Carson Hocevar headlining tornado fundraiser hosted by Zeigler Auto Group

The event is Wednesday, June 5, at Zeigler Motorsports at 6:30 p.m.

NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar was not in Portage on May 7, when a tornado hit the city. But the Portage native was on the phone with his mother during the storm.

"She was on the phone with me, and said 'we just had a tornado warning. Your dad is calling me,'" Hocevar said.

Hocevar's father owns a memorabilia, jewelry, and coin business. It sits right in a hard hit part of Portage, and has storm damage.

"The town is going to rally behind these businesses. I think everyone is going to have the support group they need to get through this," Hocevar said.

Hocevar is now headlining a tornado fundraiser hosted by the Zeigler Auto Group. It's Wednesday June, 5 at Zeigler Motorsports at 6:30 p.m.

"People need help, and the community has to rally around that," said Aaron Zeigler, President of the Zeigler Auto Group. "99% of the community was not affected by the tornado, but the 1% that was, it's life changing for them. The other 99% of us got to help that 1%, because it could have been any of us."

The proceeds from the event will go to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, a local nonprofit heading up efforts to help community members with tornado damage that is not covered by insurance.

If you want to help, tickets cost $100, or $200 for VIP admission, which includes a chance to meet Carson Hocevar.

There will be a dinner and silent auction items to help raise money, including 2 VIP tickets to Michigan's International Speedway Race, with a chance to meet Hocevar at that race.

You can go to Zeigler.com to order tickets for the tornado relief event.

"Carson called up me up as soon as it happened," Zeigler said. "His dad is a small business owner, his shop was damaged. He said let's do something together to help out."