CHRISTINA EICHELKRAUT / PVT Race car driver Andrew Prendeville enjoys the company of one of the cats being protected at the former FLOCK sanctuary. Prendeville is helping raise funds for the Best Friends Animal Society, which has taken over the FLOCK site. Advertisement

The hundreds of rescued cats and kittens waiting to be adopted at the former For Love of Cats and Kittens (FLOCK) sanctuary received a special visitor last Tuesday.

Andrew Prendeville, an Indy Pro Series race driver, toured the facility that was turned over to the Best Friends Animal Society last July.

"There's so many cats," Prendeville said, holding a black kitten that wasn't allowed to touch the ground. "It's amazing how many of the cats are terrified of people."

But the facility Prendeville toured was still much cleaner and the cats much healthier than had been the case when Nye County Animal Control turned the alleged "sanctuary" over to Best Friends.

It was previously run by former FLOCK president Sherri Allen, who has since been arrested and booked on 125 counts of animal cruelty for more than a hundred cats found in similar condition in her home.

Since then the majority of the 400-plus cats that were found dehydrated, sick, and starving, with little shelter from the heat, have been nursed back to health and put up for adoption by Best Friends and local volunteers. (See related story below.)

For Prendeville, who races in the Best Friends No. 5 car, touring the facility was also a chance to see what the nonprofit organization does when it comes to rescue operations.

The 25-year-old professional driver helps raise money for the organization through a donation program, where donors can pledge a set dollar amount for every lap Prendeville completes in every Indy Pro Series race.

"We're trying to raise awareness for Best Friends," Prendeville explained. "The more tracks we go to, the more people know about it."

The program began with the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this March.

So Prendeville's tour also gave him to opportunity to see part of what he's racing for.

And, given his occupation, it's not all that surprising to learn that Prendeville's favorite animal is a cheetah -- the fastest cat on earth.