October 19, 2009
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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There are few people in America today that have not been touched, either directly or indirectly, by cancer.
In many cases, that cancer is breast cancer and each year 200,000 women AND men will be diagnosed with some form of breast cancer, and more than 40,000 will die at the hands of the disease.
Around the world, 1.3 million people will be diagnosed, and more than 465,000 will die. One in EIGHT women in the United States will be diagnosed with this disease. Every 68 seconds, there is a woman somewhere in the world who dies as a result of breast cancer. In the time it takes you to read this column, several will die.
So, how does this tie in with NASCAR? Well, there was a decided pink hue to the activities in Concord, North Carolina this past weekend.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This past weekend, as cars made their way around Lowe’s Motor Speedway, in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series, pink was mixed in with the usual rainbow of colors making up the 43 competitors. Men, both drivers and crew members, proudly wore pink baseball caps, sweatshirts and uniforms.
Photo By Kim Roberson
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Pink is not often considered a “manly” color, but the men involved in the efforts to raise breast cancer awareness Friday and Saturday were more than happy to exchange their usual colors for the pastel shades instead.
The effort was dubbed “Go Pink or Go Home”, and five teams in the Sprint Cup Series joined forces with Susan G. Komen for the Cure ® to bring attention to the efforts being made to fight breast cancer. Bobby Labonte and the No. 96 Ask.com Ford, Bill Elliott and the No. 21 Warriors in Pink Powered by Ford, Kyle Busch and the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 NAPA Toyota, and Elliott Sadler and the No. 19 Stanley Dodge were the drivers. For Sadler, the effort to raise breast cancer awareness hits especially close to home.
“For me and my family, it touched us directly,” Sadler commented Saturday.
Sadler’s mother, Bell, was diagnosed with breast cancer on June 30, 2007. Thankfully, she responded to treatment, and has been in remission for more than a year. “To see so much support from different teams and different sponsors, and people within NASCAR that are trying to give back and bring awareness to Susan G. Komen. A couple years ago, when my mom was diagnosed—representatives from Susan G. Komen came to our bus and talked to my momma about different things and answered a lot of different questions.”
Photo By Kim Roberson
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This is the third year Labonte has participated in supporting Susan G. Komen, and he wants to see even more teams take part next year.
“I would like to see 43 pink race cars on the track,” said Sadler.
Bill Elliott and the Wood Brothers are only running a partial schedule this year, but they see this as an opportunity to do their part in the effort to raise awareness.
“This is the first time I have been involved with Susan G. Komen for the Cure," Elliott said. "It’s a big honor for me to be involved and be here and support this.”
“This is the first pink race car that I can remember (us doing),” said Len Wood, co-owner of the No. 21 car. “We were pleased to be in a position to do the paint scheme and help Ford with the awareness for Warriors in Pink. We didn’t originally have this race on our schedule. I’m proud of being a representative of Ford, and this isn’t just something Ford does in October, it’s a year around deal and that’s special.”
This is Kyle Busch’s second year supporting the cause, and he not only isn’t afraid to wear pink, he told M&M’s he wanted MORE pink on his uniform this year—and if you saw his uniform, you know they met that requirement with great enthusiasm.
Photo By Kim Roberson
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“My fire suit -- you can see me from a long ways away," Busch stated. "I figure if we are going to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let’s go all out. It’s a cool deal to be able to support since, chances are, someone in your family, or someone you know has been affected by breast cancer.”
The M&M’s car has been going pink since the days when Sadler was driving for the sponsor with Yates Racing.
“Since Elliott started it -- it’s been one of the longest standing Susan G. Komen cars on the race track," Busch continued. "It’s been awesome for me to be a part of it.”
Michael Waltrip, who sported a pink breast cancer baseball cap all weekend and pink flames in place of the usual yellow ones on his car, said he loves it when the drivers work together for a common cause.
“It’s a good feeling to support Susan G. Komen and do the things we have done this month," said Waltrip. "It’s just fun being a part of this family. I love (all the pink teams) passion.”
