RACER HONORS CANCER VICTIMS, DEDICATES SEASON TO THEM

FERNLEY (May 9) – An IMCA driver is honoring cancer victims this season. Steve Evenson has chosen another number for his car, a new wrap on it and is dedicating this season to a person that lost her life to cancer earlier this year.

“This past off season from racing I was really captivated by the story of Lauren Hill, the basketball player from Mt. Saint Joseph College, a division three school in Cincinnati, Ohio,” he said. “She had terminal brain cancer and was 19-years old.

“And the way she handled that and conducted herself and fought the battle was admirable for any body, let alone a young lady going through what she was going through. I was really impressed by the way she handled it.”

He added that around that time he found his cousin Crystal Briscoe had been diagnosed with cancer at 29- or 30-years old. And it hit his family really hard.

For Evenson this hit close to home as his family has been ravaged by cancer.

“My father died of cancer, my father’s brother Gary died of brain cancer, my father’s brother Dick died of stomach cancer and my father’s brother Wayne died of lung cancer,” he said. “My mother’s mother died of lung cancer and my mother is a stomach cancer survivor.”

On thing Evenson has going for him is that he’s adopted so not biologically related to his relatives. But this could be a mixed blessing.

“I could be more apprehensive I guess because honestly I don’t know what’s in my back ground. It’s just taken a tremendous toll on my family,” he said.

After seeing how well that Ms. Hill handled her situation Evenson felt he should take a stand against cancer this year.

“So I’ll dedicate my season to my cousin, Lauren Hill, to my family and to all the other folks that are fighting cancer,” he said.

One big change is that he’s giving up his traditional number on is car.

Steve Evenson in his car that has a new number this year and logos for fighting cancer.

“For years and years I’ve been the “00v IMCA Modified,” he said. Double zero was the number when I started racing Hobby Stocks down in Tonopah and I added the “V” when my oldest son Vincent was born.”

But this year the car looks quit different.

“Scotty Slater at Eternal Images did an outstanding design on the car and he wrapped it up,” Evenson said. “It’s got all the ribbons for all the different cancers on it and the Blue on 22c is for stomach cancer.”

And with his twin daughters and his youngest son racing Outlaw Karts it appears as though Vincent, a junior at Pershing County High School, will be doing a lot of the driving this season.

With his youngest sisters and younger brother racing it looks as thought Vincent Evenson will do most of the racing in his father’s car this season.

Evenson also plans on getting the fans involved as well.

“I’m going to invite, at all the races including this one, for them to come down and sign the car,” he said. “If they’ve had cancer, been a caregiver for someone that had cancer or their families have had cancer, I want them to sign the car and race against cancer every lap.

At 95A Speedway IMCA driver Robert Miller (left) and track owner Dan Simpson sign Evenson’s car during intermission.

“I hope to get as many signatures as I can get on it. I just want to do that for this year. Then I plan on going back to 00v as that number is synonymous with by name, with my son and I intend to run that for a long time.”

Many fans came down to sign Evenson’s car as well.

So this season Evenson is on a mission to honor those that have been struck down by cancer, fighting it or have had their lives touched by this dreadful disease.