{"id":17744,"date":"2018-05-24T15:39:09","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T20:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=17744"},"modified":"2018-05-24T22:15:39","modified_gmt":"2018-05-25T03:15:39","slug":"stories-of-service-and-sacrifice-inspire-nascar-drivers-fans-this-memorial-day-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/24\/stories-of-service-and-sacrifice-inspire-nascar-drivers-fans-this-memorial-day-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Stories of service and sacrifice inspire NASCAR drivers, fans this Memorial Day weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The men and women to be honored during \u201cNASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola\u201d<\/strong> Memorial Day weekend tribute at Charlotte Motor Speedway<\/strong> to fallen United States service members demonstrate integrity, pride, and bravery. Their stories cannot help but inspire both those inside the race car for Sunday\u2019s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET on FOX) and those watching the great race in person.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Members of the Marine Corp stand at attention prior to the start of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Each race team is commemorating a fallen soldier, a person who gave the ultimate sacrifice – his or her life – for our country and for our freedom.<\/p>\n

The stories of these brave and honorable people are as diverse as they are inspiring. And each soldier, airman and sailor is absolutely just that \u2013 inspiring.<\/p>\n

Brad Keselowski will carry the name of Marine Corps Sargeant Chris Eckard on his No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Eckard, who was born in the heart of NASCAR country, Hickory, North Carolina, served in both the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps. He deployed to Iraq, then re-enlisted, ultimately losing his life in Afghanistan\u2019s Helmand Province on Feb. 20, 2010. He is survived by his wife and two sons.<\/p>\n

The driver of the No. 13 Chevrolet for Germain Racing, Ty Dillon, will carry the name of Army Private Charlie Anthony, who was killed in May of 1969 while serving in the Vietnam War. Anthony was a star on his Naples, Florida, high school basketball and track teams before being drafted into service a year after graduation. Just before deploying, he married his high school sweetheart Laura and they had one daughter, Cassandra. Anthony was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, posthumously.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Tires are seen during practice for the NASCAR Xfinity Series ALSCO 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Erik Jones, 22, will carry the name of fellow Michigan native, U.S. Army Corporal Nicholas Roush, on his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.  Roush was killed at the age of 22 while serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Herat Province of Afghanistan.  It was his very first deployment. He is survived by his mother, Donna, father Robert and brother Bobby and Kyle, all of Middleville, Mich.<\/p>\n

Indiana native Ryan Newman will carry the name of Navy Corpsman Ryan Lohrey on his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Lohrey is from Anderson, Indiana \u2013 a short drive from the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Lohrey, 31, served as both a Navy and Marine Corps parachutist and died July 10, 2017. He received a Purple Heart in addition to earning the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and a Combat Action Ribbon with gold star in place of a second award. He was married to Cassie and they have three children.<\/p>\n

NASCAR\u2019s own Liberty University student, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, will honor a fellow Liberty community member. Army Major Michael Donahue, 41, was an alumnus and assistant professor of military science at Liberty who taught in the school\u2019s Army ROTC program. Donahue served three combat tours of duty (in South Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan) and was killed Sept. 16, 2014, by a Taliban suicide bomber in Kabul, Afghanistan. Among the many honors he received for his service were a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal. He is survived by his wife Sherry and three children.<\/p>\n

Kyle Larson\u2019s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Chevrolet will carry the name of Captain Kimberly Hampton, of Easley, South Carolina. Hampton was an honors graduate and accomplished tennis player at Presbyterian College who served as battalion commander of the Army ROTC unit there. She would command the Delta Troop in the 1st<\/sup> Squadron of the 17th<\/sup> Cavalry Regiment. The helicopter she was piloting was shot down Jan. 2, 2004, and she was the first female pilot killed in Iraq. Hampton, 27, was stationed with the highly-regarded 82nd<\/sup> Airborne Division in Iraq and had previously served in both South Korea and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

These are a few of the moving stories about servicemen and service women that Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will honor in Sunday night\u2019s race. Each driver will have a different serviceperson on their car, representing generations of military service.<\/p>\n

A pre-race \u201cSalute to the Troops\u201d will feature demonstrations from all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and the salute will include F-15 fighter jets, a Blackhawk helicopter, Humvees, Howitzers, a HIMARS rocket system, a Marine MTVR vehicle and two Combat Rubber Raiding Crafts.<\/p>\n

The Fort Bragg Firing Party will take part in a 21-Gun Salute and the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force will have interactive, fan-friendly displays in the speedway\u2019s Fan Zone.<\/p>\n

Senior leaders representing all five branches of the military will address the crowd.<\/p>\n

Adult tickets to the Coca-Cola 600 start at just $49 while kids 13 and under get in for $10; Tickets, camping and upgrades are available online<\/a> or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267).<\/p>\n

Audio note:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski will carry the name of Gunnery Sergeant Chris Eckard of nearby Hickory, NC<\/strong>during this weekend’s Coca Cola 60 0at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which will be broadcast on FOX at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 27.<\/span><\/p>\n

GySgt Eckard was killed on February 20, 2010 near Patrol Base Barcha in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan while conducting EOD operations in the support of a dismounted patrol.  Eckard was best friends with No. 2 Team Penske chassis fabricator Casey Mahoney, who suggested the team race with Eckard\u2019s name on the car\u2019s windshield in Eckard\u2019s honor.<\/span><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MediaAvail_Keselowski_052318.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The men and women to be honored during \u201cNASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola\u201d Memorial Day weekend tribute at Charlotte Motor Speedway to fallen United States service members demonstrate integrity, pride, and bravery. Their stories cannot help but inspire both those inside the race car for Sunday\u2019s Coca-Cola […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[233,245,16],"class_list":["post-17744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-charlotte-motor-speedway","tag-coca-cola-600","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/689501750.jpg?fit=4409%2C2939","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-4Cc","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17744"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17752,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17744\/revisions\/17752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}