Randy Sweers will not fly the white-and-black colors of his Fastboats Marine Group dealership or the green-and-black of BurgerFi restaurants on his Marine Technology, Inc., catamaran when it starts this weekend’s Super Boat International season-opener in Charlotte Harbor. Instead the 41-footer, which runs in the Superboat class and is powered by a pair of 750-hp Potter Performance engines, will be dressed in a completely new graphics to match its new name, Racing For Cancer/AutoNation. The graphics were applied to the boat last night.

Sweers’ goal is to raise money and awareness for Racing for Cancer, a nonprofit founded by IndyCar champion driver Ryan Hunter-Reay when he lost his mother to cancer nearly 5 years ago. For Sweers, the motivation to get involved is personal and has become even so in the past month and a half.

“My wife, Kim, lost her father to cancer and I lost my mother to cancer so we decided this would be a good charity to help support and raise money for about six months ago,” said Sweers. “In a strange twist of fate, approximately six weeks ago, Kim was diagnosed with cancer. We are treating it now and the outcome looks very good because she caught it very early. It’s a testament to early detection. We figured that we wanted to let as many people know as possible that early detection is the best way to treat and prevent cancer!”

“After some serious thought Kim and I agreed that using our race boat as a platform would be a great way to do this,” he added. “We approached Ryan and his wife, Beccy, and they loved the idea!

17miami 2012Sweers took his idea and showed graphic renderings for the boat to Marc Cannon, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at AutoNation. AutoNation the country’s largest Automotive Retailer has partnered with Ryan and Racing for Cancer to raise funds and awareness for early detection and prevention. Cannon agreed to get involved.

“I told him what I wanted to do and he was very enthusiastic about it,” said Sweers. “. Ryan and Becky were on board; AutoNation was on board so we decided we would move forward, and that’s where we are today.”

“It’s not only about racing, it’s about raising cancer awareness,” he continued. “”Sadly, there isn’t anyone who hasn’t been touched by cancer in some personal way.”

Sweers is challenging not just fans of his team but all offshoring fans to donate $33 to Racing For Cancer.