Toyota PR Photo

It may be an off weekend for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but not for the driver of the No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra, Todd Bodine. He will be heading to sunny, Long Beach, CA for this weekend's 30 th Anniversary Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Bodine is one of the hottest drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He ended the 2005 season with five wins and already has one win and one Bud Pole in 2006. Bodine is currently third in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point's chase. Joining Bodine in this Saturdays event is fellow NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver, David Reutimann, who drives the No. 17 Toyota Tundra for Darrell Waltrip Racing.

"I am looking forward to racing in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race," said Bodine. "I went out there a couple of weeks ago for the driver training program and got to meet a lot of the celebrities that I will be running against as well as the other professional Toyota drivers. It's a great group of people. I had a lot fun during the four days I spent in driver training. I am looking forward to getting out to Long Beach, to see everyone again and race with them and help Toyota raise money for two regional children's hospital."

Bodine will switch gears to race on the famed Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 1.97-mile street circuit, behind the wheel of a 175 hp race-ready Scion tC, instead of his usual 650 hp No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra.

"The Scions are fun to drive," said Bodine. "The front-wheel drive on those cars is a lot different from what I am used to. It took me a couple of runs driving the Scion to get used to the car, but I finally got the hang of it. The instructors at the school were a big help and made it a lot of fun. I am looking forward to the race. It should be a blast."

The event annually raises more than $100,000. Toyota will donate $5,000 in each drivers name to "Racing for Kids," a national group that benefits Miller Children's Hospital of Long Beach and Children's Hospital of Orange County. Another $15,000 will go to the charity of choice of the pole-sitter in an award presented by PEOPLE magazine.

The 30th Anniversary of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Pro/Celebrity Race will be held on Saturday, April 8th, 2006 at noon . It will air on SPEED Saturday, April 22nd at 2:30 p.m. EDT.