Mon, 21 Dec 2009, 07:28 PM PINKS All Out Brings Down Phones, Website

Courtesy of Jon Hedges Estimated 9,000 Racers Vie For 425 Openings at Summit Motorsports Park

NORWALK, Ohio -- Demand to appear on PINKS: All Out, a drag racing reality show that airs on SPEED TV, resulted in phone system and Web site outages in Norwalk Monday, December 7. An estimated 9,000 racers from the Midwest United States tried to grab one of 425 available openings when they went on sale at noon at Summit Motorsports Park. The 425 openings sold out in two minutes and were only available by phone or online.

The episode of PINKS: All Out will be filmed at Summit Motorsports Park August 27-28, 2010. The reality show last filmed an episode at the track in June, 2008.

"We had a lot of people simultaneously trying to get one of these 425 racer openings," said Bill Bader, Jr., president of Summit Motorsports Park. "We were amazed when we looked at the logs for our Web site. When you have that many people calling and using the Web site at the same time, it creates a large spike in demand on the equipment. I apologize to anyone in Norwalk that may have been inconvenienced." Many residents in eastern Norwalk reportedly lost phone service and Internet access mid-day Monday as demand interrupted service.

"There were only two other times when Norwalk experienced this much load on the phone and Internet lines," Bader continued. "The first was when a local resident appeared on the TV show American Idol and people were voting for him, and the second was when tickets for our first PINKS: All Out event went on sale December 3, 2007."

When tickets for the first PINKS: All Out show went on sale, 400 available driver openings sold out in 12 minutes, which was then a record for ticket sales for the reality show. Then, track officials estimated there were approximately 5,000 racers competing for the available openings.

"By all accounts, interest in PINKS: All Out is higher than it was two years ago," said Bader. "We think that's a positive sign for the economy and for northern Ohio." The 2008 event brought over 25,000 fans from Ohio and surrounding states to the track to watch the reality show being filmed.

PINKS: All Out pits drivers in street-driven cars against each other in an old-style drag race. Host Rich Christensen starts each pair of drivers with his famous arm drop, instead of using the traditional drag racing "Christmas tree" with lights. The show will be in its fourth season in 2010 and will tape 13 episodes across the country.

For more information on PINKS: All Out spectator tickets contact Summit Motorsports Park at (419) 668-5555 or visit www.SummitMotorsportsPark.com.

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