Wounded Warriors to Serve as Grand Marshals for Aaron’s 312; Torres Race’s Honorary Starter
TALLADEGA, AL – A host of distinguished “Honorary” officials were named today for this weekend’s Aaron’s Dream Weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, May 2-4.
Grand Marshals for the Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, which gets the green flag on Saturday at 2 p.m., will be four representatives from the Wounded Warriors Project. The quartet will give the command – “Drivers, Start Your Engines!” They include:
· Army Sergeant Chad Shadle from Naples, FL
· Army Sergeant Joe Washam from Justin, TX
· Army Staff Sergeant Erick Millette from Jacksonville, FL
· Army Specialist Logan Hathorn from Petal, MS
The Honorary Starter for the Aaron’s 312 will be Peter Torres from East Hampton, CT, who was the winner of the Aaron’s Weekend of Your Dreams Sweepstakes. He will wave the green flag atop the start-finish line to get the race underway.
Other Honorary Officials for the weekend include:
· Original Alabama Gang members Bobby & Donnie Allison serving as the Grand Marshals for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 ARCA Racing Series event
· Red Farmer, another original member of the Alabama Gang, serving as Honorary Starter and dropping the green flag for the ARCA race
· SSG Michael Scarlett of the Army Material Command Band, Redstone Arsenal, AL, performing the National Anthem and “God Bless America” on Saturday
· The Arsenal Brass Quintet, Army Material Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL performing the National Anthem prior to Sunday’s Aaron’s 499
· Alabama Raceway Ministries’ Reverend John Whaley (ARCA International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200), Reverend Billy Dickey (Aaron’s 312) and Reverend Mark Stokes (Aaron’s 499) giving invocations for each race
· Major Johnny “JT” Taylor from Redstone Arsenal, AL presenting the new “Freedom Trophy” to the Aaron’s 499 winner
· Governor Robert Bentley serving as the Grand Marshal for the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and Auburn University Head Football Coach Gus Malzahn serving as the race’s “Honorary Pace Car Driver”
The most competitive racing in NASCAR combined with a mix of southern hospitality returns to Talladega Superspeedway May 2-4 for the Aaron’s Dream Weekend. Experience the excitement as the superstars of NASCAR attempt to tackle the high-banks of ‘DEGA at 200 mph. Secure your tickets at www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or by calling 877-Go2-DEGA. This is more than a race…This is Talladega!
