Luczo Dragon donates $500k to charities
Through its program, Luczo Dragon Racing joins forces with 12 athletes and donates money raised during the racing season to the charities supported by the athletes.
This year's team of champions were boxer Laila Ali (Women's Sports Foundation), swimmer Natalie Coughlin (Sports4Kids), Hall of Fame boxer Sugar Ray Leonard (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), five-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb (Donovan McNabb Foundation), four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Indiana Chapter), World Champion skier Bode Miller (Turtle Ridge Foundation), four-time Super Bowl winner Joe Montana (Four Rings Montana Family Foundation), two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash (Steve Nash Foundation), NHL star Joe Thornton (The B'Leaf Team ALS Patient Care), four-time World Series champion Joe Torre (Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation) and tennis greats Serena Williams (Serena Williams Foundation) and Venus Williams (UNESCO).
The community development program was designed by Luczo Dragon Racing team owners Steve Luczo and Jay Penske to increase auto racing's exposure and encourage a philanthropic spirit that inspires others to make an impact in their communities.
"It is getting more and more difficult to have individuals write checks large enough to effectively impact the problems we are facing with respect to global hunger, at-risk children and negative impacts on our environment," Luczo said. "We wanted to build an economic engine in sports that is sustainable, gets more people involved and can make a significant impact on our communities."
Luczo Dragon Racing has announced its intention to compete in a full IndyCar Series season in 2009 with reigning Firestone Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos as its driver.