NASCAR Community Unites to Pay Tribute to U.S. Armed Forces through NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola
NASCAR Salutes Wall of Honor to debut at each race track in May
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 29, 2022) – This Military Appreciation Month, the NASCAR Community comes together to honor and recognize the United States Armed Forces through the annual NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola program.
NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola returns for its eighth season, celebrating the service and sacrifice of U.S. service members and their families. Tributes will take place beginning this weekend at Dover Motor Speedway and will conclude with the 600 Miles of Remembrance during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend. Fans can follow and engage on social media using #NASCARSalutes.
“In partnership with NASCAR, Coca-Cola is proud to honor our nation’s Armed Forces during The Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend,” said Sue Lynne Cha, Vice President of Integrated Marketing Experiences for Coca-Cola North America. “The Coca-Cola 600 brings racing fans together to recognize the service and sacrifices made by our U.S. military members and their families.”
Unique to the program this year, the NASCAR Salutes Wall of Honor will make its debut at each NASCAR race weekend in May. The mural wall will be located in track midways and allow fans to write messages to the military on individual magnets. Each magnet will then be added to the mural to create a giant mosaic unique to each track that will later be donated to a military base.
“It’s always incredible to see the NASCAR industry and our fans unite to celebrate our military service members and their families through NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola,” said Michelle Byron, Vice President of Partnership Marketing, NASCAR. “Through the support of Coca-Cola, the month of May has become a time when together as an industry, we can reflect on our nation’s heroes and honor the sacrifices they make every day to keep our country and its communities safe.”
To conclude NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola, NASCAR and Coca-Cola will again host Gold Star Families during Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway with all 40 NASCAR Cup Series cars featuring the name of a fallen service member on the windshield during the Coca-Cola 600.
In addition, several other NASCAR Salutes activities will take place, including:
- During the GEICO 500 at Talladega on FOX, NASCAR premiered this year’s NASCAR Salutes brand spot. The creative runs through May and showcases the unique ties that NASCAR and Coca-Cola have with the military.
- Discounted grandstand tickets are available to military members throughout NASCAR Salutes and all season long with NASCAR MILTIX Presented by GEICO Military. Active military and veterans can verify their status through SheerID and purchase tickets by visiting NASCAR.com/miltix.
- At each NASCAR event during the month of May, service members from local bases will have access to complimentary grandstand tickets and unique VIP experiences made possible by Vet Tix and the NASCAR Troops to the Track Program.
- Charlotte Motor Speedway continues its annual Mission 600, pairing the Coca-Cola Racing Family and other drivers with military bases to educate the NASCAR community about the day-to-day lives of the men and women who serve.
- Xfinity, a Proud Premier Partner, will display red, white and blue Xfinity windshield headers on their race cars during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to showcase their company’s commitment to hiring 21,000 veterans, National Guard and reserve service members, and military spouses who bring unique skills and experiences to Comcast NBCUniversal.
- Camping World will celebrate with red, white and blue windshield decals on all trucks racing in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Camping World is a strong supporter of all military branches and proudly displays 3,200 square foot American flags at its nationwide retail locations.
- AMR, the “Official Emergency Medical Services Partner of NASCAR,” will feature the NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola branding on its NASCAR safety trucks and safety team helmets throughout the program.
- For a fifth season, Mack Trucks, the “Official Hauler of NASCAR”, will wrap one of its NASCAR haulers in support of NASCAR Salutes leading into Memorial Day weekend. The final design was selected by fan votes with the voting period closing this week.
- Continuing its tradition, Goodyear will replace its iconic “Eagle” sidewall design with “Honor and Remember” during the Coca-Cola 600 in recognition of the organization working closely with the industry to honor gold star families who have lost family members as a result of serving.
- During the broadcast of the Coca-Cola 600, FOX will display the name of every U.S. Armed Forces member who lost his or her life since last year’s Memorial Day weekend race as part of a special tribute titled “FOX Sports Remembers,” an initiative begun in 2009. FOX’s scroll will begin running during its pre-race show at 5 p.m. ET.
- The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, with the help of JDV Productions and Operation Vet Now Inc., will feature roof decals on all race cars honoring fallen service members during the Jennerstown Salutes 150 at Jennerstown Speedway on May 28.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Our company’s purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference. We sell multiple billion-dollar brands across several beverage categories worldwide. Our portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Our hydration, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Gold Peak, Honest and Ayataka. Our nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and AdeS. We’re constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We seek to positively impact people’s lives, communities and the planet through water replenishment, packaging recycling, sustainable sourcing practices and carbon emissions reductions across our value chain. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Sources: Lara Finley/NASCAR Communications