Fast Food Race
The Fast Food Race is a staged event after the fifth inning of every Birmingham Barons home game at Regions Field. It was sponsored by Hardee's restaurants for the 2013 season, and by All-South Appliance Group in 2014.
The competitors are costumed characters representing a hot dog, a chef, and a taco. After a video presentation showing the three characters racing past Birmingham landmarks, they emerge in person from the gate in center field, run around the right field on the warning track, to a finish line manned by Diamond Girls just shy of the home dugout.
As scripted by Barons intern Jarrod Johnson, the race usually involves cheating on the part of the hot dog (portrayed by Johnson), a straightforward trot by the chef, and a distant third-place finish by the hapless taco. The hot dog claimed the first 11 wins in the opening season, but saw its lead close to a 26-25 edge over the chef by August 2. The taco finally finished first the following night. Its lone prior win had been thrown out because hot dog had used a golf cart during the race.
References
- Solomon, Jon (August 18, 2013) "Regions Field's mascot race: Meet the Hot Dog who sticks a fork in Taco." The Birmingham News
External links
- Epic first win for the Taco on YouTube.com