Names of children on car motivate Elliott Sadler
Kenny Bruce
Kenny Bruce is a three-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association's George Cunningham Writer of the Year Award. He joined Street & Smith's Sports Group in 2001.
JOLIET, Ill. – The names on the hood of the car stare back at Elliott Sadler as he sits in his car at Chicagoland Speedway.
Fifty names. Fifty kids. Fifty miracles waiting to happen.
“It would be amazing to win this race,” Sadler says, moments after four grinning half-pints have hugged him, high-fived him (well, OK, maybe low-five him. Sadler’s 6-2, after all) and wished him the best.
“You come out here and practice and try to do the best of your ability to get the car like you want it … you work on things, but it really hit home when I was sitting in the car in the garage,” he says. “When they put the hood up and I could see all the names of the kids on the hood … and the things they’re fighting against.
“It’s tough. It would be a neat deal to win, to be competitive and run up front and give these kids a chance at one million dollars.”
Sadler’s sponsors, Stanley and Ace Hardware, have made a $100,000 donation to the Children’s Miracle Network in support of the “Racing for a Miracle” program. Should Sadler win tonight’s LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Stanley would donate an additional $1 million to the program.
Sadler and Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne spent the better part of Wednesday at Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital visiting patients and family members, then taking part in remote-control races and other activities with several of the kids at a nearby park.
Sadler and his sponsor aren’t alone in reaching out to help organizations that seek to help both young and old. NASCAR competitors and their sponsors frequently lend their time and support to worthwhile causes.
For Sadler, though, the “Racing for a Miracle” program hit close to home.
“My son spent nine weeks [in the neonatal intensive-care unit] so I got a very, very small taste of what some families go through with their kids all the time,” he said.
“To have kids come show up and support us, it’s already a good weekend for us.”
