Racing Laps Coming to the Milwaukee Mile May 31st and June 1st

Once again in 2008, Andrew Prendeville and his #5 race car will be at the Milwaukee Mile.

Posted by MJ Smith, Best Friends Network Volunteer

Andrew has generously donated the signage on his race car to Best Friends in an effort to generate awareness and funds for the animals. It works like this: People can donate the amount that they would like to give based on the amount of laps that the Best Friends #5 race car completes during the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights racing season. Donors can participate for the entire season, or just one race. Of course a one-time donation is always welcome too.

Racing Laps for Best Friends is a program was put in place to increase awareness of Best Friends Animal Society. The program exposes the organization to a new group of people who may not otherwise have heard about Best Friends Animal Society or the “No More Homeless Pets” mission. They may not even be aware animal welfare organizations exist. In its first year, the program raised over $50,000 for Best Friends!

http://www.racinglapsforbestfriends.com/
http://www.andrewprendeville.com/

Sunday, June 1, 2008 Andrew Prendeville will be racing at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, WI. This is a 100 Lap Race and Andrew is ready to drive! Last year Andrew was wiped out on the first lap in an accident. Better luck this year! Best Friends will have a hospitality booth at the races all weekend for people to come and sign up for "donations per lap" to support our cause. We encourage people to visit with Best Friend's members and possibly meet Andrew (or his wonderful mom) at the booth!

This year promises to be much better as the program progresses:

PetStop: Elmbrook Humane Society May 27th from 6PM-8PM

As part of an enhanced partnership with Best Friends, driver Andrew Prendeville will take a race car to a local rescue in the city where he is racing that week. Kids can sit inside the car – which has a cool new paint job showing off our logo – to see what a real race car looks like and get their pictures taken behind the wheel. Andrew will be there to sign autographs and talk to fans.

The PetStops will introduce people to the local rescue, which can use the opportunity to hold an adoptathon and provide education about responsible pet care.

The Booth:

There will be larger booths at the tracks, as well as the same car that appears at PetStops and a truck carrying Best Friends and Racing Laps merchandise, which fans last year were clamoring for.

The Mascot:
Racing Laps has an official mascot this season. During one of his visits to the sanctuary last year, Andrew met a Dogtown resident named “Ballsy,” that he had been sponsoring. At the time, the dog was afflicted with a condition that caused him to race around in circles inside his run. (He’s now been cured.) That behavior, along with his attitude and his name, made the race car driver realize he’d found a kindred spirit.
So now Ballsy is the mascot for Racing Laps for Best Friends and his illustrated visage is part of the program’s logo. On the web site, Andrew has a blog chronicling his relationship with Ballsy and Best Friends success in rehabilitating the dog. Throughout the season, the blog will have updates from Ballsy’s caregivers and trainers at the sanctuary.

The Pledging Incentives

One of the new features this season is that everyone who makes a pledge for the entire season gets a paw print with their pet’s name affixed to the merchandise truck, which of course is driven around the country and appears at most races. When that season pledge reaches $1,000, the person gets a paw print affixed to Andrew’s helmet.
Donations to Racing Laps for Best Friends are tax deductible.

The Prize Packages:

As part of the Racing Laps for Best Friends program, Andrew Prendeville and the Bertil Roos Racing School have donated several racing school packages to benefit Best Friends Animal Society.

What you can do:

For more information on races:
http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=news&mode=entry&entry=5C244CE7-19B9-B9D5-9D4A01E04BEA5BD8

To pledge:
http://www.racinglapsforbestfriends.com/sections/prog_info/proginfo_main1.htm#BFC1

For more information on Elmbrook Humane Society:
http://www.ebhs.org/
http://www.ebhs.org/press.htm

For more information on the Milwaukee Mile:
http://www.milwaukeemile.com/index.asp

*We are in need of volunteers to help out at the races on May 31st and June 1st. If interested, please contact: godog2go@sbcglobal.net

Portions of this article were written by Michael Rinker
Photo by Sarah Ause