MASHPEE – One of the biggest events every September on Cape Cod is the Seaside Le Mans, a Formula One four-hour kart race that takes place at Mashpee Commons.
While more than 10,000 spectators regularly attend the race, it is not just a popular spectator event. Over the past 15 years, the race has also been a top fundraiser, giving over $5 million to a variety of charities on Cape Cod.
This year, the race takes place on Saturday, September 12, and the focus, as usual, is on helping local organizations.
DeWitt Davenport, CEO of the Davenport Companies and the founder of the Seaside Le Mans, said the event started as a way to give back to the community but in a unique way.
“Our team wanted to do something for the Cape community. There’s a lot of walkathons, bikeathons, fishing tournaments, golfing tournaments. We wanted to do something different and put our capital and our management skills and our energy in to a one-day event. We came up with this Formula One Kart Race called the Seaside Le Mans 15 years ago,” he said.
Davenport said, this year the race will raise $600,000.
“When you think about the impact it has on organizations, it’s phenomenal. It’s bringing people together for one common cause,” he said.
The first year of the race, which was set in downtown Hyannis, Davenport recalled that one person said, “This is about unity for our community.”
“And that’s why we do it. We underwrite everything and 100 percent of what’s donated goes back to our community,” he said.
Davenport said the event is also a teambuilding exercise for his staff. “It brings our people together,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of pride. From five o’clock in the morning when we start building the track all the way through to the end of the day, the amount of smiles on people’s faces. It’s all good.”
Patkoske said the race proceeds go only to local charities.
“It’s all to raise funds for organizations right here on Cape Cod. That’s one of the restrictions. To become a beneficiary, you have to have all the funds stay here on the Cape to help our neighbors,” she said.
The organizations that are chosen as beneficiaries are in the areas of health and human services, social services and children’s organizations.
The organizations that made the list this year are the school outreach programs at Cape Cod Maritime Museum; Independence House, which promotes safe and healthy relationships and serves as an advocacy agency on the issue of domestic violence; the Heart and Vascular Institute at Cape Cod Healthcare; Kaitlyn’s Closet, which provides essential clothing for children; and Calmer Choice’s school mindfulness programs.
There is a 12-member committee that determines the beneficiaries. There is also a vetting process that takes place. “We want to make sure the dollars are going to be used for the purposes intended and would be a tremendous asset to the community at the end of the day,” Davenport said of the race’s giving program.
“It brings awareness to organizations on the Cape that are doing a tremendous amount of good in a very quiet way,” he said.
One of those organizations this year is Calmer Choice, which since 2010 has been bringing its mindfulness program to school children on Cape Cod.
Calmer Choice will bring its program this fall to 5,500 children in over 140 classrooms from Falmouth to Nauset working with students to, as Calmer Choice Board of Directors President David Troutman said, “develop coping skills before they’re needed.”
Calmer Choice Executive Director Fiona Jensen said, mindfulness is considered a “prevention” program when it comes to issues of drugs and alcohol. But that’s not all the program is about, Jensen said.
“It’s about cultivating happiness and kindness and generosity and perspective. There’s a lot that goes into the lessons that we teach in the schools,” she said.
The long-term goal of Calmer Choice, Troutman said, “is to saturate the entire Cape with our programs, although we don’t want in the long-term, to be the one providing the services.”
The idea, he said, is to bring the program into schools, and, over several years, try to create a change in the culture, hand over the Calmer Choice curriculum to the school system, and have the school continue the program, much like physical education. “It should just be a part of the overall program,” he said.
The two said they are looking forward to being part of Seaside Le Mans.
The race itself, which takes place in a section of Mashpee Commons, is a test of endurance for business people and others from the community who decide to participate. Up to 20 teams take part and each team has six drivers that alternate throughout the four-hour race that encircles a quarter mile track.
“After four hours we determine who’s made the most laps in that time and they are crowned the winner,” Patkoske said.
A bridge goes over the track allowing pedestrians and spectators—estimated to be about 10,000 to 15,000 people—to go to the infield where there are children’s activities, all the beneficiaries, food and beverages and music. Watching the event is free.
The winning team has bragging rights. “We like to say there is a spirit of friendly competition,” Patkoske said. “Some people take it more seriously than others.”
Many of the companies have been involved with the race for the full 15 years but there are also always newcomers to the event.
Last year, Cape Cod Commercial Linen Service and E.J. Jaxtimer were first place and will be back to defend the title, she said.
“Once they participate and can see what a fun time they can have raising money for people here on the Cape, they like to come back. A lot of folks do it as a team-building exercise for their company. Other people do it with their friends,” she said.
Just like a real race team, there are driver changes and refueling. There is even a practice session several weeks before the event so participants can familiarize themselves with what is involved.
Davenport Companies works with F1 Boston to run the race, with personnel that monitor the race and a computerized monitoring system that counts down to a hundredth of a second.
Each team pays a fee to enter the race, from $1,700 for one driver to $10,000 or more to sponsor a team, and that plus sponsorships is where the money raised comes from.
US Congressman William Keating is the grand marshal of the event this year and will be kicking the festivities off at a little before noon.
The race runs noon to 4 p.m. with an awards ceremony at the end.
To listen to DeWitt Davenport and Beth Patkoske of the Davenport Companies and Fiona Jensen and David Troutman of Calmer Choice talk about the Seaside Le Mans, click below.
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