Team Seattle hosts Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona benefit for Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center

Team Seattle, a two racecar entry into the annual Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona has selected Bison Creek Pizza in Burien Washington as the site of it's raceday headquarters for the annual endurance event held to benefit The Childrens Hospital and Regional Center in Seattle. The Team has raised in excess of $1,000,000 over the past five years through both business and personal pledges.

When the green flag waives the start of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on February 1st, racecar fans throughout Seattle will be rooting for the Northwest Team raising needed funds for Childrens Hospital. Team Seattle, a professional motor sports team with a two car entry in the annual Florida event will headquarters its Seattle fan base at Bison Creek Pizza in Burien, a suberb south of downtown Seattle.

The 24-Hour endurance event runs from 1 PM Saturday, February 1st until 1 PM Sunday February 2nd. Team Seattle, which has raised more than 1 Million dollars over the past 5 years for Childrens Hospital hopes to meet its goal of $300,000 this year through pledges from both businesses and individuals. We are a group of Northwest racecar drivers, friends and families who want to make a difference in the community in which we live", explains Team Seattle Founder and driver Don Kitch, Jr.

The two identical racecars entered by Team Seattle are Lola chassis, Nissan powered, vehicles capable of traveling in excess of 160 MPH. Each car needs to pit" every 45 minutes for fuel and each driver attempts to run three 45-minute stints before letting another driver take over. A typical lap is 2 minutes and 10 seconds when running in endurance mode conserving fuel, tires and car", says Kitch. When the race is concluded, Kitch estimates they will have run nearly 700 laps. The Seattle-based Team, which typically travels with a supporting cast of 70, has finished in the top seven over the past five years and took 1st Place in Class at the conclusion of the 24 Hour event in 1999.

Locally, Bison Creek Pizza which will host the entire 24 Hour broadcast expects several trackside team reports" to be shared via a public address system at the Burien Pizza establishment. This is a very special occasion for us and we feel fortunate that Team Seattle and Childrens Hospital will benefit from an event at our restaurant", states Bison Creek Pizza co-owners Connie Salazar and Mike Rasmussen.

Because of a unique relationship between corporate sponsors and the drivers own investment, the teams fundraising results are impressive. Due to our generous underwriters, 100% of the pledged proceeds go to help the children who are patients at the regional medical center", says Kitch. The life long racing enthusiast can easily explain why Childrens is the beneficiary of Team Seattle. Racing for a cause like Childrens provides an additional incentive to do well not only for the race but for the supporters, kids and gives everyone positive energy to do their best and not give up".

For more information on The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona entry by Team Seattle and the event at Bison Creek Pizza log onto www.teamseattle.com