Memo Rojas are the leaders. Scott is the defending series champion and the winningest driver in Grand-Am history. He drives the No. 01 Telmex Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Riley-BMW. Scott has maybe the most complete racing resume of any driver in the world. He has raced in CART, IROC, NASCAR, TransAm and now Grand-Am and won races at every level.

No. 01 TELMEX BMW driven by Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.

In the GT class, Bill Lester, who grew up in San Jose and Oakland, is the leader, along with 20 year-old co-driver, Jordan Taylor. In 1984, Bill graduated from Cal Berkeley with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He worked for many years at HP before trying his hand at NASCAR. He raced in the Truck series for 5 years before losing sponsorship and moving on to Grand-Am. This year Bill is driving the Autohaus Motorsports No. 88 Camaro for team owner Bob Kirland and enjoying the most success he has ever had.
Bill Lester in the Autohaus Motorsports No. 88 Chevy Camaro

The race will be broadcast live from the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at 3pm Pacific Time on SPEED TV.

Northern California Car Shows & Swap Meets: July 8-10, 2011

Gustine

The 32nd Annual Linguica Run at Henry Miller Park in Gustine is Sunday July 10th.

Lincoln

The 2011 Downtown Lincoln Classic Car Show was rescheduled for Saturday July 9th, and is sponsored by Rods & Relics Car Club and VFW Post 3010.

Livermore

Rimz N Ribz Car Show is Saturday, July 9th at the Cornerstone Fellowship in Livermore from 10am to 2pm.

Loomis

The 2nd Annual Classic Truck Show is Saturday, July 9th at the Loomis Depot at 5775 Horseshoe Bar Rd in Loomis.

McCloud

The Golden Valley Street Rodders presents the 37th Annual Rod Run/Car Show is Friday and Saturday July 8th & 9th in McCloud.

Modesto

The 7th Annual Street Bike Fest presented by the Hooligans Motorcycle Club is Saturday, July 9th in Downtown Modesto. This is one of the largest FREE streebike stunt exhibitions in the country.

Modesto


Graffit Fest 2011
is Sunday, July 10th in Downtown Modesto from 11am to 4pm.

Monterey

Hundreds of some of the country’s most beautiful rods will fill Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s Yamaha Marketplace July 9 for the third annual Race ‘n’ Rod Nationals presented by Mothers. The competition is held in conjunction with the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by MAZDA6, featuring the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

San Jose

Hot San Jose Nights is July 6-10 at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds 344 Tully Rd. in San Jose. Hot San Jose Nights is a cruise, swap meet, car show and an autorama all rolled into one.

Santa Rosa

“Nor Cal’s Finest” the 1st Annual Lowrider Car show/dance & art festival is Saturday, July 9th from 11am-8pm @ Franklin Park 2095 Franklin Ave. in Santa Rosa.

Truckee

The 21st Annual Cannibal Cruise Car Show is July 8th to the 10th in Downtown Truckee. It’s presented by the Truckee Optimist Club.

NASCAR & Grand-Am Announce Super Weekend at the Brickyard

It was announced today, that beginning in 2012, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400, would be accompanied by races in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series on Friday and the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Saturday. It gives the opportunity to race at Indy to a whole new group of drivers. Here is a video of the announcement. Scott Pruett from Sacramento, talks about his experiences at the Speedway.