2026 Drive 4 Life Cancer Fundraiser-Benefiting the Moffat County Cancer Society July 18-19, 2026

HISTORY OF VICTORY MOTORS CANCER DRIVE

The Maneotis family owns and operates Victory Motors of Craig in Craig, Co.  It was started by Tom Maneotis in 1975.  June 2013 the family received shocking news that Irene, the oldest of 4 children, was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.  Eventually the cancer progressed to Stage 4.  Her treatment was done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Mn. 

After 8 weeks of treatment Irene returned to Craig.  At that time the family received a visit from good friends Rick and Donna Upchurch.  Rick is a “Ring of Fame” Denver Bronco and had been diagnosed with leukemia about the same time as Irene’s diagnosis.  He wanted to know if we had ever thought about doing a cancer drive to help cancer patients in Moffat County.  The money raised would stay in Moffat County and he asked if was a cancer group in Craig already doing this.  We found a small group that was attempting to help patients with expenses to wherever they would travel for treatment.  The closest cancer clinic is 150 miles from Craig so it can get expensive.  The board was very excited to hear that someone was interested in assisting with raising money.

The Victory Motors Cancer Drive was born in 2014.

In the beginning we tried different dates in the summer and found that July seemed to be the best for people to attend.  We started with football and cheerleading clinics and had several retired

Broncos and other pro athletes, along with Bronco cheerleaders, assisting in the clinics.  We have had color runs, little carnivals and silent auctions to help support the cause.  After a couple years we weren’t getting the results we wanted.  We decided to try a 2 day event that would be different than clinics.  The first night is casino night with a buffet and both silent and live auctions. 

The next day is the Rick Upchurch Drive 4 life Golf Tournament.  Professional athletes and celebrities attend to help support our cause.  We offer sponsorship packages at different levels and in return you have a golf team and casino tickets or donation only based on the different package you choose.

This is the 11^th year for our event.  When we started the Cancer Society of Moffat County was only able to give a cancer patient $25.00 and that is now up to $1000 per patient.  Over the 11 years we have raised over $200,000.00.  We are so grateful to the community and others participating to help the event grow.  None of us know when cancer will touch our lives and it is so sad to know that the number of patients in our community keeps growing.  We reinforce every year that all proceeds stay in Moffat County and that has helped with the success of the event.

Rick and Irene are in remission and keep fighting the fight for others to reach the same goal they have.  The Maneotis family had another member battling pancreatic cancer.  Steve’s wife Teresa was diagnosed in 2023 and she lost her battle in September 2024! This year the cancer drive will be the Victory Motors/Teresa Maneotis Cancer Drive and the Rick Upchurch/Teresa Maneotis Drive 4 Life Golf Tournament. The loss makes us more determined to help others in our community and we will not stop until we KICK CANCER’S ASS!