Desert Dingo Racing

Category: World Diabetes Day

  • Word in Your Hand

    Last fall, prior to the Baja 1000, we took the car to Holly Oak Elementary School in San Jose where Ms. Battistella’s students painted their palms in red, blue or gold paint and pressed them on the fenders, decorating the car with their handprints. It was absolutely beautiful.

    Those of you touched by diabetes know the significance of the hand.

    This video, produced by TuDiabetes in 2007, puts the focus on hands and hearts. Members of TuDiabetes were invited to “Write a word in your hand describing how you feel about diabetes, take a photo showing the hand with the word, and share it with others.”

    Manny Hernandez says, “We wanted to empower people touched by diabetes to express themselves and let the world know what it is like to have diabetes. The result of the project was this video including some of the 120+ photos submitted with music by one of the members too.”

    Please, don’t wait until World Diabetes Day to learn more and help teach others about diabetes.

    Update: TuDiabetes members share how they feel about life with diabetes in the new “Word In Your Hand” video:

  • Sneak peek – the 2009 hero card

    First draft of the new Desert Dingo Racing hero card.

    Roxanne put together a first draft of the hero card we’ll likely use this year. The front has a picture of the car and the back has info on the team and the warning signs of diabetes. We print them in English and Spanish and this year we’ll be doing a run of them in French that we’ll distribute at the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal in October.

    Update: A.J. has a slightly different take on the hero card.

  • WDD race car at the World Diabetes Congress

    From the World Diabetes Day website this morning:

    Desert Dingo Racing, one of the World Diabetes Day campaign “Champions“, will be displaying the official World Diabetes Day race car – a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle that races the deserts of Mexico’s Baja peninsula during the annual Baja 1000 – at the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal, Canada, Oct. 18-22 2009.

    More…

    (Find out how you can become a World Diabetes Day champion here)

  • Bayside Oil II Sponsors Desert Dingo Racing 2009 Off-Road Racing Season

    July 16, 2009, Santa Cruz, Calif. – Bayside Oil II, Inc., one of Santa Cruz County’s oldest and most respected oil distributors and lubricant recycling centers, announced today that it is sponsoring Desert Dingo Racing’s 2009 off-road racing season, including the Baja 1000 in Mexico in November.

    Desert Dingo Racing campaigns a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle in off road races in the U.S. and Mexico. The team is the official World Diabetes Day off road race team and works with the International Diabetes Federation to raise money for diabetes education and awareness programs.

    Bayside Oil II, Inc., a family-owned business founded in 1973, provides local industrial companies with fuel, lubricants, absorbents and antifreezes and is a licensed recycler for antifreeze, batteries, corrosives, flammable liquids, fluorescent lights, oil filters, paints, solids, and used oils.

    “Several members of our family live with diabetes and we found Desert Dingo’s education and awareness efforts appealing,” said company owner Kim Glenn. “We’re proud to lend our support to their racing efforts and work with them to education people on the growing threat of diabetes.”

    Desert Dingo Racing makes the car available for public events and distributes hero cards with the warning signs of diabetes printed on the back. Two team members have Type 2 diabetes and several other team members have a history of the disease in their families.

    “Fuel is our No. 1 cost and Bayside Oil’s support is tremendous,” said Desert Dingo crew chief and Felton resident Richard Palasik. “We typically travel hundreds of miles to a race in Nevada and between the race car, chase trucks and support vehicles, log thousands of miles for the Baja 1000.”

    The team is ranked third in the Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts racing series, recently finishing third in class at the Caliente 250 in Las Vegas. The team has competed in the 2007 and 2008 Baja 1000 and uses the Nevada series to as warm ups for the race in Mexico.

    About Bayside Oil
    Bayside Oil II is a leading provider of fuels and lubricants for local companies and is a licensed recycler for fuels, lubricants, absorbants and anti-freeze. In addition to Desert Dingo Racing, Bayside Oil also sponsors Dan Rodoni Racing and Scott Racing.

    About Desert Dingo Racing
    Desert Dingo Racing is a team of high tech professionals based in Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley who campaign a 1969 VW Beetle in off road races in the U.S. and Mexico. They are the official World Diabetes Day off road race car and the team raises money for diabetes education and awareness programs sponsored by the International Diabetes Federation.

  • Prepping for the World Diabetes Congress

    The videoconference was a bust (my fault), and so was using our fancy teleconferencing unit (my fault again), but I did connect with the folks at the International Diabetes Federation in Brussels to map out what we’ll likely be doing for the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal in mid-October.

    The Congress draws researchers and industry reps from all over the world and attendance this year is estimated at 12,000 to 15,000. We’ve tentatively identified a spot for 1107 near the entrance to the Montreal Convention Center where all attendees will pass on the way to registration and the seminars. In other words, high traffic.

    We’ll be painting the car and adding all new sponsor logos before it begins the 10 day trip East. I’ll meet it at the loading dock and put the display together. One of our tame racing drivers will fly in and handle autograph and fan appreciation duties.

    We’ll be printing several thousand new hero cards in English, French and Spanish using our new favorite photo along with the IDF’s new key messages on the back. I expect they’ll be a big hit.

    A lot of work to do between now and then to get everything ready. Creech, Crusty, Skid, Seth and A.J. head out tonight with the car for the Black Rock Desert for some driver training as part of the annual Fourth of JuPlaya gathering. Should be a good time.