Ralphs Supermarket Racefest

Ralphs Supermarket sponsored an event on Thursday, April 29, held in Parking Lot#1 at the California Speedway from noon to 7pm. They had many sponsor booths with lots of giveaways. The highlight of the event was autograph sessions with Cup and BGN drivers from 5-7pm. The list included Rusty Wallace, Ernie Irvin, Terry LaBonte, Johnny Benson, Michael Waltrip, Elliot Sadler, Jason Jarett, Larry Pearson, Butch Gilliland, Robert Yates, and others. Unfortunately, by 5pm, the lines were long for the big name cup drivers and the lines had to be cut off. People started lining up from the early afternoon. Even though a lot of latecomers were disappointed not to get autographs from the popular drivers, those who did get autographs were very happy. I stopped by there around 12:30pm just to see what was the schedule of events and which drivers were appearing. I stopped by some of the boothes to pick up the usual promo stuff, but at the Tide booth (Ricky Rudd was scheduled to appear but couldn't make it) I got a cool poster and a Ricky Rudd Tide baseball hat - not bad for free. Anyway, here are some pictures from the event:

Racefest at opening.

Racefest lines at autograph time.

Johnny Benson Cherrios showcar.

Elliot Sadler and me.

Jason Jarrett and me.

Robert Yates and me.

Ernie Irvin signing autographs for his fans.

Terry LaBonte signing autographs.

Johnny Benson smiling for a picture.

Michael Waltrip at his BGN sponsor Band-Aid booth.

Former BGN champion Larry Pearson signing autographs.

Giveaways from the Tide Booth.