By Staff
BROOKLYN -- By the age of eight, LeAnn Rimes built a dedicated following from her powerful "a cappella" performances of the Star Spangled Banner prior to Dallas Cowboy's games and other various events. Thirteen years, two-grammy awards and eight albums later, Rimes is one of the biggest names in music today.
Michigan International Speedway fans will get a chance to listen to LeAnn Rimes perform in person, as she will sing the Star Spangled Banner prior to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series GFS Marketplace 400 on August 17.
Tickets are still available for the Cabela's 250, featuring the post-race concert by 3 Doors Down. All seats are just $50 and children 12 and under are admitted free. The concert will follow the completion of the Cabela's 250 in the Water Tower Lot across from the Speedway's Administration building outside turn 1 of the track.
General Admission (infield) tickets for the GFS Marketplace 400 go on sale Sunday morning Aug. 17 at 6 a.m. at the tunnel entrance and at 8 a.m. at other Speedway ticket offices.
Rimes first burst onto the music scene at the tender age of 13 with her 1996 major label debut Blue, for which she earned two Grammy Awards. The album was RIAA-certified multi-platinum and sold over 8 million copies, and the title track remains one of her signature songs.
Rimes followed Blue with a series of best-selling albums and hit singles (23 total for combined sales of 15 million units) like the chart-topping "How Do I Live," which became the longest running and most successful single by completing 69 straight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She followed that up with "Can't Fight the Moonlight", one of fours songs Rimes contributed to the Multi-platinum soundtrack album Coyote Ugly. "Can't Fight the Moonlight" spent 42 weeks on the Billboard chart and the album spent more than 100 weeks on Billboard's pop and country charts, peaking No. 1 on the pop chart. Rimes is currently touring while promoting her most recent album, "Twisted Angel".
Along with Rimes, three other dignitaries will be a part of pre-race ceremonies for the GFS Marketplace 400 and bring a distinct Michigan flavor to the event. Co-Grand Marshals for the event will include Executive Vice President Jim Gordon of Grand Rapids, Michigan based Gordon Food Service, Speaker of the House for the State of Michigan Rick Johnson and the State of Michigan Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema.
Both Gordon and Sikkema will give the command to bring the 43 stock cars to life for the final race of MIS's 35th anniversary season. Speaker of the House Rick Johnson will also serve as the event's Honorary Starter and wave the green flag for the start of the GFS Marketplace 400.
For the Saturday Aug. 16 Cabela's 250, Dick and Mary Cabela will be the Honorary officials for the event. Dick Cabela will serve as the Grand Marshal, while his wife Mary will serve as the event's Honorary Starter. Dick and Mary, along with Dick's brother Jim, combined a shared love of the outdoors with business knowledge to create Cabela's Inc., a business that they once ran from the kitchen table of their home in Chappell, Wyoming.