Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated, the Abbeville, Alabama-based producer of YellaWood® brand pressure treated pine, announced today its Honorary Officials for Sunday’s (Oct. 3) YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Great Southern Wood Preserving (GSWP) founder, President and CEO James W. (Jimmy) Rane, his family and representatives of the company’s Board of Directors, will serve as Grand Marshals. The group will give the famous command “Drivers, Start Your Engines.” YellaWood guest Katie Britt will serve as the race’s Honorary Starter and wave the green flag to set the race in motion from high above the start-finish line.
Founded in 1970, GSWP has grown from a single plant to become a diverse portfolio of companies operating in both domestic and international markets in the areas of building products production, manufacturing and distribution, sawmill operations, and transportation and logistics through trucking operations.
Today, GSWP and its subsidiaries operate 37 distribution locations with a coverage area that stretches from the Florida Keys to Texas to Canada, an area that includes all or parts of 28 states and the District of Columbia, as well as much of the Caribbean and Latin America, and part of the European Union, Mediterranean region and China. These facilities service Do-It-Yourself retail home centers, pro dealers, and other retail building-related and industrial segments. Best known for its YellaWood® brand products and its famous “yella” end tag, the company employs nearly 1,600 people across its various divisions and operations.
Rane, the public face of GSWP for more than 50 years, is a 2018 inductee into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, serves as a member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees, and is president of the Jimmy Rane Foundation, a non-profit established in 2000 to fund college scholarships for deserving students. Since its inception the Jimmy Rane Foundation has provided college scholarships to 510 deserving students who have attended or are attending the college or university of their choice.
A native of Enterprise, Alabama, Britt is the former president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama and former chief of staff to U.S. Senator Richard Shelby. An attorney by trade, Britt is a graduate of The University of Alabama and volunteers in numerous civic, educational, and leadership organizations, including the Alabama Wildlife Federation Board of Directors. She resides in Montgomery with her husband, Wesley, and their two children.
The YellaWood 500, the second race in the Round of 12 in the Cup Series playoffs, gets the green flag at 1 p.m. CDT Sunday. Saturday, Oct. 2, will feature a double dose of playoff action with the Chevy Silverado 250 for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (12 Noon CDT) and the Sparks 300 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series (3:30 p.m. CDT).
Other pre-race dignitaries and traditions for the pre-race activities for the full weekend include:
YellaWood 500: 1:00 p.m. CDT (NBC, SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90 & MRN); 188 laps
Grand Marshal – Jimmy Rane, Founder and CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving, along with
his family and representatives of the company’s Board of Directors
Honorary Starter – Katie Britt, former president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama
Invocation – Chaplain Barbara Embry, Citizens Baptist Medical Center
Presentation of Colors – Robertsdale High School (AL) NJROTC
Pledge of Allegiance – Scout Troops from AL
God Bless America – Hoover High School (AL) Choir (40 performers)
National Anthem – United States Army 313th Band
John Ray’s iconic Big Semi-Truck with giant American flag around track during National Anthem
Flyover-2 Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213, FIGHTING BLACK LIONS, F/A-18F Super Hornets
Chevy Silverado: 250 12:00 p.m. CDT (FS1, SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90 & MRN); 94 laps
Invocation – Raceway Ministries
Presentation of Colors – Central High School (AL) NJROTC
Pledge of Allegiance – Scout Troops from Alabama
God Bless America – Spain Park High School (AL) Choir (25performers)
National Anthem – Vestavia Hills High School (AL) Choir (15 performers)
John Ray’s iconic Big Semi-Truck with giant American flag around track during National Anthem
Sparks 300: 3:30 p.m. CDT (NBCSN, SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90 & MRN); 113 laps
Grand Marshal – Wayne Sternbergh, friend of Sparks, Inc.
Invocation – Lindsay Lane Baptist Church
Presentation of Colors – Central High School (AL) NJROTC
Pledge of Allegiance – Scout Troops from Alabama
God Bless America – Marbury High School (AL) Band (40 performers)
National Anthem – Marbury High School (AL) Choir (30 performers)
John Ray’s iconic Big Semi-Truck with giant American flag around track during National Anthem
Admission to the traditional Saturday Night Infield Concert, headlined by platinum-selling Dustin Lunch, is FREE to all infield guests, who purchases a ticket to the YellaWood 500. To see all admission options, including the Talladega Garage Experience (includes access to Garage Viewing Walkways, Pre-Race Ceremonies on Sunday and Ruoff Mortgage Victory Lane), visitwww.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 1-877-Go2-DEGA.
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