LONG BEACH, Calif. (Jan. 27, 2009) – If you’ve ever dreamed of going flat-out and wheel-to-wheel against a field of stars from TV, movies and the sports world on America’s most famous street circuit, here’s your chance!
Beginning Wed., Feb. 4 on www.gplb.com/auction you can bid for a spot on the starting grid of a star-studded field in the 33rd Annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, part of the 35th Anniversary Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend April 16-19.
Bidding begins at $25,000 and runs from 12:01 a.m. PT on Wed., Feb. 4 until 5 p.m. PT Wed., Feb. 11. All proceeds from the winning bid will go to the Grand Prix Foundation of
“The Grand Prix Foundation is immensely pleased to continue to help those less fortunate through events such as the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race,” said Rick DuRee, Foundation President.
“It proves that while the Pro/Celebrity Race is the premier event of its kind, it also marks Toyota as one of Southern California’s more dedicated and involved corporate citizens.“
The winning bidder will join the rest of the celebrity and professional field for four days of professional driver’s training at
The high bidder will also receive a custom-made professional driver’s suit, including shoes, gloves and helmet, and a $5,000 donation from
One day of pre-event “on circuit” driver training and media exposure on Grand Prix Press Day, April 7, and practice and qualifying on Friday, April 17 will lead up to taking the green flag in a new, race-ready Scion tC on Sat., April 18 in the 10-lap sprint race on the 1.97-mile seaside Long Beach street course.
“It was a dream come true,” said Thom Naito, a business analyst who won the auction bidding and raced in the 2006 event. “The whole weekend holds great memories for me, even though, actually, the race itself was just a blur!
“One of the highs was the four days of training at Willow Springs, and bonding with all the other competitors. And, when we visited the Children’s Hospital and met the kids, it really brought home to me the reason why we were racing.”
The package also includes first-class air fare and hotel accommodations, meals and ground transportation to training, press/practice day and race weekend, tickets and hospitality for race weekend, as well as a post-race celebratory reception and dinner.
The starting field for the 33rd Annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race has yet to be announced, but past celebrity entrants have included George Lucas, Ashley Judd, Clint Eastwood, Cameron Diaz, Gene Hackman, Jay Leno and John Elway. Professional drivers have included Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, Patrick Dempsey and Danica Patrick, who will be making her Long Beach IndyCar debut this year.
For full details and rules, log on to www.gplb.com/auction.
-GPFLB-
ABOUT THE GRAND PRIX FOUNDATION OF
Since its inception in 1991, the Grand Prix Foundation of
The Grand Prix Foundation annually raises the money through its “Charity Days” events during the week of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which annually attracts more than 180,000 race fans on event weekend. These include the Toyota Grand Prix Charity Golf Tournament on Monday, April 13 and a Charity Ball on Wednesday, April 15. Thanks to low administrative costs, 90 cents of each dollar raised go directly to the organizations selected by the Foundation’s 11-member Board of Directors.
For more information on the Grand Prix Foundation of