Lenny Kravitz & Stephan Jenkins Ready Rock 'N' Roll Rally Teams

Lenny Kravitz, Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins, actor Luke Perry, and Fugees member Pras, were among the attendees at the kick-off party Thursday (August 3) for the Rock 'N' Road Rally at Studio 59 at New York City's Chelsea Piers.

The rally, which will feature more than 200 celebrities participating in the five-day, New York-to-New Orleans road race, may end up recalling the film Cannonball Run. It is scheduled for early summer 2001. Thursday's kick-off included a silent "celebrity stuff" auction, a celebrity slot-car race, and a live jam session. The winner of the rally will receive a check for $1 million to go to his or her favorite charity.

LAUNCH asked Kravitz how he got involved in Rock 'N' Road. "I was asked, and it's just something that I'm going to back up," he said. The soft-spoken rocker hopes to be cruising in a Ferrari, and he describes his driving style as "fast." His chosen charity is the TJ Martell Foundation, which uses funds to search for cures for leukemia, cancer, and AIDS. His team is called Roxie Music in honor of his late mother, Roxie Roker, star of The Jeffersons.

Each rocker must field his own team. Third Eye Blind's Jenkins told LAUNCH he has his sights set on a few people. "I actually have my own team," he said. "They asked me to put a team together, so I'm just going to hit up my usual suspects of friends. I asked Dale Ehrnhart Jr. because he can drive. I'm certainly going to have [Metallica drummer] Lars [Ulrich], Carson Daly, I'm gonna call [Limp Bizkit frontman] Fred Durst one of these days." Jenkins will be road rallying in support of the Teak Fellowship, a Manhattan-based group dedicated to helping underprivileged children get into prep schools and colleges.

Other entertainers set up to race include No Doubt, 311, Goldie, Wu-Tang Clan, Van Morrison, Vince Vaughn, Lisa Bonet, and Papa Roach.

A tentative list of teams, captains, and chosen charities follows:

311 - Nick Hexum - American Cancer Society
2-Tone - Ranking Roger - Amnesty International
All Stars - Long Beach Dub Allstars - NORML and MAP
Echolalia - Astrella Leitch - Child Line
The Racketeers - Wayne Kramer (MC5) - American Cancer Society and Doctors Without Borders
X - John Doe - C.A.R.E.
Epitaph - Joe Strummer - Los Angeles Childrens Hospital
The Pirates - Lisa Bonet - H.E.A.R.T.
The Forte Team - John Forte - Steve's Kids
The Minstrels - Donovan - World Wildlife Foundation
Roxie Music - Lenny Kravitz - TJ Martell Foundation
Wu-Tang - Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Foundation
Third Eye - Stephan Jenkins - Teak