While several of NASCAR’s stars will be competing in the Grand-Am Rolex 24 hours at Daytona International Speedway this weekend, several former and rising NASCAR stars will be racing halfway around the world in South Africa.
A total of 19 drivers, including Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine, left Monday on a 15-hour journey to Wlkom, Free State, South Africa where the American Speed Association will stage the Transcontinental Free State 500 in this Sunday.
The event is being billed as the ‘Championship Between the Continents’ — South Africa versus USA Motorsports.
ASA president Dennis Huth said he approached the South African government with the idea and they embraced it. The South African drivers who will compete Sunday went through several qualifying schools.
Among those joining Bodine will be Ron Barfield Jr., who made 29 starts in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series and finished 22nd at Indy in 1997 racing for Bill Elliott. In the Nationwide Series he has two top-ten finishes and has 71 starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he has four top-five and 17 top-ten finishes.
Marc Davis, NASCAR's only African-American owner/driver. In 2008, he competed in the NASCAR Camping World East Series driving for Joe Gibbs Racing where he finished fifth in points with four top-five and seven top-ten finishes. This past season he competed in the NASCAR Truck Series where he had an 18th finish at Martinsville Speedway and 32nd at Miami-Homestead.
Rick McCray, NASCAR Winston West Rookie of the Year in 1978 who has 24 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series and 30 starts in the NASCAR Truck Series.
Several others who work in NASCAR will also be racing.
Rick McCray will be joined by his daughter Toni, who started racing at the age of 15 at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino, CA. In 1998, she ran her father's NASCAR Truck Series team. When the team was sold in 2000, she continued to work for NASCAR in the field of marketing and public relations. In 2006, she worked for Evernham Motorsports as the Marketing and Public Relations director for Erin Crocker. In 2007, she began helping her father run the McCray Motorsports organization and began running Super Late Model at Orange Show Speedway where she had three top-ten finishes. She followed that up in 2008 with six top-ten finishes. This past October she won her first Super Late Model race at Orange Show.
Tiffany Daniels, who currently works as a fill-time engineer with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, and competed last year in the NASCAR Camping World East Series.
The South African government is footing the bill for travel and lodging and the $300,000 purse for the race.
The 19 drivers and nearly 300 crewmembers and ASA officials will get to play tourists as they are scheduled, among other things, to go on a safari.
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