One of America’s most celebrated comedians and the host of the popular Jay Leno Show on NBC will invite his guests to participate in a competition he is introducing later this month.

Called the «Jay Leno Green Car Challenge», the first of the trials will take place on 18 September 2009. Each guest will drive a Ford Focus RS equipped with an electric motor around a specially-designed 1500-foot (450-metre) track set up on the lot of NBC’s studios in Burbank, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Omega Timing will time the invited guests’ performances and record the results.

Photoelectric cells will trigger the timer when the round starts and will stop it when the drivers cross the finish line. An Omega photofinish camera at the finish line will determine the competitors’ times with great precision. All drivers’ times will be displayed on-screen in real-time along with Omega’s name and logo.