Just try getting behind the wheel of, say, a shiny, red Corvette and peeling out in the Invesco Field parking lot. Laying some rubber has you pretty jazzed, so you rev the motor to unleash the 500 horses under the hood for a dizzying spin around the lot.
Sound crazy? Or like a lot of fun?
On any other day, hot-rodding around the stadium parking lot would have meant a costly speeding citation. But it was just the ticket for the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Colorado to earn $20,000 toward granting wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.
Hosted by General Motors, the Denver Date Drive for Charity let local celebrities get behind the wheel of several 2006 high-performance cars and negotiate a closed track set up in the otherwise empty lot.
“Survivor” alum Ami Cusack was the first to take off with tires squealing, a move that sparked applause from the 300 guests who looked on from beneath a trackside canopy where sodas, bottled water and popcorn were being served. Later, she confessed this wasn’t her first exposure to hot wheels and speed.
“When I worked for EAS, the company had races (for workers) at Bandimere Speedway,” she said, adding: “The guys I worked with would get upset because I beat them a lot.”
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Miss Rodeo Colorado Tressa Knowlton is no stranger to horsepower – the four-legged or four-wheeled kind – and, like Cusack and Rockmount Ranch Wear’s Steve Weil, she left a little rubber on the pavement.
Weil’s wife, Wendy, also took a turn behind the wheel and said she would have liked to show some speed. “I never did get out of second gear,” she said with a laugh.
Miss Colorado Laura Tobey helped 9News meteorologist Nick Carter emcee the event; ironically, she was late to the gig because she had gotten stuck in traffic.
After checking out the cars on display – including the Pontiac Solstice and GTO, Chevrolet Cobalt SS and Cadillac CTS-V – Carter promised Mike Johnson, GM’s Western region general manager, he would give careful consideration to GM autos when it came time to trade in his existing ride, a 1974 Gremlin.
Walter and Christie Isenberg were honorary chairmen of Denver Date Drive for Charity; other celebrity drivers were Denver Bronco Jason Elam and former NBA forward Mark Randall. Elam also donated one of the most popular items to be auctioned that night: a dinner at which he’ll talk about the upcoming season.
Wild times ahead
Denver Zoological Foundation is expecting 3,000 guests for its signature fundraiser, the Do at the Zoo. One Wild Night is the theme, with food and drink from 30 restaurants served 6:30-10:30 p.m. Thursday. Sue Stevinson is the chair, and corporate chairs are Mike Long and Ken Gart. Call 303-376-4860. … Stars of India is the theme for the 2005 Diplomats Ball, a benefit dinner put on by the Institute of International Education’s Rocky Mountain Regional Center. Details on the June 24 event are available from Karen de Bartolome, 303-837-0788, ext. 14.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com.
