Slade ready to run the lion gauntlet

Ford supporter Mark Crowhurst with his father, Grant, who is a diehard Holden fan. Picture: Tait Schmaal Source: The Advertiser

Slade is already in Adelaide ahead of the four-day race, which starts on Thursday, and said he hadn't even thought about racing his Ford in a Holden town.

"Everyone loves coming to Clipsal because there's a great hype and atmosphere to it  ...  unlike the Melbourne Grand Prix where you can walk 5km down the road and no one would know what was going on," he said.

Slade will get support from at least one half of father-and-son duo Mark and Grant Crowhurst - the diehard V8 Supercar fans each year wage war within the walls of their eastern-suburbs home.

"It's definitely more expensive to go for Ford because you have to drink Superdry, which is more expensive," Mark said.

Clipsal 500 is the second on the 2011 V8 Supercar championship calendar.

More than 250,000 people are expected to pack the Adelaide street track over the four days.

Clipsal 500 chief executive Mark Warren said he was expecting the event to be bigger and better than last year. "I think the great thing about the Clipsal 500 is that Adelaide comes alive," Mr Warren said.

For the first time, race organisers have added a twilight race to the program as part of the Australian GT Championship.

"People were looking for more evening entertainment so it's not just about the daytime action," Mr Warren said.