As a high-octane prelude to the nation’s most patriotic Memorial Day weekend celebration, Coca-Cola Racing Family driver and the winner of the 2017 Coca-Cola 600, Austin Dillon, continued Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600 tour with sailors at Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station, on Wednesday.
Dillon, alongside Richard Childress Racing pit crew coach Ray Wright, tested his prowess in the Navy’s state-of-the-art simulators, toured the expansive USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and donned firefighting gear in a simulated emergency response exercise. After eating lunch with sailors aboard the USS Cole (DDG 67) - which was bombed in a 2000 terrorist attack in Yemen - the group capped the day visiting the station’s USS Cole Memorial. The memorial honors the 17 fallen sailors who were lost to that attack 25 years ago. The USS Cole has since been repaired and returned to service, recently returning from its latest combat deployment.
“The Navy has taken really great care of us since we've been here, showing us around, showing us the history of these ships,” Dillon said. “The USS Cole had some amazing history. I'm always grateful to meet these men and women that serve our country, who allow us the freedoms to go race on the weekend. These young people have a lot of pride; they know what they're doing and do it at a high level of performance.”
Wright said hearing from a range of different personnel on the ship helped draw similarities between NASCAR pit crews and the units that serve the Navy.
“There's a lot of correlation between this and pit stops,” he said. “Everybody pitches in to give Austin a victory. It reminds me of everything you see on these ships. You got bodies moving back and forth, going here and there, and everybody's got a job and everybody's got a task. We've always been big supporters of the U.S. military and seeing behind the scenes what it's all about, the muscle that we have in our Navy and the pride and the tradition, how they revere their history and they keep it going every day. It's just been an honor to see it firsthand and something I will remember forever.”
The sailors also enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their mission capabilities and give Dillon and Wright a bit more insight into the day-to-day of life in the Navy.
“It’s always great to have somebody of that high caliber and importance to come and see everybody – especially a NASCAR driver,” Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Cameron Dehart said aboard the USS Kearsarge. “I’ve been a huge NASCAR fan my whole life, so meeting him and seeing him come on board the ship and making those connections is very important. I grew up kind of a Kyle Busch fan – which is his teammate – but I’ve got to start cheering for the No. 3 (Dillon) now, for sure.”
TICKETS:
Tickets are still available for the May 23-25 Coca-Cola 600 weekend online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling the ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267). Tickets include access to two concerts, with Hairball (Friday) and Smash Mouth (Saturday). Sunday’s infield pre-race concert by Old Dominion is free with purchase of a Coca-Cola 600 race ticket.
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