Vintage cars race for charity

John Shirley is 69-years-old and shows no signs of abandoning a sport formerly favored mostly by the young.

But he will be far from the oldest at this weekend's Charity Challenge at Infineon Raceway, a gathering of vintage car racers organized by the Classic Sports Racing Group to benefit the Sonoma Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities. More than $400,000 has been raised from the event over the past five years and one of the weekend's drivers will be 80-year-old Mike McNally of Sacramento, who will drive his 1931 Riley 4 Port Ford. McNally blew a gasket during his maiden Sonoma foray in 2007 and hopes to do better this year, but for most vintage racers winning takes second place to having fun. McNally claims that racing keeps him in shape due to the physical inspection he has to pass each year. McNally's ancient Ford and Shirley's 1954 Austin Healey 100 Le Mans will join more than 200 other vintage racers for two days of competition and auto ogling beginning Saturday at 7 a.m.

Included in that field are 600-plus-horsepower CanAm Series cars, along with open-wheel, production and sports-racing cars from the 1930s through 1970s. The groups will feature many well-known marques, including Ferrari, Aston-Martin, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Shelby, Corvette, MG and Jaguar. Drivers will race around Infineon's 12-turn, 2.52 road course at speeds that will probably surprise some spectators, given the priceless, almost irreplaceable value of some of the cars.

A special opportunity for speed-crazed spectators will be the chance to take a three-lap, 120-mile-an-hour ride around the world famous course with one of the competitors in a historic CanAm sports racer or other vintage car.

For a $75-to-$100 donation to Speedway Children's Charities, passengers will receive the thrill of a lifetime, as long as they're wearing close-toed shoes, long pants, long-sleeve shirts and a helmet, which can be provided. Passengers must be 16 years or older to participate in the ride-around, which will be offered on both Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 11:30 a.m., on a first-come basis, so plan to arrive early. All proceeds will benefit Sonoma County youth groups.

In addition to the racing, representatives of local car clubs, including Porsche, Ferrari, Audi and Alfa Romeo will display their cars on the paddock, and there will be a special selection of classics for sale and viewing. .

The Sonoma Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities distributes money to qualified youth groups in Sonoma County and has given out more than $3 million since 2002, creating a positive impact on more than 150 youth organizations in Sonoma County. There are eight chapters of Speedway Children's Charities nationwide.

Admission to the event is $20 for a weekend pass; youths 12 to 16 are $10 and children under 12 are admitted free,

On Saturday, Sept. 26 the gates open, 7 a.m.; practice begins at 8:30 a.m. and the first of eight 30-minute feature races begins at 1 p.m. Sunday times are the same as Saturday, with the first of nine feature races again beginning at 1 p.m.

For more information, visit www.csrgracing.org , call (888) 268-7126 or e-mail marketing@csrgweb.org.