IPS: Kentucky: Andrew Prendeville preview

Prendeville Hopes to Keep Momentum Going Saturday Night at Kentucky Speedway SPARTA, Ky., Aug. 8 - Momentum is very important in racing. No one knows that better than Andrew Prendeville, driver of the Best Friends Animal Society No. 5 in the Indy ...

Prendeville Hopes to Keep Momentum Going Saturday Night at Kentucky Speedway

SPARTA, Ky., Aug. 8 - Momentum is very important in racing. No one knows that better than Andrew Prendeville, driver of the Best Friends Animal Society No. 5 in the Indy Pro Series, who is coming off one of his best finishes so far this season going into Saturday night's Kentucky 100 at Kentucky Speedway here.

The RLR/Andersen Racing driver was fourth in both the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May and also at the last race, which was held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 22. Prendeville also had his best qualifying result in the series to date, third, at the last race. The Morristown, N.J.-based driver would like nothing better than to improve on that strong performance Saturday night in Kentucky.

It's a challenging goal for Prendeville, who is in his first season of Indy Pro Series competition, as is his team. He's never tested or competed at Kentucky Speedway before; in fact, he'll be getting his first look at the 1.5-mile tri-oval this weekend. But Prendeville approaches challenges in a methodical, educated manner, and he totally understands the truth to the old racing adage, "to finish first, first you must finish."

Prendeville's first order of business will be to finish all 67 laps on Saturday night. He'll try to do that not only for himself and for his team but also for the Best Friends Animal Society, which operates the largest no-kill animal shelter in the United States.

Through Prendeville's Racing Laps for Best Friends program, fans at the track and around the world pledge donations to Best Friends based on the number of laps he completes in each race. The donations are made through a special Web site at racinglapsforbestfriends.com. If Prendeville doesn't complete any laps, the not-for-profit organization won't raise any money through the program, and it takes a lot of money to feed and care for the 1,500 animals at Best Friends' sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.