Drive Toward a Cure gives you even more reason to hit the road this summer

Once again, Hagerty is partnering with Drive Toward a Cure and its 75 Days of Summer event to encourage drivers to enjoy their cars, all while raising money for a great cause and competing for some great car-centric prizes. (As if we needed another reason to get out of the house this summer!)

Drive Toward a Cure is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises awareness for Parkinson’s disease, donates to the Parkinson’s Foundation and the Michael J Fox Foundation, and also helps support patient care through grants to families in need.

75 Days of Summer is just one of the ways Drive Toward a Cure mixes cars and fundraising. The event kicks off on June 20 and runs until September 5.

To start competing and racking up miles, entrants first need to register a car with a tax-deductible $20 fee. During the event, entrants log their miles to increase their odds of winning. Weekly prizes are also offered, and drivers can increase their odds for those drawings by posting on Facebook and Instagram and tagging @drivetowardacure and using #summerdrive2021. Finally, drivers create their own fundraising page and encourage friends to donate. Detailing company Mothers will send participants a car care gift pack filled with products from their latest Ultimate Hybrid line worth nearly $200 after individual donations hit the $100 mark, and the top fundraiser will also win a prize.

One grand prize winner will win a set of Michelin tires, valued up to $2000. BMW Performance Center, GrandPrix Originals, and Hagerty DriveShare are among the companies that have also provided prizes totaling more than $6000.

We got a chance to sample some of what the Drive Toward a Cure prize winner will get to enjoy by visiting the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, California for a sweet on-track experience. We went for the two-hour program that’s split into two sections: The first half of the program puts drivers on a short off-road section that highlights the BMW X7’s ability to blend 4×4 climbing ability with on-road manners. We scrambled up steep, loose dirt climbs as the traction management system detected wheel slip and sent power to the tires with the best grip. The off-road section wasn’t particularly daunting, but it was impressive to see how even street tires can scramble up slippery surfaces when the right technology is there to back them up. It’s not tough to imagine a 4×4 with open differentials getting caught in an awkward position when trying to navigate such an obstacle.

The other half of the BMW Performance Center’s sample is some laps on Thermal’s tight, winding course in five BMWs perfectly suited for the affair. There was an X3M, an M850i xDrive, a Z4 M40i, an M4 Competition, and an M2 Competition. After a couple of lead-follow laps behind the instructor, we were on our own. Cycling through the cars, with tips from an instructor via radio, allowed us to learn the track and gain confidence as the hour in the cars quickly passed. Finally, as if we weren’t already hooked on the track, the instructors had us load into an M5 Competition for a smoky, tire-shredding drift of the course.

Other than becoming a member of the exclusive Thermal Club, the BMW Performance Center is just about the only way to get seat time at the venue’s challenging track. And the full-day course could be yours if you win Drive Toward a Cure’s second prize, valued at $849.

To register your car (or cars) visit www.drivetowardacure.org/summer and put your summer driving to good use!