Auto Racing Initiative Seeks to Raise Awareness on Opioid Crisis

A new nonprofit organization will use auto racing to educate and engage the public on the urgency of the opioid epidemic. Racing for Lives will enter a 10-race series at which it will activate an advocacy program during each event.

“I chose the name because we are literally in a race against time to save the next person from dying from this horrific epidemic,” said Racing for Lives founder Ben Bettenhausen, a New York entrepreneur and race car enthusiast.

The campaign will use advertising, experiences, social content and organizational partnerships to deliver its message on eradicating stigma and getting addicted individuals the help they need. It will use two professional race cars as vehicles for its efforts. The Awareness Car will be wrapped with images of victims of the opioid crisis, beginning with 21-year-old Emily Groth, an artist and athlete who died of fentanyl poisoning.

Racing for Lives will enter the 2020 Pirelli GT4 World Challenge America Pro-Racing series as a team, according to a news release last week from the organization.