ProStockJunkie
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Drag racing with the stars
Jun 4, 2008, 05:54 PM | by Vanessa Juarez
Categories: 'Gossip Girl', Apropos of Nothing, Merchandising
People are often sarcastic about the brutality of my job: hang out with celebrities and write about them. It’s usually not that simple, but yesterday was an exception. I was invited out to Willow Springs Raceway, about 80 miles from Los Angele,s to watch a bunch of celebs race Dodge's new version of the Challenger (older versions of it have been made famous in 1971's Vanishing Point and Taratino's Death Proof). It was an odd bunch of car junkies — Luke Wilson, Rob Lowe, David Spade, Chace Crawford (pictured), Michelle Trachtenberg, Audrina Partridge, Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Carmen Electra and Snoop Dogg — which is why it was totally worth the drive. (Of course, the celebs were helicoptered in and driven the entire 100 yards from the makeshift helipad to the track's headquarters.)
Audrina and Trachtenberg emerged from an SUV together, the former blinding us with her grill of teeth. Trachtenberg, meanwhile, was sporting four(ish)-inch peep toe heels. This girl is no wannabe race car driver, I thought. After some handlers hooked her up with some sneakers, she hopped into an orange Challenger with racing stripes and kicked some Snoop Dogg booty. She whooped Audrina too. So I take it back. Michelle Trachtenberg is a badass behind the wheel. (Michelle and Snoop said they'd guest blog about their experience. Alas, we wait.)
Erstwhile Tommy Boy co-stars David Spade and Rob Lowe were friendly competitors. Just before the race, a Dodge rep prepped the stars and let them know that there would be a camera and a microphone in the car so that their "girl screams" would be documented for the record. To which David Spade called out, "Rob! You’re such a girl for being on that Brothers & Sisters show." Then Lowe jumped over the table and tackled Spade, and Spade broke the rules of, er, engagement by countering with a karate chop to the throat. Actually, none of that happened — but wouldn't have that been fun. But no joke, Spade did call out "Rob!" as if he’d be the one person in the room to let out a wimpy squeal during the race. After the first round, Lowe climbed out of his car elated that he'd "murdered" Spade on the track.
I later asked Wilson and Spade whether they considered themselves gearheads, which prompted a mild sneer. "Um, not really," Wilson rebuffed. "I like cars a lot." Spade stressed he was more of a chowderhead than a gearhead, but he’s fibbing of course. "I have an '87 Grand National," he said. "She's a real sweetie. I got a 2000 El Dorado. That’s just a pimp sleigh, just to cruise around. I have a '94 Land Cruiser. I got that with the old Tommy Boy money. So I don't have any new nice cars, that's why I'm out here."
I, too, got behind the wheel of this beautiful machine, a cop magnet with a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine. For you non-car aficionados, that means it goes really fast. (I got up to 110-120 mph on the windy track.) Though I had really been itching for a journalist v. actor drag race, it didn't happen, and members of the media could only race each other. I even asked Luke Wilson if he'd be up for it. He copped out saying, "I think they just want it to be actor-on-actor." Frankly, I think he was scared, especially after I beat Entertainment Tonight (boo-ya!) on the eighth-mile stretch by almost an entire second. It was an afternoon filled with trash talk, adrenaline, smiles, sunburns, and jonesing to get back in the car for another twirl. Yes, it is a hard-knock life for us.
Jun 4, 2008, 05:54 PM | by Vanessa Juarez
Categories: 'Gossip Girl', Apropos of Nothing, Merchandising
People are often sarcastic about the brutality of my job: hang out with celebrities and write about them. It’s usually not that simple, but yesterday was an exception. I was invited out to Willow Springs Raceway, about 80 miles from Los Angele,s to watch a bunch of celebs race Dodge's new version of the Challenger (older versions of it have been made famous in 1971's Vanishing Point and Taratino's Death Proof). It was an odd bunch of car junkies — Luke Wilson, Rob Lowe, David Spade, Chace Crawford (pictured), Michelle Trachtenberg, Audrina Partridge, Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Carmen Electra and Snoop Dogg — which is why it was totally worth the drive. (Of course, the celebs were helicoptered in and driven the entire 100 yards from the makeshift helipad to the track's headquarters.)
Audrina and Trachtenberg emerged from an SUV together, the former blinding us with her grill of teeth. Trachtenberg, meanwhile, was sporting four(ish)-inch peep toe heels. This girl is no wannabe race car driver, I thought. After some handlers hooked her up with some sneakers, she hopped into an orange Challenger with racing stripes and kicked some Snoop Dogg booty. She whooped Audrina too. So I take it back. Michelle Trachtenberg is a badass behind the wheel. (Michelle and Snoop said they'd guest blog about their experience. Alas, we wait.)
Erstwhile Tommy Boy co-stars David Spade and Rob Lowe were friendly competitors. Just before the race, a Dodge rep prepped the stars and let them know that there would be a camera and a microphone in the car so that their "girl screams" would be documented for the record. To which David Spade called out, "Rob! You’re such a girl for being on that Brothers & Sisters show." Then Lowe jumped over the table and tackled Spade, and Spade broke the rules of, er, engagement by countering with a karate chop to the throat. Actually, none of that happened — but wouldn't have that been fun. But no joke, Spade did call out "Rob!" as if he’d be the one person in the room to let out a wimpy squeal during the race. After the first round, Lowe climbed out of his car elated that he'd "murdered" Spade on the track.
I later asked Wilson and Spade whether they considered themselves gearheads, which prompted a mild sneer. "Um, not really," Wilson rebuffed. "I like cars a lot." Spade stressed he was more of a chowderhead than a gearhead, but he’s fibbing of course. "I have an '87 Grand National," he said. "She's a real sweetie. I got a 2000 El Dorado. That’s just a pimp sleigh, just to cruise around. I have a '94 Land Cruiser. I got that with the old Tommy Boy money. So I don't have any new nice cars, that's why I'm out here."
I, too, got behind the wheel of this beautiful machine, a cop magnet with a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine. For you non-car aficionados, that means it goes really fast. (I got up to 110-120 mph on the windy track.) Though I had really been itching for a journalist v. actor drag race, it didn't happen, and members of the media could only race each other. I even asked Luke Wilson if he'd be up for it. He copped out saying, "I think they just want it to be actor-on-actor." Frankly, I think he was scared, especially after I beat Entertainment Tonight (boo-ya!) on the eighth-mile stretch by almost an entire second. It was an afternoon filled with trash talk, adrenaline, smiles, sunburns, and jonesing to get back in the car for another twirl. Yes, it is a hard-knock life for us.
