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Motorsports Supermodel Jessica Barton to Appear at Formula Drift Event at LVMS July 11

International motorsports supermodel Jessica Barton will appear at the annual Las Vegas Drift Nationals July 10-11 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

Barton, one of the most photographed personalities in the automotive industry, will serve as the official spokes model for The Strip at LVMS at selected special events during the 2009 season. Jessica’s first appearance will be Saturday, July 11, when she will represent The Strip during the Formula Drift (www.formulad.com) Las Vegas Drift Nationals.

“We’ve worked with Jessica when she was the host of the NHRA Sport Compact series broadcasts on ESPN2,” said Chris Blair, LVMS’ vice president of racing operations. “Jessica is an excellent ambassador for motorsports and attracts a huge turnout of fans who know her for her many magazine appearances.”

In addition to her duties with ESPN2, Jessica has graced the covers of Superstreet, Performance Auto & Sound and several other publications. The 26-year-old Orlando, Fla., resident also was featured in a five-page feature in FHM Magazine. She also was named No. 1 on the list of FHM’s “ 20 Hot Dates” feature.

Jessica has served as the Internet broadcast host for Hot Import Nights and played the character Dakota in the 2008 movie, “Zombies, Zombies, Zombies!”

“I’ve always enjoyed appearing at The Strip and I’m really looking forward to representing them at The Formula Drift event,” Barton said. “The fan response always has been great and that race is always fun from start to finish.”

Jessica will sign exclusive, LVMS-edition autograph cards that are available only at the Formula Drift event. She will also do special reports for the “This Week at LVMS” section of www.LVMS.com and will serve as M.C. for the Extreme Midnight Bikini Jam contest.

The Las Vegas drifting course is considered the fastest on the circuit. Last year, Toshiki Yoshioka of Hiroshima, Japan, defeated Tokyo’s Daijiro Yoshihara in the final round to win the 2008 Las Vegas Drift Nationals.

“Last year the Formula Drift event at LVMS was absolutely amazing and thousands of fans have been anticipating the 2009 event,” said Chris Blair, LVMS’ vice president of racing operations. “This year we’ve teamed up with the racing operations department at Formula Drift to produce a course that not only remains the fastest in the sport, but also will produce more side-by-side runs during tandem eliminations.”

The course, which is constructed in the pit area of the drag strip pits, now will run counter-clockwise and will feature more technical braking points for the drivers. In addition to the race course improvements, the competition field will be expanded from 16 cars (in 2008) to 32 cars in 2009.

“These changes will make the show more interesting and exciting for both the diehard drift fan and first-time attendees,” continued Blair.

The weekend will kick off with a free drifting driver autograph session at the Town Square on Las Vegas Blvd. on Thursday, July 9, from 6-8 p.m.

Action on Friday, July 10, will include drifting practice, qualifying and an autograph session.

On Saturday, July 11, the Wicked HP Championship Drag Racing Series will join the drifting eliminations. Saturday’s activities also include a vendor midway, car show, appearances by sport compact magazine models, music by DJ Dynamixx and a bikini contest immediately following the drifting finale.

For more information, please call LVMS at (702) 644-4444 or visit www.LVMS.com. For more information on the Formula Drift Series, please visit www.formulad.com.