In what has become an annual tradition during the Coca-Cola 600, the names of U.S. Armed Forces members who sacrificed their lives for our country will be proudly displayed on the windshields of each of the 40 NASCAR Cup Series cars participating in the race.
Several of the names were chosen due to personal connections the team or sponsor had to the fallen service members.
Three of the Stewart-Haas Racing cars will feature the names of soldiers killed on May 23, 2011, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the country’s eastern Kunar province. The deaths of Staff Sergeant Kristofferson Lorenzo (will be on Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford), Private First Class William Blevins (on the No. 10 of Aric Almirola) and Private First Class Andrew Krippner (on the No. 14 of Clint Bowyer) had an impact on team fabricator Matthew Ridgway, a U.S. Army veteran. While Ridgway did not know the three men personally, he would later serve in the same battalion as the fallen soldiers honored on the team’s cars.
Kurt Busch and the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet will carry the name of U.S. Navy Petty Officer Second Class Philip Grieser on the windshield during Sunday’s race. Grieser was the chief of Seabee team 1013 and was killed in a base attack in 1969 while serving in the Vietnam War. His son, Doug Newell, is an electrician for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Brennan Poole’s No. 15 Spartan Mosquito Chevy Camaro will proudly honor SFC. Nathan Ross
Chapman from 1st Special Forces Group. Chapman, from San Antonio, Texas, was killed on January 4, 2002, in Khost, Afghanistan. Three members of the Spartan Mosquito family also served in the 1st Special Forces Group.
With Sunday’s race to run without fans or special guests in attendance, each of the families honored as part of 600 Miles of Remembrance on Sunday will receive an acrylic replica of the racecar header with the fallen service member’s name and rank from NASCAR and Coca-Cola. Additionally, Coca-Cola is hosting a private pre-race virtual concert by country artist Justin Moore for Gold Star Families.
Charlotte Motor Speedway will continue its long-standing tradition of military tributes in recognition of Memorial Day Weekend. In addition to the pre-race military flyover, the race broadcast on FOX will capture a moment of silence at the conclusion of Stage 2, when all cars will stop on pit road to honor to the fallen.
