NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 drivers honor troops

Even though Kansas Speedway is next on the Cup Series schedule for Sunday, May 11, followed by the special non-points All-Star event scheduled for May 17, NASCAR’s longest Cup Series event is set for May 25. Drivers are already talking about the Coca-Cola 600, the 400-lap event held at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s been a part of NASCAR since the track opened in June of 1960.

The Memorial Day weekend tradition honors our nation’s heroes and delivers one of the most iconic races in NASCAR.

“Memorial Day Weekend is always special because you’re racing for so much more than just racing, and it’s to honor and remember all the people who have given and who are currently giving to our great country,” said Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell, the defending winner of the race. “Memorial Day Weekend is always special because you’re racing for so much more than just racing, and it’s to honor and remember all the people who have given and who are currently giving to our great country.”

A lot of preparation goes into making sure the team’s Chevrolets, Fords and Toyotas hold up for the full 600-mile distance. It’s a grueling event that has tested the mental and physical strength of all competitors that will make up the highly competitive field.

Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, is a past winner of the 600. The native of Welcome, North Carolina, shows a great deal of appreciation when talking about the service men and service women who defend our country.

“Well, to me, it’s probably one of the most special weekends of the year,” Dillon said. “The patriotism that we show at the Coke 600, there’s no bigger weekend in our sport, getting to honor all of our military men and women out there who pay the ultimate sacrifice.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, feels the 600 offers the perfect stage of appreciation.

“It’s honoring our troops and our service members, which I think NASCAR’s done a great job of over the years. It’s really become a great tradition of that race and that whole race weekend. I’ve always felt like NASCAR and Charlotte (Motor Speedway) and everyone there has done a great job of honoring them and I hope we continue to do that.”

Every car in the starting lineup will once again carry the names of those who have died while in service of our country. They are honored with every lap completed from the green flag to the checkered flag when the race starts in the late afternoon and ends at night.

“My favorite thing about the Coca-Cola 600 is the Honor and Remember Program and remembering all the soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice,” said Ty Dillon, driver of the No. 10, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. “That whole weekend is so special. We always carry fallen soldiers’ names on our cars and get to interact with their families, and that race is so much bigger than just about us, also the pageantry. The longest race of our year, it’s one of the special ones. Also, it’s in my backyard where I grew up here in North Carolina.”

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 19, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and teammate to Bell, looks at the race from a very personal viewpoint.

“Every weekend I always look up in the stands and I kind of have this pinch-me moment, but there are certain races throughout the year that have a little bit more extra significance and the Coke 600 is certainly one of those races that every single year I’m just like, ‘I cannot believe I’m racing in the Coke 600.’

“As a kid, we would always watch the Indy 500 and watch the Coke 600. So, for me now to know that I’m part of this iconic race on this huge day of motorsports, but then also on Memorial Day Weekend, is the significance of that. It’s really, really special. It’s a race that every driver dreams of winning and even just competing in it is always a super special privilege. I’m honored to get to do it every single year.

Reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, cites Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600 annual campaign that pairs drivers and regional military bases as a build-up to the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend.

“The Mission 600 appearances are my favorite appearances of the year,” Logano said. “Where you get to go to a military base and see, boots on the ground, what these men and women are doing for our country, for our freedom. People who are making the ultimate sacrifice. Not only them but their families too, for complete strangers, like you and I, that is the most incredible thing. So, for us to say thank you is really neat to build a relationship. Those days that I spent there were awesome.

“Last year, we went to fly in an F-16, and that was really cool. I became friends with the whole squadron and our tagline this year is ‘Double Down’, that’s their squadron name and that’s what our tagline is going to be this year. So, we got kind of a thing going together and it’s really neat because they all came from Mission 600.”

AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 16, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, feels the race is one of NASCAR’s greatest events of the year and has been for over 60 years.

“I think it’s unique because it’s obviously the longest race we have in our sport,” Allmendinger said. “it’s one of the Crown Jewels, but it goes back to what it represents and with Memorial Day Weekend and everything that it represents and everything. To me, it’s the one event that is bigger than the race and the 600 (miles) is secondary to that.”