WASHINGTON, D.C. - NASCAR drivers were in a neck-and-neck race Thursday to see who could visit the most wounded warriors here at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The recovering troops there were the ultimate winners.
The hospital, which treats wounded veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom among others, hosted an event Sept. 18 featuring popular NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip, Kyle Busch and Joe Nemechek.
The drivers visited troops, signed autographs and gathered with wounded warriors for a banquet that evening.
"This is awesome," said Spc. Kevin C. Miller Jr., a longtime fan of Waltrip and Earnhardt. "I met Dale Earnhardt. He came to my room [and] signed a couple of die-cast cars and hats and everything for me."
Miller, a Guardmember with New York's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 42nd Infantry Division, spent seven months at Forward Operating Base Lightning in Afghanistan before being transferred to Walter Reed.
Miller, who sat in a wheelchair, couldn't have been in better spirits at the prospect of having dinner with his sports heroes.
"You've got big names here," said Miller. "I've met a bunch of racers, but I've never had a dinner [with them]."
While the Guardmembers were excited to meet the NASCAR celebrities, the feeling was mutual among the drivers.
"I think it's important to the Soldiers to lift their morale and help them through the recovery process," said Earnhardt of his seventh visit to Walter Reed. "When they become injured, there's an obligation to support them through the recovery process."
Earnhardt drives the National Guard co-sponsored No. 88 Sprint Cup Series car and co-drives the Guard's primary-sponsored No. 5 Nationwide Series car with Landon Cassill.
In a time where Guardmembers are helping citizens through hurricanes and forest fires, and fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Earnhardt said he is proud to be associated with Citizen-Soldiers.
"They serve our country here and abroad," he said. "It makes you very proud because of the job they do and how proud they are to do it."
The NASCAR drivers were in town preparing to race over the weekend at nearby Dover International Speedway in Delaware.