INDIANAPOLIS,
May 18 - Last year the mayor of Indianapolis was
so impressed with race car driver Andrew
Prendeville's Racing Laps for Best Friends
program, he made him an honorary citizen of the
city.
Now Prendeville is back in town to drive the
Best Friends Animal Society No. 5 in Friday's
Firestone Indy Lights race at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
Like last year, he's tied animal welfare in with
his racing. This year those efforts include:
- The opportunity for fans to make
tax-deductible per-lap donations to benefit
Best Friends at
racinglapsforbestfriends.com
- A raffle to benefit Best Friends at the
same website, with prizes of sessions at the
Bertil Roos Racing School
- A free "PetStop" appearance on Tuesday
from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Indianapolis Animal
Care & Control, 2600 S. Harding St.
- A "booth" at the track via the Racing
Laps for Best Friends trailer in the parking
lot near IMS's Hall of Fame Museum beginning
Wednesday
All of these efforts were designed to
encourage animal adoptions and volunteerism at
local shelters like Indianapolis Animal Care &
Control; to help people become more aware of the
work of their local shelters and the Best
Friends Animal Society; to provide exposure to
the Racing Laps for Best Friends program
centered on the
racinglapsforbestfriends.com
website; and to promote the Firestone Freedom
100 Firestone Indy Lights race at IMS on Friday
and the Indy 500 there on Sunday, May 25.
What is Best Friends?
The Best Friend Animal Society is 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.
On any given day Best Friends cares for
approximately 1,500 animals at its sanctuary.
Many of the animals there have special needs and
couldn't be placed by other groups. Best Friends
assisted many animals displaced by Hurricane
Katrina, including Ballsy, a dog that
Prendeville sponsors. It is also caring for 22
of the pit bulls formerly owned by ex-NFL player
Michael Vick.
Tuesday's PetStop
At the PetStop, fans can get Prendeville's
autograph, see the Racing Laps for Best Friends
show car, have their photos taken with the car
and Prendeville, receive information about
animal welfare topics, tour the shelter,
purchase Best Friends merchandise and raffle
tickets, and make per-lap donations to Best
Friends for the Firestone Freedom 100 and
subsequent Firestone Indy Lights races. Pet
adoptions can also be made at the shelter during
the PetStop; standard adoption requirements and
fees apply.
Learn more about the PetStops.
The Firestone Freedom 100
If a fan were to donate $1 per lap for Friday's
Firestone Freedom 100 and Prendeville completes
all 40 laps of the race, the fan would make a
$40 donation to Best Friends. Per-lap donations
can be made in any amount starting at 25 cents.
Fans can see how Prendeville does in Friday's
race in person, on
indycar.com/indylights, or
on TV.
There are two 45-minute practice sessions for
the Firestone Indy Lights series at 9 a.m. and
11 a.m. Thursday. Qualifying will be held at
1:15 p.m. that
day.
The 40-lap race will get the green flag at 12:30
p.m. on Friday, Miller Lite Carb Day. It will be
broadcast on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. later that day.
All times are Eastern.
Fans can make their pledges for the next race
and the other races remaining on the schedule at
the
racinglapsforbestfriends.com
website. In addition to donations, Bertil Roos
Racing School raffle tickets to benefit Best
Friends are available on the
racinglapsforbestfriends.com.
Additional information is available at
bestfriends.org and
racinglapsforbestfriends.com.
