LAS VEGAS, Nev. (November 3, 2014)— The NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, October 31-November 2, marked the second year of Alexis DeJoria Racing’s ‘Free Mammograms for the Fans’ program.
Based on the tremendous success of the 2013 inaugural ‘Free Mammograms for the Fans’ program, the team once again partnered with Nevada Health Centers (NVHC) to offer FREE mammograms to any female ticketholder over the age of 40- regardless of health insurance status- attending the three day race, which concluded Sunday evening.
“The ‘Free Mammograms for the Fans’ program was so well received last year, there was no question we would bring it back to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this year, in honor of national Breast Cancer Awareness month,” said Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car.
Nevada Health Centers’ ‘mammovan,’ a mobile mammography unit- one of just twelve in the entire country- joined the throngs of big rig race haulers and set up camp in the nitromethane fuel pits of the Speedway, open and readily available for free screenings Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“Last year we were able to provide 90 free mammograms to women who otherwise may not have been able to afford one. This year, I’m extremely proud to say we increased that number by about 30%. Over the course of the three day race weekend, 123 women visited the mammovan for their free mammogram- record numbers for Nevada Health Centers! We also had a few women take advantage of our Pink Passes,” said DeJoria, a three time Funny Car winner and the ‘quickest female Funny Car driver of all time,’ speaking of the rain check voucher program, added this year to accommodate overflow participants.
According to Nevada Health Centers, a mammogram for an uninsured woman can cost anywhere between 250-300 dollars, and the high out-of-pocket cost is one of the main reasons many women go without the important test. For the affordable price of an NHRA race ticket (Adult tickets started at just $34), women were able to get the screening done, and enjoy the races.
Once again, this year found a continuous stream of women from open-to-close throughout all three days. The average time per screening ranged from 10-15 minutes, depending on the patient. The response of the program has been so well received, that plans to expand it to include Thursday screenings at the 2015 October Las Vegas race have been discussed.
Like many of her peers, DeJoria raced a special ‘Go Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness’ race car to help raise the amount of exposure for the tragic epidemic. The program kicked-off on Wednesday, October 29 at The Linq Las Vegas, where DeJoria unveiled her hot pink, matte black and gold leaf Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car to a crowd of onlookers and fans.
“The majority of us know someone who has been personally affected by breast cancer,” said DeJoria. “We seem to have been hit pretty hard in the racing community over the past few years, losing several loved ones to various forms of cancer. In fact, just last week we lost a wonderful human being to ovarian cancer. My condolences go out to the family of ‘Trackside Tina’ of Toyota Racing. She was a shining light; always smiling. She was one of the first people I ever met at Toyota Racing, and she was always such a positive supporter of our race team. To be able to help fight the fight against any form of cancer is a great thing.”
“We may not have won the Funny Car race here in Vegas this weekend, but being able to provide more than 120 women with a free mammogram, a potential life saver, is a win in and of itself.”
The ‘Free Mammograms for the Fans’ program was made possible thanks to generous donations from Alexis DeJoria, Kalitta Motorsports, the Patrón Spirits Company, and a partnership with Nevada Health Centers.
For additional information, or interview requests, please contact Allison McCormick at [email protected] Hi res images available upon request