CONCORD, N.C.—For the last 11 years, Charlotte Motor Speedway has kicked off Pink October—and promoting breast cancer awareness—by painting the pit walls pink prior to the Bank of America Roval 400.
Last Tuesday, more than 50 breast cancer survivors joined NASCAR drivers and support staff as part of the initiative.
Kurt Busch was among the participants to promote his successful Windows of Hope project. The 2004 Cup champion announced that the Erik Jones Foundation will take the lead in the effort which involves drivers sporting pink window nets to raise awareness and contributions towards cancer prevention and early detection.
“With Windows of Hope and the foundation that we’ve built by getting it approved by NASCAR and having all the teams work together, that it should stay within our community,” Busch said. “With Erik Jones’ foundation, it’s an organic touch—especially with his mom being a breast cancer survivor.
“His foundation, I’ve been to a bunch of his charity events. I’ve seen the way they run their program and it’s lean and clean and it made the most sense. As a racer, it made most sense to hand it off to a fellow racer who has such a passion for his foundation.”
For Jones, cancer is personal. He was just 20 and still climbing the NASCAR ranks when his father Dave passed away from the disease at 53. Now, 27, Jones has tremendous compassion and empathy for others who cancer has affected.
“Cancer almost touches everybody,” Jones said. “It’s hard to talk to a person and they don’t have a story of a survivor—or unfortunately someone who passed away in their family from cancer. For me, I went through it very young. I was just 17 when my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Then I was 19 when my father received his melanoma diagnosis. It makes you grow up really quick.
“At 17, you’re not thinking of longevity at any point. When you have something like that, it really puts it into perspective pretty quickly. Obviously, tough times for me because I was trying to get my racing career off the ground and focus on that. I tried to be home as much as I could to be with my mom in 2013—then with my dad in 2016—but it was a hard balance. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Jones went through difficult times following his father’s passing. What appeared to be a secure career path with Joe Gibbs Racing, ended in 2020. After a tough season with Richard Petty Motorsports in 2021, the team joined forces with Maury Gallagher’s GMS Racing. The team was rebranded Legacy Motor Club with the addition of seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson at the end of last season.
While Jones still faces challenges behind the wheel of the No. 43 Chevrolet, losing his father so early provided Jones with a much better grasp on life and racing.
“It made me a better person through it all,” Jones said. “I learned how fragile life is and how quickly it can all be gone. It really shaped my life. I take things more day-to-day because you just never know. It can happen at any time. My dad was a young man. He was in his early 50s. I thought I had plenty of time with him—and obviously, he thought the same. For me, it made me live life more in the moment. I take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way and try to make the most of it all.”
Windows of Hope is the latest opportunity for Jones. Last Tuesday he was joined at Charlotte Motor Speedway by his Legacy teammate Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Hemric. Hocevar was just six years old when his mother was diagnosed.
With Jones’ commitment to the cause, Windows of Hope will continue to flourish.
“I’m honored that Kurt would let us take it over—a huge thanks to him,” Jones said. “It’s a program that I’ve had fun watching and participating in the last few years. It’s a huge day for the foundation. We’ve worked a lot on the cancer side with melanoma and early detection of that. But we haven’t been able to do anything with breast cancer which for us is close to the heart with my mom going through it.
“To have a program that continues to round the program out is really important. It’s been a big goal of ours to continue to grow these pillars of each side of the foundation. Just excited to see the window nets on the cars and to be able to have a program in the Cup series like that is pretty special.”
Now three years into Windows of Hope, Busch takes pride in watching the project grow. He will never forget the first time he witnessed all of his fellow competitors don the hot pink safety nets at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I was on the outside pole next to (Kyle) Larson and I looked over and saw his pink window net and got all emotional on the process it took to get the program done,” Busch said. “Then to have a generous donor come in and bump the proceeds up to over $100,000—and the second year to be over $100,000 again. And we’re talking just 36 window nets. That’s impressive.
“This program has become something I look forward to every year and I am grateful for the opportunity to bring in the Erik Jones Foundation to help continue to give it life for years to come. After learning more about what motivates Erik’s foundation’s cancer efforts, I felt a partnership with him was a natural evolution of the program. I am thrilled about this partnership and confident Erik’s personal commitment to cancer detection and care will grow this program and positively impact his cancer efforts.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
