Metallica's James Hetfield Races To 39

NEW YORK (Metallica Official Website) - Metallica's James Hetfield turned 39 on Saturday (August 3). For a belated birthday surprise, some of his closest friends and bandmates rented the Sears International Point Raceway on Tuesday (August 6), reports the band's official website. The raceway, located north of San Francisco, features a 2.55 mile, 12-road course, and a quarter-mile drag strip.

Hefield and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, with their respective wives; producer Bob Rock; and drummer Lars Ulrich were all on hand for an afternoon of drag racing. Hetfield raced both his '55 Chevy Bel Aire and Chevy Camaro. Hammett brought out his '57 Corvette and his wife had a '65 black GTO convertible.

According to the band's website, "a bar-b-que was enjoyed by all and yes, there was a rather marvelous birthday cake with (guess what?) toy cars on top. And to be honest, even though the families were out and kids were rolling around on scooters and what-not, the real 'kids' of the afternoon were easy to spot."