DENVER —Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, the Memorial Day weekend classic at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, will carry a special meaning for Furniture Row Racing driver Joe Nemechek, team owner Barney Visser and team members Charlie Krauch, John Parks, Craig Phillips and Justin Schroder.
The six individuals have been touched with a military experience.
Nemechek, who drove the Army car for three seasons in the Sprint Cup Series, truly understands the significance of the weekend as he continues in his praise and admiration for members of the United States Armed Forces.
“I met some new heroes when I drove the Army car,” said Nemechek. “The men and women in uniform are my idols and I always think about them and sincerely appreciate the sacrifices they’re making to protect our freedom. Everybody needs to make sure they go out of their way and say thank you to our troops.”
Nemechek added, “This weekend is about paying tribute to all the great men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. I will be thinking about them and I hope that every American will do the same.”
Visser, owner of the Denver-based Furniture Row Racing team, served in the Army and is a Vietnam veteran. Krauch (Army) and Phillips (Air Force) also served in Vietnam. Parks is a former Marine while Schroder served in the Navy.
“We’re able to race every week because of all of the brave men and women who have put their lives on the line for freedom,” said Nemechek. “I am continuing to dedicate this weekend to everyone who has served and is currently serving in the United States Armed Forces.”
Speaking of this weekend, Nemechek is feeling upbeat about the potential of the Furniture Row Racing team, based on its performance at Lowe’s Motor Speedway during last weekend’s all-star events.
“Being at Lowe’s last weekend gave us two additional days of testing under race conditions,” noted Nemechek. “I thought we made huge gains with our Furniture Row Racing Chevy Impala SS and we’re optimistic that it’s going to carry over to this weekend’s 600-mile race.”
The Coca-Cola 600 is NASCAR’s longest race of the season. The race length will be 400 laps at the 1.5-mile oval.
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