The eighth annual Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown will be aired as a one-hour special on NBCSN in May.
The Late Model charity race will be held April 23 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and will feature several nationally recognized NASCAR drivers competing against the region’s best.
“I’ve gotten to know the NBC Sports team over the years, and they are very passionate about motorsports,” said Hamlin, a Chesterfield, Va., native who raced at South Boston on his way to driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. “This is a great opportunity to showcase awesome, local short track racing on a national media platform.”
The event is expected to air on NBCSN amid the network’s coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott will serve as grand marshal of the Short Track Showdown. Scheduled to compete in the 200-lap event are Hamlin, Chase Elliott and David Ragan, along with Virginia natives Timothy Peters, Jeb Burton, Gray Gaulding and Hermie Sadler.
Previous Showdown winners representing the Late Model field are 2014 winner Matt Bowling, a Whelen All-American Series driver, and 2010 winner C.E. Falk. They are the only non- Sprint Cup drivers to win the event.
Proceeds from Short Track Showdown will support the Denny Hamlin Foundation, which has donated $150,000 in grants to help fund the Denny Hamlin Cystic Fibrosis Research Lab at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-accredited Therapeutics Development Center at VCU.
General admission tickets to the race are available for $25, and children younger than 6 are admitted free. More information is available via the South Boston Speedway website at southbostonspeedway.com and dennyhamlinfoundation.org.