LONG BEACH, Calif.,
April 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/
-- "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer and popular
cast member Maksim Chmerkovskiy will bring his ballroom flair to
the 37th Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race as grand marshal of the
long-running, prestigious charitable event. Chmerkovskiy will be
joined by singer and former "American Idol" contestant Paul McDonald, who will open the race by
performing the national anthem.
Chmerkovskiy, a Latin ballroom dance champion, choreographer and
instructor, thrilled audiences as an outspoken and fiery competitor
on "Dancing with the Stars." McDonald was a popular finalist on
Season 10 of "American Idol," performing original music from his
band, The Grand Magnolias.
The participation of both celebrities adds to the impressive
list of Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race drivers from film, television,
music, sports and the military who will speed through the historic
1.97-mile street circuit on the streets of downtown Long Beach, Calif. They include one of
Mexico's most acclaimed actresses
Kate del Castillo; Jenna Elfman, star of "1600 Penn"; Olympic gold
medalist Jessica Hardy;
"Dallas" star Jesse Metcalfe; actor Jackson Rathbone, best known for his role as
Jasper Hale in the hit "Twilight"
movie series; comedian Wanda Sykes,
Medal of Honor recipient Dakota
Meyer and Jeremy Sisto, star
of "Suburgatory."
The celebrity participants also include Brett Davern, star of MTV's hit series
"Awkward"; Mark Steines host of
Hallmark Channel's "Home & Family"; Michael Trucco of SyFy's acclaimed series
"Battlestar Galactica" and most recently "Revenge"; Fox
Sports/SPEED auto racing analyst and co-host of "Top Gear
USA" Rutledge Wood and 2012 Toyota
Pro/Celebrity Race winner and comedian Adam
Carolla. Each will get behind the wheel of an identically
prepared, race-ready Scion FR-S sports car to compete in the 10-lap
event.
"We are thrilled to have Maksim Chmerkovskiy serve as grand
marshal and Paul McDonald sing the
anthem before this year's race, bringing more star power to this
high-profile charitable event," said Les
Unger, Toyota national motorsports manager. "Together their
presence will help bring more attention to the children who benefit
from The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race."
The Toyota Pro/Celebrity race is one of the longest-running,
corporate-sponsored events of its kind. Toyota annually donates
$5,000 to Racing for Kids on behalf
of each participant and another $5,000 to the winning racer's charity of choice.
Racing for Kids – a national nonprofit program benefiting
children's hospitals throughout the country – was created as a way
to connect these children with their favorite celebrities and race
car drivers.
Since 1991, Toyota has donated more than $2 million to the Racing for Kids organization,
on behalf of this race and its participants. In addition to
Toyota's contributions, a $15,000
donation will be made in conjunction with the 16th annual "People
Pole Award." Sponsored by People magazine, the award honors the
pole-position winner of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race qualifying
session on April 19.
To learn more about the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, visit
www.toyotaracing.com/series/toyota-pro-celebrity.html.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations
in the United States in 1957 and
currently operates 10 manufacturing plants. Toyota directly employs
over 31,000 in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued
at more than $23 billion, including
sales and manufacturing operations, research and development,
financial services and design.
Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the
communities where it does business and believes in supporting
programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports
numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education,
the environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed
nearly 700 million to philanthropic programs in the U.S.
For more information on Toyota's commitment to improving
communities nationwide, visit
http://www.toyota.com/philanthropy.
CONTACT:
|
|
Les
Unger
|
Rebecca
Lee
|
Toyota
Racing
|
GolinHarris for Toyota
|
310-468-4709
|
213-438-8827
|
les_unger@toyota.com
|
rlee@golinharris.com
|
|
|
Erika
Romero
|
Sharon
Noot
|
Toyota
Racing
|
Noot
Incorporated
|
310-468-3948
|
714-527-7735
|
erika_romero@toyota.com
|
sharon@nootinc.com
|
SOURCE Toyota