Race rally adds music lineup
JOLIET -- Next month's Race Fan Rally will have a country music soundtrack.
Event organizers signed up a pair of acts to play at the July 8 festival.
(Herald News file photo)
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• Archive story: Race fans take over downtown
The annual event is held before the weekend NASCAR racing comes to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet.
Cowboy Troy and the Penny Mae Dixon Band will entertain racing fans with their own unique brands of "hick hop" and high-energy country music.
The musicians will play from the Harrah's Entertainment Stage on Chicago Street across from the Rialto Square Theater.
"With the support of Harrah's Joliet Casino and Hotel we were able to secure two national acts for the main stage entertainment for the first time in the nine-year history of Race Fan Rally," said Tom Mahalik, vice president of the Joliet City Center Partnership. "This event continues to grow every year so it is our top priority to improve the experience for the attendees and upping the level of entertainment will do just that."
Last year, about 40,000 people packed downtown Joliet for the Race Fan Rally.
Even though they will have the big outdoor stage all to themselves, Cowboy Troy and the Penny Mae Dixon won't be the only games in downtown Joliet on July 8. The band Three Dog Night will perform on the Harrah's property that night, too.
"Becoming the title sponsor of the Race Fan Rally entertainment stage ties perfectly into our Summer of Luck concert series," said Doug Lima, the vice president of marketing for Harrah's Joliet Casino and Hotel.
"Harrah's Joliet is now providing two distinctly different sounds free for the attendees of Race Fan Rally and visitors of our property."
On top of the music, the Race Fan Rally also will put on a fireworks show -- again, courtesy of Harrah's.
"This has been a difficult year economically for a lot of people so we felt it was very important to provide the people of our Chicagoland area the best event in its nine-year history," Mahalik said. "With the great support of our sponsors like Harrah's Joliet we will be able to do just that."
