He Said, She Said - SCR

He Said She Said: Real Men Wear Pink and Drive Pink Cars

October 10, 2008

Everett Mugg and Debbi Willis - SCR

What Do Penelope Pitstop, Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch and Elliot Sadler Have in Common?

He Said: They all wear pink fire suits and drive Pink cars. On Sunday, October 11th at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS), Labonte along with Busch and Sadler will show that real men DO wear pink and wear it proudly. The three teams and their three sponsors are teaming up with Susan G. Komen to help raise awareness for Breast Cancer Month, which is October. This noble gesture, like many of the NASCAR teams' and drivers' charitable efforts cross both team, corporate, and manufacturer rivalries. Petty Enterprises (PE) and Gillette Evernham Motorsports (GEM) field Dodge cars while Gibbs fields rival Toyota. PE's sponsor General Mills competes head-to-head with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) sponsor M&M's in the snack business. GEM sponsor, Stanley Tools has never in its 165 year history ever had their logo any other color than yellow. None of that matters as these parties, rivals on the track and rivals in the market place come together for one common goal which benefits us all humanity. Breast cancer does not stop at our borders and even crosses gender lines although it afflicts more women than men by a large margin. The NASCAR family once again shows their commitment to the community around them. When was the last time you saw a football, baseball or basketball team, show up to play in pink? Molly Ringwald may not have been so "Pretty in Pink" but by golly those three cars, JGR's No. 18, GEM's No. 19, and PE's No. 43 will be simply beautiful. Good manners prohibit asking the drivers if they will be wearing matching pink undies...........

She Said: NASCAR is never short of causes to go all out for but the Susan G. Komen Foundation ranks right up there in very special causes. Every driver has their own causes but sometimes some strike close to home for special reasons like Elliott Sadler’s reason for wearing pink this weekend. Sadler explained “Last year my mother, Bell, was diagnosed with breast cancer, so this is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. We are fortunate that she was able to fight and is now on the road to recovery, but I’m excited to get involved with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to help support breast cancer awareness and raise money for research to find a cure.” Sadler doesn’t just wear pink this week, his car wears that pink ribbon every single weekend in support of Breast Cancer Research.

Elliott Sadler was a rookie with Robert Yates Racing (now Yates Racing) when Dale Jarrett and his wife, Kelley, teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Foundation in 1998. Along with his sponsor, Ford Credit, Jarrett, helped fight the disease by raising funds for research every time he won a pole or finished in the top three of a race, Ford Credit made a donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation on Jarrett’s behalf. As it would turn out, it would come full circle for Elliott and now he carries the Pink Ribbon proudly in honor of his mom’s survival.

Sponsors Provide More Than a Logo On the Door and Solemn Words:

He Said: What I appreciate more than anything else, is that this is not just a PR ploy to garner good press for the Sponsors. All three sponsor support the cause through other venues and each is a partner with Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The cars and drivers on Sunday are to focus attention on Breast Cancer, not the companies.

M&M's brand has been a partner since 2003 and helped to raise more than 4 million dollars. Also they have guaranteed a $650,000 donation to Komen for the Cure through the sale of limited edition dark and light pink M&M’S® Chocolate Candies nationwide – available is both Milk Chocolate and Peanut varieties from Sept. through Oct. They also donated 10% of its "Promise Blend," pink and white M&M's available online, and 10 percent of the sale of its co-branded merchandise at M&M’s World Stores.

General Mills has not only given 2 million dollars this year to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, but also has turned some of its most well known brands pink for October. These include Cheerios, Green Giant Frozen Vegetables, Nature Valley Granola Bars, and Progresso Soups. In addition, General Mills will donate 1 dollar (up to $25,000) for everyone who shares a story, posts a comment or leaves a virtual flower on PinkTogether.com during the month of October to the charity as well.

Stanley Tools came on board this year and will sell specially-marked tools at Home Depot through November with $100,000 donation to Komen.

She Said: The Corporate list of sponsorship for the Susan G. Komen Foundation reads like the Who’s Who of many of our sponsorships, which led me to wonder why we only had FOUR cars out at LMS in pink! Of the major sponsors, two cars stood out in particular to me as to why they weren’t sporting the pink colors at Charlotte.

3M is committed to a $250,000 investment every year to the Komen Foundation, yet they didn’t sponsor Greg Biffle’s car for this weekend. Perhaps it wasn’t timed right but likewise perhaps Jack Roush will time it right for next year for the good of the cause!

Neither did Lowe’s who also guarantees $250,000 a year and has the naming rights to the track this weekend as well as sponsors Jimmie Johnson. However, Johnson will be sporting a paint scheme celebrating his 250th start. What a perfect opportunity it could have been to celebrate the victories of the stories of survivors from Breast Cancer and shared the paint scheme on a grander, nobler scale!

With so many smaller scale sponsors, hopefully the awareness level will be raised enough that by next year, maybe we’ll have a field of pink paint schemes to raise support for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, thus keeping alive the promise of one sister to another, never giving up the fight to find a cure.

