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Racing Laps for Best Friends Program Earmarks Watkins Glen
Donations
For Middletown, N.Y. Animal Shelter
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06/29/2007
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By Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., June 29 - Indy Pro Series
driver Andrew Prendeville's Racing Laps for Best
Friends program will take a decidedly local turn
for the Watkins Glen doubleheader on July 7-8.
Prendeville, of Morristown, N.J., said that all
the donations pledged to Best Friends Animal
Society based on the number of laps he completes
in the Indy Pro Series doubleheader at Watkins
Glen International here that weekend will be
earmarked for the Pets Alive animal shelter in
Middletown, N.Y. Best Friends has been running
the Pets Alive shelter since the latter
underwent a crisis this spring.
Fans can make donations at
racinglapsforbestfriends.com (this website) or
at the Racing Laps for Best Friends tent on the
grounds of the famous road course in the Finger
Lakes July 6-8.
 Best Friends, which is involved in animal
welfare throughout the world from its
headquarters in Kanab, Utah, has been running
the Pets Alive shelter since April after its
founder died of cancer in March. Best Friends'
own sanctuary in Utah is the largest no-kill
animal shelter in the United States, with
approximately 1,500 animals on the premises on
any given day.
Fans unfamiliar with Prendeville's program can
learn more about it on the
racinglapsforbestfriends.com Web site. ESPN2
will also air a feature on the program during
its telecast of the recent Indy Pro Series race
in Newton, Iowa at 5:30 p.m. EDT this Tuesday,
July 3.
Prendeville's RLR/Andersen Racing entry, No. 5,
is carrying the Best Friends Animal Society logo
all season long to raise awareness for the
not-for-profit organization and its work.
Approximately 500 animals were living at Pets
Alive when its founder, Sara Whalen, died of
cancer on March 19. Whalen, a remarkable figure
in animal rescue, had too few staff members and
volunteers and too many animals when her illness
gradually diminished her ability to run the
80-acre sanctuary that specializes in placing
special-needs animals rejected by other
organizations. When the Pets Alive board of
directors learned the extent of the problem,
they turned to Best Friends' rapid response team
for help.
More information on Best Friends' involvement at
Pets Alive can be found on the Internet at
http://network.bestfriends.org/petsalive/news/13829.html.
Best Friends' Web site is at bestfriends.org.
Through the Racing Laps for Best Friends
program, fans make donations to Best Friends
based on the number of laps Prendeville
completes in his races, ranging from 25 cents
per lap and up. Straight donations may also be
made. Fans also have the opportunity to
participate in a raffle to win 2008 Indy 500
tickets through the racinglapsforbestfriends.com
Web site.
Two 29-lap Indy Pro Series races are on the
Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix schedule. Both
begin at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 7 and on
Sunday, July 8. Should a fan pledge a dollar a
lap and Prendeville completes all the laps in
both events, the donation would be $58. Fans
unable to attend the races in person can watch
the live timing and scoring carried on
indycar.com/pro, or watch ESPN2's coverage at 5
p.m. EDT Thursday, July 12.
Following the Watkins Glen doubleheader,
Prendeville has two more races in July: July 14
at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn. and
July 22 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in
Lexington, Ohio. Three races are on the schedule
for August: one at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta,
Ky., on Aug. 11; and another doubleheader at
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., Aug. 25-26.
The series'
2007 season concludes Sept. 9 at Chicagoland
Speedway in Joliet, Ill.
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