Mission R.A.C.E.R. Sponsors High-Voltage Concert

Kevin Kromer, a 55-year-old professional stock car racer from Walnutport, is used to driving at speeds of up to 180 mph. But that was nothing compared to the race of his life in June 2016. That’s when the two-time Super Cup Stock Car Series champion was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Kromer underwent weeks of chemotherapy and radiation before having surgery and participating in a lifesaving yearlong immunotherapy clinical trial at Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute. Ultimately, Kromer won. Now nearly four years cancer-free, “I’m still in the driver’s seat and in better shape physically than ever,” he says.

Kromer’s health insurance covered 100 percent of his medical expenses. But while talking with other patients in the treatment waiting room, Kromer learned many weren’t so fortunate. To help raise funds for cancer patients and continued research for finding a cure while combining Kromer’s passion for stock car racing, he and his wife, Kelly, founded the nonprofit organization, Mission R.A.C.E.R., which stands for Raising Awareness and Curing Everyone with Research.

Mission R.A.C.E.R. planned its first annual event at the Gin Mill in Northampton in March 2020 featuring the Nation’s Premier AC/DC Tribute Band, High Voltage. But then COVID-19 intervened. The event was eventually held Aug. 29, 2020, outdoors at Bowmanstown Rod and Gun Club in Palmerton.

Proceeds from event ticket sales and donations benefited the Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Prager Patient Assistance Fund and the Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute’s Research Department.