Miss USA goes NASCAR contesting Miss Universe

Winning a Sprint Cup Series championship is a daunting challenge -- a 10-month grind with the best drivers in the world on your bumper.

But consider what it takes to be crowned Miss Universe.

Hopefuls at the ambitiously named pageant won't be coming from Venus and Mars. However, competition from this planet alone is formidable -- 80 stunning, tanned, toned, multitalented, multilingual women judged fairest in their respective lands.

America's representative, Kristen Dalton, happens to be a NASCAR fan, and she's counting on the sport for an extra edge at Sunday night's Miss Universe Pageant (9 p.m. ET, NBC).

Fans might remember Miss USA, a blue-eyed stunner from Wilmington, N.C., from the Coca-Cola 600 in May, where she belted out the national anthem in front of 165,000 fans. She hung out at her "local" track with drivers Kasey Kahne, David Ragan and Joey Logano, finding the stars of NASCAR to be regular guys who are a lot of fun and helped her understand the sport's popularity.
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The national costume can be one last chance to truly separate yourself. ... As much as the Statue of Liberty is America, so is NASCAR.
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MISS USA KRISTEN DALTON
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But it was catching the thrill of speed close up at Lowe's Motor Speedway that truly hooked Kristen.

"I never realized the rush of adrenaline each lap around the track causes, the rush of wind from the cars, the overwhelming noise," she said. "I found out firsthand NASCAR truly needs to be experienced live to be fully appreciated."

As she prepared for Miss Universe -- the Olympics of pageants and a true source of national pride -- Kristen had to consider her "national costume." She was confident in her overall repertoire. In winning the pageants for North Carolina and the USA, she'd floored everyone in her evening gown. No one sizzles hotter in a swimsuit. And as an aspiring motivational speaker who studied Spanish and psychology at East Carolina University, Kristen aces her interviews.

The wild card would be the national costume. Dalton knew this item of clothing, which in the past had been inspired by the Statue of Liberty and Kentucky Derby, could be a final chance to put her over the top in the Miss Universe judges' eyes.

Remembering her NASCAR experience, Kristen chose a NASCAR theme. After all, is there anything more American?

"Every girl who gets that far to Miss Universe has a good attitude, can speak well in pressure situations, and wears a spectacular evening gown," Kristen said. "The national costume can be one last chance to truly separate yourself. I knew NASCAR was huge in my home state of North Carolina, and all over the U.S. As much as the Statue of Liberty is America, so is NASCAR. It was one of those ideas where as soon as you say it out loud, you know you've nailed it!"

A designer would be brought in to create a bold red zip-front, long-sleeved, cutoff unitard, decorated with silver sequins and rhinestones, and bearing the patches of her sponsors: NASCAR, Miss Universe, NBC, Atlantis, Trump, Sam Bass, Diamond Nexus and others. The words "Miss USA" with stars were added to the sleeves.

Complementing the racy look, Sam Bass, the first officially licensed artist of NASCAR, designed a stars-and-stripes helmet that would have made Evel Knievel proud. The helmet was autographed by the Sprint Cup field and auctioned last Thursday, bringing $4,500 to the Bahamas AIDS Foundation and the NASCAR Foundation.

So, when Kristen takes to the catwalk along with some of the most beautiful and talented ladies in the universe, she will have a bit of NASCAR in her bag of tricks as she looks to bring the biggest crown of them all -- Miss Universe -- back to North Carolina and the sport she loves. source>>>

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