READING, Pa. — Terry McMillen drives a gator-themed NHRA Top Fuel Dragster sponsored by Amalie Oil, The University of Northwestern Ohio and Motor State Distributing to name a few. Top Fuel Dragsters are built to run fast with paint schemes that sometimes look faster than the car they adorn. Despite that, McMillen’s Elkhart, Ind. based team is prepared to show their softer side this Saturday at the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals when they unveil a new Breast Cancer Awareness themed dragster and crew jerseys. McMillen’s car will carry the theme through the month of October, ending during the second qualifying session in Las Vegas.
The inspiration started a year ago when McMillen and UNOH’s Steve Farmer challenged each other to wear pink shoe laces on the starting line. That challenge later grew into a “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” event where McMillen raced Kenny Wallace in a UNOH/St. Rita’s Medical Center event to benefit cancer research in Lima, OH. During that event McMillen wore a special Impact Racing pink helmet donated by Vickery Speed Shops to honor Rosalee Noble’s fight against breast cancer. The helmet was donated to DRAW (Drag Racing Association of Women) where it raised $35,000 in an auction last week.
“Our team was touched and inspired by the DRAW auction in Dallas,” McMillen said. “So many of our friends, family and associates are fighting cancer, we wanted to honor them with this dragster.” McMillen’s dragster will carry the names of family and friends of our crew and marketing partners who have fought or are currently fighting cancer.
McMillen’s car and jerseys will be unveiled Saturday, October 1st. Special thanks to T & R Graphics for the design and wrap, Vicci for the jersey design and Mechanix Wear special edition gloves.
Later this year the team jerseys will be auctioned off with proceeds going to SHE4Life. SHE4Life (Survive, Hope, Empower) is a charitable organization set up to make a difference for the women and men who are afflicted with Breast Cancer, helping them fight the fight!
Qualifying for this weekend’s race is scheduled to begin Friday September 30. McMillen’s team also picked up local support from Freedom Hyundai in Hamburg, Pa.