Photo By Kim Roberson
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Brian Vickers, who drove the pink No. 32 Dollar General Toyota for Friday night’s Nationwide race, says he and the team wanted to do their part because they have been touched by breast cancer.
“I honestly never thought I would drive a pink race car, but I can’t imagine a better reason than to support Susan G. Komen," explaained Vickers. "Breast cancer hits home for a lot of us. Members of the Braun Racing family and my Dollar General team have been affected by this awful disease. I am honored to drive this pink Toyota, and (to) proudly wear my pink fire suit for every person who has bravely battled breast cancer.”
The NASCAR Foundation also got in on supporting the effort this weekend, by hosting a pink-themed “NASCAR Foundation Track Walk presented by Pink Ribbon” around Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
“Our walk in Charlotte, we have always been interested in making it go pink because of it falling in October, and all the pieces fell into place with Bank of America and their support of Komen -— and since we were already having our walk—so (we decided) lets all just come together and make it a big event and make it about breast cancer and raising money for that.” explained Sarah Newman, marketing coordinator with the NASCAR Foundation.
Saturday morning at 10 a.m., 300 people came out in the cold to take part in the walk and show their support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Among those people was a family who live in Concord, and they were happy with the chance to remember a family member who they lost to breast cancer, and at the same time get a chance to walk around the 2.5 mile track -- and be a part of their favorite sport. Heather and Keith Baughman, along with other members of their family, made the walk in black shirts that read, “In memory of Mom” -- or -- “In memory of Nana” -- on the back. Heather lost her mother to breast cancer in 2002, and even as she walked the track with her family, she got emotional about the fact that NASCAR was allowing her to pay tribute to her mother.
“My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, was in remission for about two years, had her scan, it was back, and she fought for another three years after that, and passed away in January of 2002.” explained Heather, who laughed when I asked if her mother was a NASCAR fan. “That would be a negative.”
Her husband Keith continued when Heather became choked up after I asked what she thought about the ability to come out and support such an important cause, and do it as a NASCAR fan.
“I think that being able to support a cause like this is something she has wanted -- she hasn’t had a chance to do this -- and it’s difficult for her still, even though it has been seven years since she passed," said Keith. "We are out here as a family to support her, and being NASCAR fans, it’s kind of cool to be able to walk out on the track too. Being involved in something like this, you get a greater respect for what is involved in the disease. I’m affected by that. It is special for me to be able to walk out here and support my wife.”
As for the drivers wearing pink, Keith says they are proud that they are willing to support a cause so close to their hearts. “We love it. We were at this race last year, and we took pictures of all the race cars. I’m glad they are involved with it also.”
The NASCAR Foundation presented Susan G. Komen for the Cure with a check for $28,000 Saturday afternoon as a result of their fundraising efforts this weekend.
Sarah Newman hopes that in raising that money, the walk participants felt they were a part of the “Go Pink or Go Home” race weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
“We hope the fans (that took part in the walk) not only (had) a good time -- but to have some sort of awareness of the cause they are supporting," Newman said. "That they came out and had a great time on the track, but they also were helping raise money for critical research for breast cancer research.”
If you would like to be a part of the effort to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and also support your favorite team or driver, there is still time to take part. Elliott and Hermie Sadler’s foundation is going to be auctioning off several items that were worn or used this past weekend by the “pink” drivers or teams.
The items include the No. 19 Dodge Susan G. Komen for the Cure themed steering wheel that Sadler used thus weekend, Sadler’s fire suit, gloves and shoes, and Richard Petty’s brown Charlie 1 Horse hat with pink highlights which he proudly wore around the track this past weekend.
You can bid on these items by going to SadlerFoundation.org. You can also visit your local NAPA Auto Parts through the remainder of the month of October, and if you spend $25, you will get a special travel mug that supports breast cancer awareness.
And through December 31, 2009, Ask.com will donate 10-cents for select interactions on www.ask.com with a minimum guaranteed donation of $50,000 up to $100,000. The Search for the Cure program features themed homepage skins designed to educate and inspire support for the cause. You can also donate directly to Susan G. Komen for the Cure by going to www.komen.org.
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