Spokane Festival of Speed Partners with Kalispel Tribe for 2022 Historic Grand Prix Event
Factory Five customer Karen Salvaggio is headlining the Spokane Festival of Speed. Factory Five customers are welcome to join her!
A Fundraiser Benefiting American Childhood Cancer Association
Spokane, Wash. – April 12, 2022 – Spokane Festival of Speed announced today a new partnership with Kalispel Tribe to hold its annual Historic Grand Prix race event at Qlispé Raceway Park, under Kalispel Tribe’s ownership since October 2021. The race track, formerly known as Spokane County Raceway, has a 2.25 mile road racing course for licensed race car drivers to compete in races in their certified vintage race cars. The event takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 3, 4 and 5, and features the following activities:
- Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5–Racing at Qlispé Raceway Park Road Racing Course, featuring the finest and fastest vintage and historic race cars from the glory days of American and European road racing. Open-wheel cars, sports cars, sedans – Porsche, Corvette, BMW, Mustang, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Camaro and many more.
- Drivers travel to Spokane from throughout the United States and Canada, supporting local tourism in Spokane.
- Driver Karen Salvaggio will be in attendance, racing her Factory Five Daytona Coupe. Karen is a racing veteran from Southern California and has been racing for 30 years while supporting a growing community of other female motor-sports racers at events across the country. Karen is a nationally recognized motivational speaker and health coach and is former president of Thunder Valley Racing and sits on several SEMA committees.
- Driver Gabe Tesch will be on the racetrack. Gabe battled brain cancer at the age of 11 and has been an active racer through his teen years, providing inspiration to us all. “I survived a 48-day radiation treatment cycle, followed by 48 weeks of chemotherapy for brain cancer. I am not simply a childhood cancer survivor… I am racing driver!” states Gabe. Gabe is currently racing in the UK as part of the 2022 British Formula Ford Championship and will be joining our event for a special appearance. Gabe will be featured in the upcoming docu-series DO SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY, directed and produced by Virginie and Augustin Delauroy. The first season of the docu-series is scheduled for release on streaming platforms January 2023, with a teaser available at https://youtu.be/YYtH9tC0LrY.
- Spectator Gates Open at 9:00am Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available at the gate. $20 entry fee for both days. Kids 12 and under FREE. Military with active ID are FREE as well. Each ticket includes a pit pass, allowing you to see the cars up close and talk to drivers.
About Spokane Festival of Speed
The Spokane Festival of Speed is a 501c(3) non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to sharing its love of vintage road racing to support the local charities including American Childhood Cancer Organization of the Inland Northwest. The first weekend of June each year, the Festival joins with SOVREN – the Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts – and Porsche of Spokane to present the Inland Northwest’s premier road racing event.
For additional information, contact:
Reinhold Jung
Spokane Festival of Speed President
rjung@spokanefestivalofspeed.org
208-773-1299
Jim Sullivan
Spokane Festival of Speed Board Member
jsullivan@spokanefestivalofspeed.org
509-994-1706
Leslie Woodfill
American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCOIN) Executive Director
lesliewoodfill@accoinlandnw.org
