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E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Prendeville's Racing Laps for Best Friends Program Expands;
'PetStops' Will be Staged at Local Animal Shelters Prior to Races
LAS VEGAS, March 19 - Race car driver Andrew Prendeville, who instituted a
very popular promotion last year for the Best Friends Animal Society centered
around his Indy Pro Series races, announced today that the program will expand
dramatically for the 2008 season.
The Background
"Racing Laps for Best Friends" raises exposure and funds for the Best Friends
Animal Society, a not-for-profit animal welfare organization that strives for
a day when there will be no more homeless pets. Best Friends assists animal
shelters around the world with their individual programs, as well as operates
its own animal shelter in Kanab, Utah.
Last year Prendeville donated signage for Best Friends on his Indy Pro Series
race car, the Best Friends Animal Society No. 5. It appeared in races across
America that were covered on ESPN2. Through a special Web site at
racinglapsforbestfriends.com, fans made donations to Best Friends based on the number of
laps Prendeville completed in each race. Fans also participated in a raffle
for 2008 Indy 500 tickets courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A tent
manned by Best Friends volunteers was erected at several Indy Pro Series
tracks as an additional outreach venture. Prendeville also made numerous media
appearances to detail Best Friends' mission, and visited several animal shelters
across the country.
Although the program didn't start until last May, approximately $50,000 was
raised for Best Friends through the Racing Laps for Best Friends program last
year. Donations to the program are tax deductible.
What's New
Today Prendeville said that all of that will not only continue this year, it
will be expanded. A special red-and-black, 20-foot Racing Laps for Best
Friends trailer has been created that will make appearances at racetracks, animal
shelters, animal rescue facilities and special events near the 12 tracks that
will host the 16 Indy Pro Series races slated for 2008.
Through racinglapsforbestfriends.com, fans can pledge a specific amount of
money for each lap that Prendeville completes in each of his races, with the
donation going totally to Best Friends. They can also make flat donations
through the Web site, in person at the track, or by mail.
Fans who make per-lap pledges for the entire season will receive a paw print
with either their name of their pet's name affixed to the Racing Laps for Best
Friends trailer. When that season pledge reaches $1,000, the name and paw
print will also appear on Prendeville's helmet.
Information on a special raffle that benefits Best Friends is also available
on the racinglapsforbestfriends.com Web site. The prizes are sessions at the
famed Bertil Roos Racing School.
PetStops at Local Shelters
Indy Pro Series events are short enough that pitstops aren't usually
necessary. If Prendeville makes one, it's usually because there's a problem.
So although a pitstop isn't usually good for him, nothing but good can come
from the "PetStops" Prendeville will make at animal shelters across the country
in 2008.
The PetStops are free and open to the public. Fans attending them will have
the opportunity to meet Prendeville, get his autograph, and see his race car up
close. Tours of local shelters and adoption events are planned depending on
the wishes of each particular participating shelter. Fans will also have the
opportunity to pick up free animal welfare materials and to purchase Best
Friends merchandise.
The first four free "PetStops" for 2008 are scheduled for:
* Thursday, March 27 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Miami Dade Animal Services,
7401 NW 74 St., Miami, prior to Prendeville's season-opener at Homestead-Miami
Speedway in Homestead, Fla. on Saturday, March 29;
* Thursday, April 3 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the SPCA Tampa Bay,
9099 130th Ave. N., Largo, Fla., prior to Prendeville's races Saturday and
Sunday, April 5-6, on the street circuit at St. Petersburg, Fla.;
* Wednesday, April 23 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Humane Society of Greater
Kansas City, 5445 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kan., prior to Prendeville's
race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. on Sunday, April 27; and
* Tuesday, May 20 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Indianapolis Animal Care &
Control, 2600 South Harding St., Indianapolis, Ind., prior to Prendeville's race at
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Ind. on Friday, May 23.
Subsequent dates will be announced later.
"The main purpose of the PetStops will be to encourage adoptions and
volunteerism at local shelters, to help people become more aware of the work of their
local shelters and Best Friends, and to provide exposure to the Racing Laps
for Best Friends program," said Prendeville. The PetStops will be staffed by
Best Friends employees, the staff of the local shelters involved, and local
volunteers.
Everything Pets in Cincinnati
Prendeville, his race car and the Racing Laps for Best Friends trailer are
also signed up to appear at the Everything Pets show at the Duke Energy Center
in Cincinnati April 11-13 in conjunction with a display by Kentucky Speedway.
Best Friends volunteers will man the Racing Laps for Best Friends trailer all
three days of the show. Prendeville will be on hand to meet show-goers that
Saturday and Sunday following testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that
Friday. Show hours and admission prices can be found on the show's Web site at
everythingpets.org. Prendeville will race at Kentucky Speedway, which is near
Cincinnati in Sparta, Ky., on Aug. 9.
For more information on Prendeville, see racinglapsforbestfriends.com,
bestfriends.org, andrewprendeville.com, andersenracingteam.com and indycar.com/pro.