Driving Sports

Twenty five years ago this month, Danny Sullivan solidified his place in motorsports history with his famous “spin and win” in the 1985 Indy 500. This past weekend, Danny competed in another race, this one on behalf of his favorite non-profit. On Sunday, Danny drove in the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup race at Mazda Raceway in support of the SPCA for Monterey County.

Danny agreed to participate with one condition: that it not be a mere PR stunt – cash donations to the SPCA for Monterey County would be required. The response was strong from both racing fans and animal welfare advocates. Over $7,000 was secured before the green flag dropped on Sunday afternoon and donations are still being accepted for “Pet Crew” T-shirts (available at SPCAmc.org/petcrew.htm).

Danny also donated his Mazda provided Sparco nomex suit with custom SPCA for Monterey County graphics to be used as an auction item. Stay tuned: details will be posted on www.SPCAmc.org and www.facebook.com/SPCAmc.

The actual race weekend was mixed for Danny. Prior commitments prevented him from being available for a key practice session. Despite that he qualified a strong 14th and impressed the team with his technical feedback. During the race, a mishap caused him to spin and lose valuable time. Luck was not in his favor as the race remained green from flag-to-flag. While unable to challenge for a podium finish, Danny was the consummate professional and reeled off lap after lap of times that rivaled the leaders. While officially retired as a driver, his skills remain sharp and he just missed a last lap pass by .22 seconds. A true champion for the animals.

Special thanks from the Monterey SPCA go to Danny & Brenda Sullivan, MAZDASPEED Motorsports, BFGoodrich, Sparco, SCCA Pro Racing, Dyson Racing, Team MER, David Walker, Jeff Mosing, Al Merion, Deanna Brooks, Pilar Lastra, Jeff Case, and The SPCA for Monterey County volunteers for contributing to the success of this program.

The SPCA also named 16 adoptable pets after drivers and Mazda icons. To date, four have been adopted including Champ, named for Danny Sullivan; Nick, named for MX-5 Cup racer Nick Evans; Ara, named for MX-5 cup racer Ara Malkhassian; and Zoom-Zoom, named for the Mazda philosophy.

[What never gets mentioned in these stories is that Dean Case, PR representative for Mazda Motorsports, works tirelessly every day of his life for two things - to let people know all the cool things Mazda is doing in motorsports, and to help shelter animals find homes. Dean is one of the true unsung heroes of racing. - Ed]