Infineon to attempt to break Twist record
Castroneves, a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, has entered the finals of the show, which airs tonight (8 p.m.), and is attempting to become the first racecar driver to win the coveted title.
Infineon Raceway hopes to follow in his footsteps, literally, by attempting to break the record for the largest Twist dance at its 2008 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County race weekend (Aug. 22-24).
Race fans will be invited onto the race surface at Infineon Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 24, to perform a dance that best describes the most challenging road course in the country — the Twist. Participants will be required to Twist for five minutes in the style made famous by Chubby Checker in 1960.
According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the world’s largest Twist dance took place in Yorkshire, England, in 2004, when 1,691 high school students and staff danced to Checker’s classic hit.
Infineon Raceway hopes to shatter that record on Aug. 24 right in front of the main grandstand as all fans will be invited to participate. Raceway officials plan on inviting a representative from Guiness World Records to authenticate the record-breaking attempt.
Castroneves will be on-hand to witness the record as he will be a competitor for Team Penske that weekend. Castroneves placed a career-best second in Sonoma in 2007.
The last known attempt to break the Twist dance record came in 2007 in Wisconsin, but a cold snap kept most of the would-be dancers indoors. Some 227 people participated in the attempt, which failed.