Las Vegas – Terry McMillen, driver of the Amalie Oil/UNOH/Motor State Distributing Top Fuel dragster, will bring his pink-themed car to this weekend’s 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. McMillen hopes the team’s month long campaign will help expand awareness of breast cancer.
“We started this deal at the beginning of October,” McMillen explained. “We really wanted to pay tribute to the men and women that have had to and continue to fight breast cancer. The whole thing has really taken on a life of its own. We really had no idea a bunch of guys running around in pink jerseys and racing a pink dragster would be as popular as it turned out to be. It has touched a lot of people in a lot of different ways. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I’m honored we could play a small role in what has to be a challenging time for friends, family and for those that have to fight the fight.”
McMillen’s pink dragster carries the names of friends and family of crew members, sponsors and those in the racing community that have breast cancer or have fought breast cancer. The team’s pink jerseys are being auctioned off on eBay with proceeds going to She4Life. She4Life is a nonprofit organization that raises money, not for research, but for families that are struggling with the cost of fighting the disease.
“I was out at the The Strip today and noticed all of the pink,” McMillen said. “It’s something special. I think a lot of people will be touched by the effort. I’m glad we can be a part of it.”
While McMillen’s team will proudly sport their pink theme, they are fully aware of the race that is taking place. “This is one of the biggest races of the year for so many reasons,” McMillen said. “You’ve got The Countdown looming with just two races to go. It’s like game six of a seven game series. Anything can happen. We hope to influence the outcome – maybe just be a fly in the milk – just enough to mess things up for someone, but at the same time it’s a great opportunity to get our program on track, maybe win some rounds and have a shot at winning this race.”
“We’re looking forward to so many guests at this race with the SEMA and AAPEX shows following the race,” McMillen said. “We have special guests that are Amalie distributors from all over the globe to some that are just a state away. We even got special guests from UNOH and Motor State Distributing. We’ve got about 150 special guests that will be pulling for us this weekend. No extra pressure or anything – just another reason to do well.”
Breast Cancer Awareness month also brought out support from Mechanix Wear Gloves, Cool Image Water, Vicci Custom Apparel and T & R Graphics. “It’s all about pink,” McMillen said. “Buck from Mechanix Wear gave us some pink gloves, Danny Graham from Cool Image Water provided some special edition water bottles, Lisa at Vicci gave us a great design on pink jerseys and Ray Murphy at T&R Graphics gave us a really great looking pink dragster to race with.”
Local support for McMillen’s team continues to grow in the Las Vegas area. Findlay Chevrolet will again support the team with cars and tow vehicles along with Tahiti Village that provided outstanding lodging for the team in their suites.
