In the Field: Elliott Sadler

I've got an autism awareness ribbon decal above the driver's window of my Dodge Dealers/UAW Charger -- right next to my name -- and it's the last thing I look at whenever I get in there to practice, qualify or race.

For the Sadler family, autism awareness is a daily fact of life, and it has been since my niece, my brother Hermie's daughter, Halie Dru, was diagnosed with autism in 2001.

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Man, when I get in the car I'm thinking about the business at hand, but autism is something I think about every day. I remember what our reaction was when we first found out Halie had autism.

We pretty much had to look it up in a dictionary, because we didn't know what autism was. We were really caught off guard and had to turn to a lot of different people -- friends, family and professionals -- to try to teach us what was going on.

So awareness of the condition is something that's very important to me and my family, and the little sticker on all of my cars is my constant reminder.

But this month, we're doing something else to try to raise awareness of autism and, as we always do, try to get our fans involved.

All this month I'm wearing a helmet with a special design. April is autism awareness month, and we're always trying to figure out how to do different things to raise money for the Autism Society of America.

So we decided to come up with a different helmet design than what I usually wear. It's designed and painted by Ryan Young of Indocil Art, who does all my helmets, and it incorporates the autism ribbon logo into the paint scheme.

It's pretty neat. He did a real good job with it. It's just something different to try to raise money. Fans have already been calling-in trying to find out how to bid on it, how to be a part of it all and how to donate money.

I'm wearing the helmet at all four of the races in April, then at the end of the month we're going to put it up on sadlerfoundation.org and bid it off to raise money for the Hermie and Elliott Sadler Foundation.

April is very special to me, because it's a month that celebrates autism awareness, and April 30 is my birthday -- so it's pretty cool to be able to do this to try to raise some money and see how it all works out.

The response has been awesome. The fans are what make us look good by being a part of our fundraisers and our foundation and things like that.

Drivers are the ones that put foundations together by trying to get the name and the recognition out there about different projects that we're doing, but the fans are the ones that make it happen by putting up the money and supporting us in what we're doing.

It's crazy, but it's very good. We've already got a good thing going with the helmet and a lot of fans are very excited about it and have said they want to be a part of it, so it's pretty neat.

Hermie Sadler

Sadler hopes for progress with autism

Elliott's brother Hermie became aware of autism when his daughter, Halie Dru, was diagnosed in 2001. Now, Hermie looks to raise awareness around the country about the disease.

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I can't wait 'til the end of the month to see how it all works out. We're going to launch it April 30, on my birthday, and that will be the first day you can come bid on it, though some people have already committed to supporting it.

Raising autism awareness is something Hermie and I made a commitment to, back in 2001, and we've been trying to do that ever since. We've seen the great progress that Halie's made, and we want other families to be able to share that.

My brother and I have shared a lot of the same experiences, with people sharing their stories with us, and I really have met some amazing people through our connection with the Autism Society.

If there are any families dealing with autism that come to the races, and I see them in the garage or in the pits, or wherever, they'll share those experiences, but mostly they want to thank us for what we're trying to do as far as raising awareness of the disease.

So it's been neat. I've met some great, great people and it's been a blessing on our end. It's neat when people come up and are so appreciative of the extra time and work we try to spend, trying to create a buzz about autism.

Usually, if someone receives a diagnosis of autism, the professional who does that has the insight you need about where you need to turn; but creating an overall awareness is important, and that's what we try to do.

For us, we were able to get to Richmond and The Faison School's Autism Center of Virginia, to develop a program for Halie to have the best possible program to succeed in.

When the child is youngest is the most critical time, you can't wait and be reactive, you have to be proactive.

Once the month is over, I'll be going back to my usual helmet design, which is some type of camouflage. I'm a big outdoorsman; I love deer hunting and stuff, so my normal helmet design just represents who I am as a person, away from the racetrack.

Elliott Sadler, now in his ninth full season in the Cup Series, shares weekly with NASCAR.COM readers life on the road through staff writer Dave Rodman.