Chili Bowl Brings Together BA Resident, NASCAR Legend

Drivers and fans took a break from the excitement of the Chili Bowl to “kick-it,” for a good cause.

Over 200 people met at the Tulsa County Fair Grounds Wednesday to take part in the Kick It for Children's Cancer event - a kickball tournament to raise money for the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.

Children of all ages were alongside NASCAR legends like Tony Stewart to have some fun and raise money in the fight against childhood cancer.

"A ton of the drivers are here, and a ton of the fans are here, and it raises a lot of great money for a great cause," Stewart said.

But for one fan, the event holds a deeper meaning.

Broken Arrow resident Brenda Cross said, "I was diagnosed in 2005 with breast cancer."

Cross thought she beat it, but in 2010 things took a turn for the worse.

"They told me that my cancer came back, it was in my sternum and I was stage 4," Cross said.

She went into remission again, but the cancer was aggressive and came back six more times. Brenda is currently fighting stage 4 breast cancer for the eighth time.

"With the kind of cancer that keeps coming back for me, I don't know how much time I have," she said.

She spent some time making a quilt in 2009 that was her bed through two Tony Stewart racing victories. In 2015 she got the chance to meet Stewart, and gave him the quilt.

Two years later, the two meet again, and Stewart remembers that special gift.

She said seeing Stewart at the kickball event gives her hope for the future.

"Knowing, as popular as they are, they make time to help everybody else," Cross said.

The kickball games in Tulsa raise money for the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation. If you'd like to help, you can donate here.