DHL, sponsor of Andretti Autosport and the No. 28 IZOD IndyCar Series entry driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay, celebrated its driver's championship victory at its corporate headquarters earlier this week, and also took the opportunity to support his Racing for Cancer – a charity Hunter-Reay co-founded after the death of his mom to cancer.
DHL presented Hunter-Reay with a $10,000 check of funds raised by DHL employees. Tom Vossman, president and co-founder of Racing for Cancer; Ian Clough, CEO of DHL Express U.S.; Christine Nashick, vice president of marketing for DHL Express U.S.; and Stephen Fenwick, CEO of DHL Express Americas joined RHR at the presentation. Hunter-Reay, who also celebrated "Ryan Hunter-Reay Day in his hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., near DHL's Plantation, Fla., headquarters, then signed autographs and die-cast models of his car for employees (LEFT). It was a part of busy week for Hunter-Reay, who also got back into the cockpit of his IndyCar for the first time since his title-winning run at Fontana last month when he tested Firestone's rain tires at Homestead.
Racing for Cancer was launched July 4th, 2010 to unite motorsports fans, sponsors, teams, "new" fans, and all of their friends and family to join the global fight against cancer.
At the DHL event, Hunter-Reay also took the opportunity to further the push for the rumored IndyCar street race in his hometown. He told the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel that he believes a beachside race there could happen as soon as next fall, although it's not on the series schedule for 2013 released last month.
"There are slots of dates that could work that we could add to it. We're working to get it done, whether it be next year or the year after," Hunter-Reay said. "The fans want to see it, the series wants to see it happen, the city wants to see it happen."