Car Insurance

In cooperation with the local Red Cross, NHRA and Indianapolis Raceway Park helped raise money during the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals for Americans affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Red Cross set up donation buckets around the track for fans to contribute, and public-address announcements throughout helped fans find the donation locations. NHRA also will make a donation on behalf of its 140 member tracks and NHRA members. In addition, NHRA and MainGate, the on-site merchandise vendor, sold wristbands with a portion of the proceeds going to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. NHRA.com also supplied free ad banner space to the Red Cross that was directly linked to online donations to the relief fund.

Pro drivers pitch in for Katrina relief: NHRA Pro drivers at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals pitched in to help the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, collecting $150,000 from team owners. Oakley’s Jim Jennard led the pack with a stout $25,000 donation, and Connie Kalitta, Don Schumacher, Kenny Bernstein, and others chipped in large amounts. Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson donated his Indy winnings, Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert donated all of the proceeds from his merchandise sales at the event, and air-cargo mogul Connie Kalitta provided some planes to ship supplies to rescue centers.

Division 4 Director Hutehinson is hands On in Texas: Division 4 Director Craig Hutehinson and his wife Sue, of Conroe, Texas, helped victims of Hurricane Katrina who were evacuated to Texas. “We don’t have a lot of money to donate, but we had vacation time,” he said. “We originally thought about going to Louisiana to help there, but with all of the violence, we didn’t feel it was safe. We went to the Astrodome in Houston and signed up and were assigned to work at Reliance Center, where they were processing incoming evacuees.” Calling upon his years of organizational experience conducting drag races, Hutchinson made some suggestions to those in charge, who were immediately impressed by his skills and put him in charge of the in-processing. “It was really heartbreaking work,” said Hutchinson, who with his wife worked 14-hour days over the Labor Day weekend. “Kids who couldn’t find their parents, the elderly - it was tough to see. It brought me to my knees a few times. The best part was when we were able to reunite families; that made it all worthwhile.”

Vegas track, racers donate: While The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway collected money over Labor Day weekend to donate to the Red Cross’ Hurricane Katrina relief effort, local racers raised money for two teams hit hard by the disaster. After donating tools and diecast cars to be used as drawing prizes, other businesses and race teams stepped up, and the prize cache grew rapidly. In addition, local and visiting Jr. Dragster drivers sold cookies and lemonade at the track, raising nearly $2,100 that will be donated equally to a Louisiana bracket racer and a Gulf Coast-area Jr. Dragster competitor, both of whom were affected by the hurricane.

NHRA museum’s Twilight Cruise opens hearts, wallets: An impromptu charity drive at the Aug. 31 Twilight Cruise Night at The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum raised $1,000 for the Salvation Army to give to the relief effort. Museum visitors can continue to donate during an ongoing program.

Cruz Pedregon online auction: Former NHRA POWERade Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon held an auction of his Carlos Santana-autographed PRS guitar on eBay. All proceeds of the online auction benefited Deborah and Carlos Santana’s Milagro Foundation for underrepresented and disadvantaged children, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Hurricane Katrina relief effort on behalf of Advance Auto Parts. The winning bidder also received Santana/Pedregon Racing guitar picks, an autographed 1/24th-scale Santana-themed Advance Auto Parts Funny Car diecast, and a personalized hero card.

Oswald seeks aid for Louisiana Victims: Former NHRA Funny Car world champ Mark Oswald, a member of the New Hope World Outreach church in Houma, La., is seeking donations to help in a local effort to assist hurricane victims.