Las Vegas, Nevada (October 25, 2013)–It isn't an exaggeration in the headline. Golf balls will be flying 400+ yards at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and live on Golf Channel on October 30. The finals of the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship hit the home of NASCAR in Las Vegas that night, and a spectacle will ensue. "The finals are going to be a lot different than years past, but at the same time it's going to be a good kind of different," says two-time winner Jamie Sadlowski, a member of the Callaway XHOT team. "Las Vegas Motor Speedway is an amazing setting. It will be special hitting from the elevated tee down to what looks like a football field below with the lights of Las Vegas in the background. It's a neat venue and it will spark our sport and it will be something that people will watch and talk about for a long time. And I really like the new winner-takes-all format." Tickets are free to visiting and locals Las Vegas golfers by downloading at this official RE/MAX ticket link. The $250,000 winner-take-all event will be televised live from 6-8 p.m. on the Golf Channel. –By Brian Hurlburt, Like on Facebook.
London, England native and 2010 champion Joe Miller also likes the new challenge the speedway setting provides. "I am just taking all of this in, and I look forward to being in good form for Las Vegas," says Miller. "Obviously, hitting at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is new territory but it will be exciting for the competitors and the fans. I think I just need to relax and keep my form and not get too caught up in where we are hitting."
Check out this promo video:
Also on the line for the "October 8" Finalists is a championship belt and championship ring. And according to Art Sellinger, event visionary, the championship is no "quiet on the tee" event. "There are no quiet signs, there will be a DJ on the tee, the guys will be yelling and pumping fists, and we want the crowd to get excited and get loud," says Sellinger, a two-time champion himself. "We encourage Las Vegas locals and those visiting Las Vegas to come out and see something like they have never seen."
A platform will be erected high in the grandstands in Turn 4 and the "October 8" finalists will tee off with big swings producing ball speeds in excess of 220 miles per hour, and in hopes of hitting the grid located in the 1.5-mile superspeedway's grassy infield. The platform will be constructed approximately 75 feet above the track and the distance from tee to target is 400 yards and will max out even longer than that.
The RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship is conducted by Long Drivers of America, a dynamic golf event company that specializes in producing long drive events for professionals. The company is owned and operated by long drive pioneer Art Sellinger. Founded in 1995 and based in Roanoke, Tex., LDA is best known for staging the annual RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship, the premier event in power golf. The event has evolved into an international competition with power golfers from across the globe. The RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship Premieres October 9 at 9:00 PM EST and will be featured throughout long drive month on Golf Channel. For more information visit www.longdrivers.com.Follow @LongDriversUSA.