(May 12, 2010) MONTEREY, Calif. — It turns out that former Indy 500 Champion Danny Sullivan had more in common with the folks at MAZDASPEED than he knew. Sure, they both loved racing, especially at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Last year, however, they discovered that both are active animal advocates interested in the promotion of shelter adoptions.

Danny and his wife Brenda are active with the SPCA for Monterey County. The SPCA is located directly across the street from the main entrance to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

This will be the fourth year that Mazda has teamed up with the SPCA at major race weekends to promote shelter animal adoptions.

Since the 2007 season, a variety of Mazda racers have carried the humane message but this will be the first time a car will be branded with large SPCA lettering and a former Indy and Formula 1 racer at the wheel.

This was very much a group effort. Mazda is providing the car and crew, BFGoodrich is donating race tires, the SCCA is waiving the entry fee, and fellow racing enthusiasts donated $5,000 to the SPCA to move this beyond a PR stunt into a legitimate fundraiser for the SPCA.

Members of the public are invited to join “Danny’s Pet Crew” on Sunday, May 23rd. In honor of the 105th anniversary of the SPCA for Monterey County, Danny will race car number 105. The first 105 people to donate $105 or more will receive a race-day ticket, a team T-shirt, and an opportunity to meet Danny.† For the five people donating the most money, they will watch the race from the Mazda VIP suite above pitlane.

To become a member of “Danny’s Pet Crew” go to http://www.spcamc.org/petcrew.htm for complete details.