Guest Author - Debbie Lester

NASCAR has provided great entertainment for well over fifty years. We have seen big wins and big wrecks. We have seen big personalities and even bigger hearts. NASCAR has also provided advertisements for some of the biggest names in business from Budweiser to Home Depot to Good Year to name only a few.

Color schemes have always been one way for advertising to come to the forefront. We have seen not only advertisements for products but movies, music and many other things. It has also been a way for drivers to show certain things that are important to them. We see the small number three on the car of Kevin Harvick in honor of Dale Earnhardt Sr. We have seen Dale Jr. drive paint schemes that honor his father. If you look closely on the No. 19 Stanley Dodge of Elliott Sadler you will see a pink ribbon decal over the drivers side door that shows how close to Elliot‘s heart his mother‘s struggle with breast cancer is to him.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and NASCAR is showing support. Not only the No. 19 of Sadler but the No.18 of Kyle Busch and the No. 43 of Bobby Labonte ran paint schemes this weekend in the Bank Of America 500 to increase awareness and raise money for breast cancer research.

Stanley Tools, sponsor for Elliott Sadler is also making a $100,000 donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the largest and most progressive grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists in the country. They have supported every advancement in breast cancer research in the last 25 years.

Bell Sadler, Elliott Sadler’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in June of 2007. After undergoing a single mastectomy, rounds of radiation and chemotherapy she is in remission. But, it is clear that her struggle has resounded deeply with her son. Elliott was living in Charlotte when his mother was diagnosed and has since then moved back to his hometown in Virginia to be closer to her. Sadler has often said that his mother is "the glue that keeps their family together" and that this has changed how he looks at life and how quickly it can change.

The chances for women developing breast cancer some time during their lives are very high, it is about 1 in 8 women. In 2008, approximately 182,000 new cases are expected to be reported in the United States alone. Breast cancer is usually a disease we associate only with women, but it is estimated that 1,990 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

All of Elliott Sadler’s uniform items as well as the used wheels of his race car will be up for auction on his fan web site and the money will be donated for breast cancer research. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is wonderful organization for not only survivors but for anyone affected by the disease or anyone who wants to support the search for a cure.

NASCAR is helping to support a great cause with this disease. It shows not only that NASCAR is about advertisement for business, but it is also about advertising for people and in this case advertising for a cure.