Coca-Cola Racing Family driver Austin Dillon recently spent nearly an hour visiting with Special Operations Command Marines for Camp Lejeune as part of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600 campaign to honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces as a prelude to the 61st running of the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend.
While the traditional Mission 600 features drivers paired with regional military bases representing all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces completing in-person training exercises and interaction, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic shifted plans to a virtual visit.
As part of the video teleconference, the Marines hosted a rappelling demonstration and showed Dillon a video providing the driver a little more background into the life of a MARSOC Marine. Later, Dillon opened up the conference to questions from the Marines, covering a range of questions from what motivates the young driver to his feelings on welcoming his first child later this year and what it means to drive the iconic No. 3 car for his grandfather’s team.
Mission 600 continues this week with fellow Coca-Cola Racing Family driver Bubba Wallace scheduled to virtually visit airmen from South Carolina’s Shaw Air Force Base. Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Daniel Suarez have also recorded video shout outs to service men and women, among other content, as part of the campaign, which runs on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s social media channels through race day.
The Coca-Cola 600 is slated to go green in its traditional Memorial Day Weekend slot on Sunday, May 24. Fans can tune in on FOX or through the PRN radio network.
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