RFK Racing has announced that its #Stage60 program will return for another road course event with sports car driver Joey Hand piloting the No. 60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford at the upcoming Chicago Street Race (July 7, 4:30 p.m. ET, NBC).
Hand – currently a Ford factory driver across multiple disciplines of sports car racing – is a former Champion of the Star Mazda Series, co-winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2011, 12 Hours of Sebring in 2012, and 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Pro Class in 2016.
Hand, a native of California, joined the Ford factory program for the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and formerly competed in the International V8 Supercars Championship; the same series where fellow #Stage60 driver Cam Waters currently competes.
“Saying I’m excited is an understatement,” Hand said. “To be part of the #Stage60 program is going to be awesome. I’ve gotten close with the RFK team while working with them on the simulator over the past three years and have a ton of respect for what they are doing.
“I love street racing and have done a lot of it in my career so Chicago is right in my wheelhouse. NASCAR is some of the toughest competition I’ve been up against and there’s nothing like some good street fighting to put on a show for the fans.”
The 45-year-old made his NASCAR debut in 2021 for Rick Ware Racing, driving the No. 52 car at the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He went on to drive for RWR in six races in 2022, all on road courses (COTA, Sonoma, Road America, Indianapolis Road Course, Watkins Glen, ROVAL).
BuildSubmarines.com, who partnered with the #Stage60 initiative at Daytona and Sonoma, will again be featured on the No. 60 Ford Mustang with Hand behind the wheel at Chicago. The Windy City event will mark the first time BuildSubmarines.com will be the primary partner on-board an RFK Racing Ford in the Great Lakes region since the engagement between RFK and BlueForge Alliance began in the summer of 2023.
The Great Lakes region – made up of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin – features more than 2,300 suppliers in the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base and serves as a key component towards designing, creating, inspecting and assembling components for the Navy’s undersea platforms.
“BuildSubmarines.com racing through the streets of Chicago puts thousands of skilled trades career opportunities in front of massive in-person and television audiences,” said Kiley Wren, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at BlueForge Alliance. “It represents yet another incredible opportunity for fans to learn about these jobs and the purpose behind them. We are grateful to work alongside RFK Racing, as part of their Stage 60 program, and we thank Joey Hand for getting behind the wheel of the BuildSubmarines.com ‘Car With a Mission’ for this event.”
RFK Racing PR
