When driver Agni Howell puts the pedal to the metal of his “super late model” division car this week, he has a goal beyond qualifying and winning at the 22nd Coors Light Montana 200. With “Believe Lisa’s Voice” emblazoned across his car hood, he competes as a tribute to Lisa Petersen, who lost her life to oral cancer.

“It’s almost like Lisa’s out there telling me how to do it now,” he said.

Lisa’s Voice refers to the organization founded by her good friend Janis Johnson and other friends to raise money for oral cancer research and to give other victims the life-saving benefit of awareness and early diagnosis. Since Lisa loved racing and helping others, the fit was perfect.

Howell described her as a very kind person who took in unwanted animals and always saw the best in everyone. Even after ending their long  relationship, the two remained close friends.

 “She was still my racing buddy,” Howell said. “She helped me with everything.”

Johnson said her friend wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty by helping out in the pit. For that reason, Johnson and Don and Aggie Petersen, Lisa’s parents, signed on as sponsors of Howell’s car to raise awareness of oral cancer.

Recent statistics reveal nonsmokers under 50 like Lisa represent the fastest-growing segment of the oral cancer population. A new correlation ties this to the human papilloma virus (HPV).

“It’s a larger percentage of oral cancer than smoking or drinking now,” Johnson said. “I think it’s 80 percent of people carry the HPV virus.”

She wants to get that message across to the more than 5,000 people expected to attend this three-day racing event. It starts Thursday and continues Friday with trials that eliminate or qualify drivers for the main event on Saturday.

Along with the car messages, Johnson designed a 10-foot banner to hang in the pit area.  

“What better way to bring awareness to oral cancer?” she asked.

She also created special T-shirts, bracelets and hero cards for driver autographs to attract people to her table, where she’ll provide information about oral cancer. Johnson wants everyone to get screened, especially if they have a mouth sore lasting more than two weeks.

“It only takes about three minutes,” she said. “Would you take three minutes out of your busy schedule to possibly save your life?”

Lisa’s outcome could have been much different if she had learned about oral cancer during one of her fun days at raceway park. She had worked so hard to make a bright future for herself.

A graduate of Flathead High School, Lisa earned a degree in social work from the University of Montana, then went to work in Seattle in the mental health field. She returned to complete a master’s degree at UM and went to work in Kalispell at Western Montana Mental Health.

Lisa first noticed the sore on the left side of her tongue in September 2009. Thinking she just had a canker sore or that she had bitten her tongue, she delayed seeking medical attention until February 2010.

“By then, it was stage 4,” Johnson said.

Her parents wrote about Lisa’s journey through 30 radiation treatments, losing part, then all of her tongue, learning to speak again with a tongue built from a flap of skin from her thigh, taking chemotherapy and then relapsing to the relentless advance of oral cancer.

“We cannot express enough of the urgency for early diagnosis with this type of cancer,” Lisa’s parents noted. “It is very aggressive as you can see, and spreads quickly, making treatment very difficult for all involved.”

In what should have been the prime of her life at 41, Lisa died on Oct. 14, 2011. Although oral cancer silenced Lisa, her family and friends keep her spirit alive with Lisa’s Voice events.

Johnson said this race-car sponsorship marks a first for organizations working the oral cancer foundation. She sought their approval before launching these awareness activities.

Foundation officials enthusiastically endorsed her idea of reaching out to race fans at one of Montana Raceway Park’s most popular events. Howell said it is one of the biggest races in the Northwest.

“It’s the most prestigious,” he said. “For the spectator, you’re watching a bunch of people who have put everything they have into it.”

Howell said super late model division competitors drive technically advanced cars. Knowing how to make fine adjustments makes the difference between winning and losing.

He described his car as a Chevy Monte Carlo with 570 horses under the hood. With Lisa raising oral cancer awareness on top of his hood, Howell believes he can’t lose no matter where his car ends up in the race.

“I’m happy to do it so someone else doesn’t get oral cancer and die from it,” he said. “They can catch it in time and do something about it.”

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com