SAN DIEGO -- Together on the iconic USS Midway aircraft carrier, reps from NASCAR and Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday they are collaborating on a first “Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic” -- a Nov. 11 exhibition race at a yet-to-be determined location that will serve as a nod to all six branches of the military.
Just days ahead of Sunday’s Anduril 250 on Naval Base Coronado, executives from NASCAR and Ford decided it was appropriate to reveal the race on the San Diego-based ship. For effect, the in-person audience Wednesday included members of the military, Ford employees, Ford dealers and the military service organization Blue Star Families.
“Supporting our military has always been in our company’s DNA for our entire 123-year history,” said Nick Ford, the great-great grandson of Henry Ford and part of Ford’s corporate strategy team. “It shows up in a lot of ways, but for America 250 this summer, we wanted to think about something that bridges the world of racing, which is another huge part of our company’s DNA.”
Ford’s track-only Mustang Dark Horse Rs will be on display at the Veteran’s Day race, which is an independent special event separate from the NASCAR race calendar. At that time, Ford will also promote its limited-edition red, white and blue Super Duty Proud to Honor package -- with some portion of the proceeds supporting Blue Star Families.
Blue Star Families -- which is Ford’s main military service organization for the Proud to Honor campaign -- helps military families, spouses and children handle the difficulties of deployment.
NASCAR’s season had been scheduled to wrap up at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8, which normally would have led to an off-track NASCAR military tribute on Veterans Day. But the newly minted race on the 11th elevates the tribute exponentially, with six separate racing teams competing on behalf of the six branches: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard.
“There’s so many similarities between the organizations, between Ford and NASCAR,” said Tim Clark, NASCAR’s EVP & Chief Brand Officer who served in the Army and whose grandfather, father and uncle were all in the military. “It’s really core to who we are as an organization and as a sport. Our race a few weeks ago on Memorial Day, we do a military tribute as part of that race weekend. It’s kind of a through-line throughout our season and really throughout our 78-plus year history. So an event that culminates like this in San Diego as well as the Veterans Day Classic -- I mean, just we’re really thrilled to be part of events like that.”
NASCAR and Ford already have charitable activations in mind for the Veterans Day event. For starters, Ford Philanthropy will host a Ford Driving Skills for Life safe-driving program for local military teens. In addition, Zac Brown Band -- who performed Wednesday night on the USS Midway and famously praises the military in his song “Chicken Fried” -- will perform again on November 11, also to benefit military and veteran service partners.
“The Veterans Day Classic race this November is going to be the start of a great new tradition that I’m super proud to be a part of,” Brown said Wednesday night following his performance. “And these events will give us a real way to show up for our troops. And to do that during America’s 250th feels incredibly meaningful.
“I bet there’s going to be some side bets happening in the stands on who’s going to be winning that race.”
Someone on the USS Midway shouted, “Navy!”
“Marine corps!” shouted somebody else.
“See here we go,” Brown said.
