Rev 'em Up Race-Day Grill

Up to 2 Days Before

• Make Speedway Pasta Salad; store tightly covered in refrigerator.

Up to 1 Day Before

• Prepare hamburger patties for Grilled Bacon-Cheeseburgers for a Crowd; store tightly covered in refrigerator.  Chop onions; store tightly wrapped in refrigerator.  Cook bacon; store tightly wrapped in refrigerator.
• Bake Chocolate Crinkles.

About 1 Hour Before

• Start charcoal for burgers.

About 15 Minutes Before

• Grill burgers.

• Purchase a black-and-white checked paper tablecloth and both black and white napkins to signify the finish-line flag.  Stack the napkins in alternating colors. A large toy race car makes an eye-catching centerpiece.
• Keep to a round theme by using wagon wheel pasta in the Speedway Pasta Salad and buying round tortilla chips!  Then serve all the foods in or on round dishes.
• Give each party guest a “race pack,” a small, resealable plastic bag filled with useful items for the race day:  sample-size sunscreen lotion, tiny pack of tissues, chewing gum or hard candy and individual packets of wet wipes.