Business & Tech

Celebrity Drivers for Long Beach Grand Prix

See who will be driving in this year's celebrity race on April 20.

Comedian Wanda Sykes, Olympic swimmer Jessica Hardy of Long Beach and 2009 Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer will be among the celebrities driving 210-horsepower Scions in the Toyota Grand Prix's pro-am race on April 20, Toyota USA announced.

Meyer, now 24, is a former Marine from Kentucky who became the youngest living recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroism in a Sept. 8, 2009, Battle of Ganjgal in Afghanistan. He later wrote a book about that experience called Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War. Hardy now serves as an ambassador for the U.S. Olympic Committee Team For Tomorrow.

In addition to Sykes, a stand-up comedian and actress who hosted her own talk show and played Julia Louis Dreyfus' sidekick in The New Adventures of Old Christine, others competing in the 37th annual charity race on a 1.97-mile circuit will be:

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  • Grammy-nominated Mexican pop singer Cristian Castro, known for the album Mi Vida Sin Tu Amor and who has new release due in April.
  • Actress Kate del Castillo, known for her starring role in Mexico's long-running show La Reina del Sur
  • Actor Brett Davern, who plays Jake Rosati in MTV's Awkward
  • Actress Jenna Elfman, known from her TV role on Dharma & Greg
  • Actor Jesse Metcalfe, known for his role as a gardener on Desperate Housewives and now starring in TNT's Dallas
  • Actor Jackson Rathbone, known from the Twilight movies and The Last Airbender
  • Actress Michelle Rodriguez, known for her physical roles in films such as Avatar and the Fast and the Furious franchise
  • Actor Jeremy Sisto from Six Feet Under, Law & Order and Suburgatory
  • Emmy-winning journalist Mark Steines from Entertainment Tonight,who now hosts the Hallmark Channel's Home & Family.

Other drivers will include will include:

  • Motocross champ and MTV Nitro Circus star Andy Bell
  • 2012 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race winner and comedian Adam Carolla
  • Olympic gold medalist swimmer Tyler Clary
  • National Hot Rod Association driver Melanie Troxel

The race benefits Children's Hospital of Orange County and Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach. Since 1991, Toyota has donated more than $2 million to the group Racing for Kids.

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