NASCAR Salutes and Coca-Cola have once again joined forces to honor the U.S Armed Forces active-duty service members and veterans across the country, recognizing their service and sacrifice for the country. 

In light of America’s 250th anniversary, NASCAR recently announced the names of the 250 service members and veterans set to receive the NASCAR Heroes Pass. This pass will grant them access to two races annually for the next 20 years. 

To announce the same, the series put out a video on its X account. In the video, Daniel Suárez, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano surprised three military veterans with a welcome box consisting of a NASCAR Heroes Pass hat, a personalized letter recognizing their service to the nation, a commemorative ticket, NASCAR pin, patch, mug, and challenge coin. 

Talking about the tribute in the press release, Jess Smith, Vice President of Brand at NASCAR, explained how the Heroes Pass came about. 

"The NASCAR Heroes Pass was created to recognize the extraordinary sacrifices made by service members, veterans and military families, while building a lasting connection between them and our sport. Being able to surprise some of these heroes with meet-and-greets from drivers makes this moment even more meaningful and allows us to express our gratitude in a truly memorable way." (As reported by Jayski)

The announcement reflects the sport's continued commitment to recognizing those who have served and sacrificed for the nation. 

When NASCAR honored the fallen soldiers  at the Coca-Cola 600

During the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway,  back in May, as part of the NASCAR Salutes initiative, the drivers carried names of the fallen heroes on their cars.

Each NASCAR car carried 40 names on one car. In addition to this, six additional service members were also remembered during the pre-race ceremony across two pace cars and four Grand Marshal vehicles.

While talking about the tribute, Jess Smith, vice president of Brand at NASCAR, explained the importance of this gesture.

"NASCAR is proud to continue honoring our fallen heroes. It’s an important initiative that recognizes the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country." (As reported by Stripes.com)

The tribute included fallen heroes in World War II, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and recent military operations. They died in combat, training exercises, active-duty service and post-service, in locations including Europe, Asia and the United States

Besides this, the pre-race ceremony also featured military flyovers and helicopter arrivals, further adding weight to the entire 600-mile race. 

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco