Mike Skinner and ESPN/ABC Pit Reporter Jamie Little are among the participants in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on Saturday, April 19th as part of the 34th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, a 10-lap race for charity, which is conducted in race-ready Scion tCs on a 1.97-mile street circuit through the downtown streets of Long Beach in Southern California. Skinner won the Pro category in this race last year. Drew Lachey, the smooth-stepping second-season winner of Dancing With the Stars, and NASCAR pit reporter Jamie Little are among Las Vegas gaming expert Anthony Curtis’ celebrity picks to give the pros some heat in the Race.(ToyotaMotorsports.com)(4-11-2008)
UPDATE: ESPN pit reporter Jamie Little held off Mike Skinner by .324 seconds in race-modified Scion tCs to win the 32nd Annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on Saturday. In a last-lap duel, Skinner made contact with Little coming out of the hairpin turn on the 1.97-mile street circuit through the downtown streets of Long Beach to pull side-by-side, Little was able to get back on the gas and pull in front of Skinner as the two came to the finish line. “You go into the event with everyone out here wanting to help raise money for charity and have fun,” said Little, who will give the $5,000 from Toyota to UCI Reeve/Irvine Center in California for spinal cord injury research. “But when the race starts, the competitive juices take over and everyone wants to win.” In the Professional category, Skinner never gave up the lead. After starting 30 seconds behind, he quickly made up ground and caught up with the tail end of the celebrities by lap 3. He then maneuvered through traffic, catching the leaders with just two laps remaining.(SceneDaily.com)(4-20-2008)
