Ryan Hunter-Reay is quick to point out to a group in the Mid-Ohio paddock that the No. 28 affixed to either side of his race car’s rear wing carries a special meaning. It’s a display of support for the estimated 28 million people living with cancer.

As co-founder of Racing For Cancer as well as its global ambassador, Hunter-Reay is passionate to promote awareness, early detection and prevention. He knows first-hand its affects not only on the patient but the extended family as his mother battled colon cancer until succumbing in late 2009.

The organization, co-founded by Tom Vossman in July 2010, recently was named a Recognized INDYCAR Charitable Partner.

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“I very much appreciate INDYCAR’s support of Racing For Cancer,” said Hunter-Reay, who’s second in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings heading into the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Aug. 24-26 and was in New York on Aug. 10 for interviews with major media outlets. “To be able to support the global fight against cancer in the sport that I love and to know the same athletes I compete with week in and week out support me in the fight is a dream come true.”

Racing For Cancer will team up with LIVESTRONG and the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults to play host to The Yellow Party – Baltimore (Aug. 30) as part of the Grand Prix of Baltimore race weekend. It hosted a similar event in May in Indianapolis. GET TICKETS

Added Vossman, who in 2011 embarked on a 28-day, 2,800-mile bicycle ride to promote Racing For Cancer’s initiatives and raise funds: “In just two short years we've come a long way, and we have a long way to go to make the kind of lasting impact in the fight against cancer,” he said. “Our motto is ‘Picking Up the Pace ... One Fan at a Time.’ If every IndyCar fan donated just $28 per year we could raise over $28 million. With the support of INDYCAR, the drivers, and the fans, we will make a difference.”

Dixon supports Teens Living with Cancer

Two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon has teamed up with Teens Living with Cancer to bring awareness to and offer support to the estimated 15,000 American teen-agers each year being treated for cancer that are caught between pediatric and adult medicine.

Dixon has previously worked with a similar group called Can Teen in his native New Zealand.

”That is where there is a loophole in the treatment of cancer,” Dixon said. “The teens are going through so many hormonal changes already and trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives after completing school, and then they have to deal with cancer on top of it.”

For a comprehensive resource for patients, their families and healthcare providers visit www.teenslivingwithcancer.org.

Decorated Army veteran named grand marshal of Grand Prix of Baltimore

U.S. Army Col. Gregory Gadson has been named grand marshal of the Grand Prix of Baltimore.

Col. Gadson, who has served in every major American conflict of the past two decades, has been the recipient of the Legion of Merit, three Bronze Star medals and a Purple Heart. During his service in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007, Gadson was severely injured, losing both legs above the knee and severe damage to his right arm. GET GRAND PRIX OF BALTIMORE TICKETS, INFO

Gadson remains on active duty in various leadership positions. He has a featured role in recently released film “Battleship.”

Of note

Star Mazda Championship driver Zach Veach will test one of Andretti Autosport’s Firestone Indy Lights cars Aug. 13 at Putnam Park Raceway in Indiana. … Sebastien Bourdais has teamed with Alex Popow this weekend to co-drive a Starworks Motorsports car in the GRAND-AM race at Watkins Glen International. They recently won the Brickyard Grand Prix, which helped seal the inaugural North American Endurance Championship for the team. … Paul Tracy will co-drive an Action Express Racing car with David Donohue in the GRAND-AM race at Circuit Gilles Villenueve in Montreal on Aug. 18. … ESPN motorsports reporter Jamie Little and her husband, Cody, welcomed their first child, a boy (Carter Wayne Sellman) on Aug. 9.