I wasn’t at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway last week when Kevin Nuttleman won this 104th career Late Model feature race, so I didn’t see the pink ribbon on his ocean-blue car.

So when Jacklyn Daniels of radio station CC-106.3 sent me an e-mail with a photo of Kevin kneeling next to his car, I thought it was going to be just another victory lane shot.
It wasn’t.

My eyes went right to the pink ribbon, which has come to represent “Steppin’ Out in Pink,” a fundraiser for breast cancer research. I caught myself staring at the pink ribbon. I have no idea how long I focused on that ribbon. Seconds? Minutes?

I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that my eyes teared up, and my mind raced back to Aug. 28, 2007. That is the day that my oldest sister, Karen, died. It wasn’t breast cancer, but throat cancer, that took her from us.

Cancer, it seems, affects more people, more families than you can imagine. So when I talked to Nuttleman about how this pink ribbon came to land on his race car, I found out that the Nuttleman family has dealt with its share of cancer, too.

Kevin’s mother, Barbara, is battling breast cancer right now. Kevin’s aunt was diagnosed with cancer four months ago. His grandmother discovered she had cancer four years ago. His uncle died from cancer a year ago.

Yes, cancer punches more of us in the stomach than I ever imagined.

“Emily (Sue Steck, his teammate) had one (ribbon) on her car a year ago,” Nuttleman said. “She said, ‘You should put one on your car because of your mother.’ I thought it was a good idea.”

Nuttleman put the ribbon on his car, then promptly went out and won the feature race. It certainly had to serve as motivation from those with the disease, those currently battling it, and all of the families that some good can come out of a difficult situation.

Nuttleman, and others in the public eye, can use their position to enlighten others on how to help. The Bangor, Wis., man, a very popular driver at the track, intends to do just that.

“There were a lot of people that came up and said something to me after I won,” Nuttleman said. “A lot of them didn’t know my mom had cancer, and they thanked me for helping out. It’s not just something with breast cancer; it’s for all those with cancer.”

I’ll admit that I never paid much attention to those pink ribbons, or other cancer fundraisers such as walks or runs, until 18 months ago when cancer reached out and touched our immediate family for the first time. Now that it has, I understand.

I understand how important supporting such efforts as “Steppin’ Out in Pink” really are. So if you see someone at the Fairgrounds Speedway selling a bandanna, or with information regarding the third annual Gundersen-Lutheran foundation’s “Steppin’ Out in Pink” walk on Sept. 6, you might want to give them a moment of your time.

I hope you, or your family, never have a first-hand experience with cancer. But if you do, you’ll understand why Nuttleman and Emily Sue Steck have those pink ribbons on their stock cars.

Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403, or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com

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