Darlington Raceway has announced that its longtime Speed & Feed BBQ festival and car show has a new name and date.
The newly renamed Speed & Feed BBQ Festival and Cruise-In presented by Raldex will now take place on March 13-14, 2020. The festival was originally held in November since 2013, but will now be a springtime event.
The Speed & Feed Festival and Cruise-In presented by Raldex will once again host a quality barbeque competition featuring dozens of teams throughout the region. In 2020, the teams’ barbeque will now be judged by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.
The KCBS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and enjoying barbeque, is the world’s largest organization of barbeque and grilling enthusiasts with over 20,000 members worldwide. KCBS sanctions over 500 barbeque contests world-wide, including Darlington Raceway’s in 2020.
The event will be FREE and open to the public on Friday, March 13 from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. and Saturday, March 14 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Individual tickets will be sold for the BBQ tasting, which starts at 11 a.m. Tickets will be $1 per ticket or 12 for $10. A $1 per car parking fee will also be administered on both days. The track also plans on to have musical entertainment and amusement rides available both days.
Friday activities will include pace laps around the famed 1.366-mile track for $10 per person with proceeds benefiting the track’s non-profit arm – Darlington Shares.
Saturday will feature driving experiences in actual race cars through the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience, which will be on site that day. Experiences can be purchased in advance through the driving school by visiting www.RaceWithRusty.com or on the day of the event. Driver experiences are scheduled for 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. during the event.
The Cruise-In portion of the festival will feature an open show of cars and trucks on display for enthusiasts. The Cruise-In will be free to people wanting to put their car on display.
“After hosting the Speed & Feed event in the fall for several years, we felt it was best for our fans to create more of a festival-style event and move to a spring date with a fresh look,” track President Kerry Tharp said. “The decision was made in part due to the growing popularity of the Kansas City BBQ Society, who will now be judging our competition. The Speed and Feed BBQ Festival and Cruise-In presented by Raldex will still continue to feature great barbeque and a Cruise-In style car show for our community to enjoy.”
With a $2,000 Grand Champion prize on the line, another unique experience for the BBQ competition is that the Grand Champion of the March event will be honored during pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 6. The second-place competitor will be recognized during pre-race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 race on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Darlington Raceway PR