Why Breast Cancer?

He Said: According to Breast Cancer, Network of Strength, 182,480 women will be diagnosed and approximately 40,480 women will die this year alone from breast cancer. 1 in 8 women who live to be 85 will get breast cancer. The chances of surviving breast cancer are higher when it is diagnosed and treated early. Excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among U.S. women, accounting for more than 1 in 4 cancers. The list is endless but one fact is glaringly clear. Breast cancer affects everyone. Every one of us knows someone who now has, has had, or will have, breast cancer. Many of us know someone who has died. While rarer, men can develop breast cancer as well.

We all, male and female, have a wife, a girlfriend, a mother, or a sister. Some have all of four (shame on you folks with a wife and a girlfriend). Urge them, encourage them, berate them, whatever it takes, make them aware of the need to be tested and to GET tested.

She Said: The statistics are staggering and the fears are even worst. I had my own scare in the fall of 1996 when a “lump” was discovered via mammogram. Being fibrocystic to begin with and pre-cancerous for uterine cancer in my early thirties, I’ve always kept up all my tests. The phone call that stopped my heart came in November of 1996. The surgeon’s urgency and statement, “If you were my wife, I’d have you on the table right now,” was all I needed to hear to take action and then pray very hard. Within days, we were doing a biopsy- lumpectomy with a cross-section of needles to pinpoint it via X-ray (yes, it was just that small!). Within a week I got the good news that it was benign. I was very fortunate because as the good doctor showed me, the lump exhibited aggressive tendencies, thus his urgency to act immediately. Its location was on the edge of my lymph system and obviously a serious threat. Personally that’s as close as I care to come to Breast Cancer. Had I been like some of my friends, who simply can’t stand the idea of the mammogram, and ignored it, it could and would have been catastrophic. But, it was a classic textbook case of catching it very early on and immediate action took care of it. Since then every six month follow ups for the following five years proved no further problems to be concerned with and all is “normal” again.

I concur completely: badger, cajole, beg, plead, beseech, manipulate, cry and whine, do whatever it takes to get your loved one to get tested. This includes men. Men are not exempt from the threats of breast cancer, no matter how embarrassing it may be. Embarrassment can be something you die from if you ignore something as simple as a test! Testing saves lives, always has and always will. In today’s day and age, there’s no reason to let something go too long.

Others in the NASCAR Community Spreading the Message:

He Said: GEM, JGR, and PE are not the only teams supporting this cause. Busch, Labonte, and Sadler are not the only drivers to drive a pink car. Komen is not the only organization fighting this disease. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates had drivers Casey Mears and Reed Sorenson drive pink cars to raise awareness for breast cancer in 2007. Sorenson went further and raised money himself for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Their sponsor Target gives much money for the cause.

Eric McClure will drive a pink car in the Nationwide race at Lowe’s as sponsor Hefty One Zip supports the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Team Rensi and driver Regan Smith drove in support of Komen last year at Lowe’s. Germain Racing drove an awareness truck in 2004. The list is endless.

She Said: Often someone will adopt something and go the extra mile way beyond the call of duty or expectation. Such is the case of a group of ladies who walked 39.3 miles in what was called the “Race for the Cups” to raise money for Breast Cancer last October in Charlotte in support of a breast cancer survivor co-worker, Renee. The team consisting of Jenn Powell, Carol Wiese, Leah Anderson, Toni Schermerhorn, Heather Kincel, Linda Borton and Nadine Rauer kept themselves going by singing songs, making up cheers, linking together in camaraderie as they continued on until their feet were blistered and miserable. Having raised $26,385.00 for the cause, Jenn Powell pointed out, “That means along our two-day walk, 182 women will be diagnosed," as she and friend Heather Kincel examined the bottom of their feet and touted their blisters as symbols of victory. Overall, Avon organized the walk, and raised about $2.3 million while drawing a crowd of nearly 1,100 walkers.

Additionally, 2006, Casey Atwood ran a fully pink car paint scheme supporting the cause of Breast Cancer Research. Brewco Motorsports Owner, Clarence Brewer Jr., had been deeply impacted by the loss of his grandmother to breast cancer in 2000 after a 5 year struggle against the disease. Clarence explained, "My family has been impacted by breast cancer, and my team and I join the millions of men and women out there in support of finding a cure. Brewco Motorsports is proud to be a part of this effort." Brewer also has two aunts who are breast cancer survivors and he has recently learned that his cousin has been diagnosed with breast cancer now. For many families, there is a very personal connection. Just as how the foundation was founded, Nancy B. Grinder made a promise to her sister, Susan G. Komen. She’s kept that promise and much more.

Writer’s apology: There are so many people in the NASCAR community who support efforts for Breast Cancer research that we have only mentioned a small fraction of them. Please forgive us, but there literally is not enough space to give credit to all you fine people.

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The views and opinions in this article are that of the writer(s) and not necessarily that of SCR