Nancy Cartwright: A 'Simpson' Driving Force

Bart Simpson revving it up at a NASCAR race? Well, sort of. On Sept. 26, Nancy Cartwright (who voices the spiky-haired hellion on The Simpsons), with the help of Turner Sports Interactive and her own animation company, SportsBlast (sportsblast.com), launched The Kellys, a 10-episode series of three-minute online shorts that will air on NASCAR.com. With its diverse vocal talent—which includes The Practice‘s Camryn Manheim, JAG‘s Catherine Bell, and South Park‘s Isaac Hayes—the dramedy follows the high-speed adventures of a NASCAR-racing family. Among the characters are a roguish Italian racer, a crusty-yet-lovable team owner, and a wide-eyed 10-year-old fan, played, naturally, by Cartwright. Though Manheim, in the role of the brusque bartender/armchair therapist, has never done anything online before, she has loads of faith in her team leader: ”Anytime I can ride the wings of Nancy Cartwright’s success, I will.” Speaking of riding, has either of them actually been in a race car? Cartwright definitely has the need for speed and hopes to get on the fast track soon. But Manheim swears you’ll never see her behind the wheel, adding ”I don’t know anything about [NASCAR], but I’m not really a law fan, either.” Ladies, start your engines.