Martinsville Bulletin
Harrison Hamlet
Martinsville Speedway, Chevrolet and the American Cancer Society have made a habit in recent years of teaming up for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by painting the iconic curbing at the Speedway pink, along with allowing breast cancer survivors to have a ride-a-long experience with a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver.
On Wednesday morning at the Speedway, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sebates No. 42 Target Chevrolet driver Kyle Larson made the experience a special one for seven survivors who came from as far as West Virginia to take part in the event.
“This is a tradition for us and thanks to Chevrolet in particular and Kyle Larson for being here today,” Speedway President Clay Campbell said. “I don’t think there’s anything more iconic in racing than the curbs here at Martinsville Speedway and again we’ll be painting them pink. This is an honor for us to be part of this today. It is something we look forward to doing each year, and it means a lot to us to take a stand and do what we can to combat this terrible disease.”
Calling the curbs a popular spot during the race, Larson said he was honored to be a part of Wednesday’s event.
“No other racetrack has curbs like Martinsville,” Larson said. “So, to paint them pink and make them stand out even more helps raise awareness for breast cancer. So many families are touched by that, in a way, and to come here and play a small part in raising awareness and help those families beat (cancer) is pretty cool.”
One look at survivor Carroll Brown’s face after a few laps around the Speedway in the pink Chevrolet SS pace car with Larson behind the wheel told the story.
“That was fun,” Brown, from Millwood, West Virginia, said. “It was really cool to go out on the track and he is such a nice young man. He certainly is a good driver; he kept us off the wall.”
For every pace lap the Sprint Cup Series drivers spend behind the pink car during cautions, Chevrolet will donate $350 to the American Cancer Society.
Brown said that support from the public and groups like the American Cancer Society made a difference in her battle against the disease.
“It means a lot. Hearing that word cancer is one of the worst days of your life but when you get to do things like this and the public supports us it is just great,” Brown said. “I just really appreciate the gesture from the groups here. It was a blast.”
Larson, who admitted he has struggled at the half-mile paperclip in his first two seasons, said that the curbs are only one of the aspects of Martinsville that makes it a tough track for newcomers.
“500 laps here is a long time and restarts can get frustrating if you get stuck on the outside row. You might have a good car but if you get stuck on the outside it feels like everybody passes you,” Larson said. “There’s a lot of things that are frustrating about this place. Rubber gets laid down and the groove gets really slick, you want to move around but you know you’ve got to stay glued to the bottom…your brakes start fading at the end of the race, your tires get really, really worn out here. It’s just a really tough racetrack.”
Larson said that despite those struggles, he felt like the spring race was a good step forward before a dehydration issue kept him from racing.
“Martinsville has always been a track I struggle at the most throughout our whole Cup schedule so I work really hard at trying to get better and better every time we come here,” Larson said. “Staying positive when I’m here is huge because it’s really easy for me to get down on myself. I know our car is good here, but, for some reason I kind of struggle here. Last time we were here we qualified good, ran really well in practice then I fainted and didn’t get to race. So, coming back this (fall), hopefully I can race.”
When he does hit the Speedway for the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 on Nov. 1, Larson said he will be leaning on knowledge gained from his teammate and veteran Sprint Cup driver, Jamie McMurray.
“Jamie is probably the one guy I lean on the most, especially when we come here to Martinsville. I think Martinsville is probably his best track or one of them. So, now it’s nice for me to look at his data off of his driving style and try to learn from it and put that into what I’m doing out on the racetrack to make myself faster. I think I’ve been getting better and better here every time we come. I’ve just got to keep working hard and keep leaning on Jamie as much as I can.”