LADIES NIGHT OUT: DEMOLITION DERBY

By Doug Stokes IT’S BREAST CANCER AWARENESS NIGHT AS AN ALL-WOMEN DEMOLITION DERBY IS FIELDED With Golden-Globe-winning actress (and the special night's Grand Marshal) Katey Sagal set to drop the green flag on the first-ever all lady Demolition Derby at Toyota Speedway on Saturday night … the final (and in no particular order) list of combatants … er … contestants has been released by the Speedway. All of the celebrity participants will be the track's special guests (along with their wildly-painted DD event cars) and will meet the fans in the Chalet Village of the Speedway on Saturday from 4:30 to 5:30 PM before the races. Fans will be able to make a pledge for their favorite lady driver and the track will match the amount that the top three drivers bring for the Derby. Toyota Speedway's good friends at Pick Your Part, S+J Towing, and Jan's Towing have all supplied rolling stock (this will be an all front-wheel drive compact car event) for this round of organized chaos. The infield "track" will not only be wet down, but it will also receive a liberal coat of liquid soap, just to make the action a bit more slippery-fun-and-games. Demo Derby is a LAST LADY STANDING affair with drivers attempting to disable their opponent's machine by backing into it without wrecking their own car. (If that sounds a little like the Trader Joe's parking lot in Culver City to you, you've got the correct mental picture!)

And … here they are: Mikey Koffman - Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mikey grew up with her hands busy, working on cars and motorcycles in various shops. In the early nineties, Koffman apprenticed at West Coast Choppers, fabricating sheet metal and mastering the inner workings of the industry. Turning those talents to the wild world of cutting-edge fashion, Koffman launched Los Angeles Fashion Weekend. Sarah Atkinson - A NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Official from Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. Sarah has racing in her blood as she is a second generation racer. Her dad has raced various forms of Stock Cars from NASCAR all the way through Demolition Derby. Sarah is a former All Women Demolition Derby Champion. Toni McCray - Professional Racecar driver. 2nd Generation Racer, She is a full time Auto Club Late Model competitor at Toyota Speedway who finished the 2011 season with a top 5 finish in the tough, competitive series. Of all things, and on her record, Toni once finished 2nd in a Stock car race in South Africa. Bailey Thompson - Part time Auto Club Late Model Racer at Toyota Speedway. Her race team is Team Ta Ta's Racing for a Cure which is a non-profit organization that raises money for breast cancer. She may well be the lightest driver in the Late Models, but she's got a heavy right foot. Molly Saleen - Daughter of well-known racer and car-builder Steve Saleen. She was raised living and breathing high performance and racing. Molly has just launched a racing inspired clothing line and recently raced a Lucas Slick Mist Super Late Model at Toyota Speedway. Quebet King - The NASCAR Whelen All-American Official has raced at Toyota Speedway in the past. She's well known to be tough on the track as she is nice to the competitors that she works with each weekend. Around the track, Quebet most famous for her train race crash that turned her early 80's station wagon into a graceful "S" shape. Kelsey Goodman - The youngest competitor in this event and now spokesperson for Carson Racing and Carson Racer Magazine. Kelsey is an accomplished off-road motorcycle racer. "When the team asked me if I wanted to be in a demolition derby to help women with breast cancer I was so excited! What a great way to help others, have fun and talk to teens about their health" said Kelsey. "Breast Cancer has touched one out of four families in the United States, has cost us countless lives, and has taken far too many of our moms, wives, daughters, and friends," said track VP/General Manager Bob DeFazio. "Research and early detection have saved many lives, but there's a long way ahead, and we always set aside one weekend per season to call awareness to the disease, to cheer on the research, to back early detection, and to celebrate the many survivors who are here with us because of those things," DeFazio went on. "We're really going to have some fun on Saturday night, some great NASCAR racing, and a wild All-Women Demolition Derby, but our focus will be on detecting and defeating Breast Cancer … I hope that everyone will join us in that effort."

For tickets and more information: toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com