Rock legend Knopfler visits Nazareth.

Nazareth Speedway hosts world famous drivers at its races each year, but received a visit from another world class entertainer when legendary rock artist Mark Knopfler visited the track this weekend.

Knopfler, best known as the lead singer of Dire Straits, is touring to support his new solo album, Sailing to Philadelphia - on which is a track entitled Speedway at Nazareth.

" The sung is about perseverance, aspiration and determination with a Champcar racing theme," the singer revealed, "Many of the tracks on the CART circuit are mentioned in the song, including Nazareth in the final verse.

"I actually wrote the song in the early 1990's," Knopfler continued, "It was set ahead in time and that's why it refers to 2001 as being in the future. The song was born mostly out of conversations with my friend [former CART and Formula One driver] Stefan Johansson."
"Mark and I met at the Austrian Grand Prix in 1986, when I was driving For Ferrari," the Swede confirmed said, "He was touring at the time, and was in the celebrity race. I lived in London and so did he, and we stayed in contact and would get together when we were both in town.
"Mark is a big race fan and he's a good driver. I'm a big fan of his - he is a great guy and an incredible musician.. .very talented. When Sultans of Swing came out, it was so new and so different."
Knopfler was excited to see the track in person and was given a ride around the track with two of his band members.

"This place is beautiful," Knopfler said, "It's pristine. But I imagine it could be quite a nightmare at times for the drivers. It looks difficult to drive - it has different banking and elevation changes and turn two never seems to end. It was great to come here to see the track that I wrote about."

"Nazareth is a challenging track that brings out great racing," Johansson agreed, "It has always been one of my favourites out of the ovals, and I have some great memories from racing there."

Knopfler, whose trip continues this weekend in Philadelphia, Newark and New York as part of a worldwide tour, also visited the world-famous Martin Guitar factory in Nazareth, before taking a helicopter back to Philadelphia for the night's show.