ARLINGTON, Va., - NASCAR Sprint Cup series owner Bill Jenkins recently announced that his Latitude 43 Motorsports team and his number 26 Ford Fusion will honor the Air National Guard at the Food City 500 in Bristol, Tenn., this weekend.
"We would like to thank all the valiant men and women of the Air Guard, and pay tribute to their sacrifice and service to our country," said Jenkins.
The car will be driven by David Stremme.
The race will be nationally televised at 1 p.m., EST on FOX.
The Air National Guard's marketing office and the Tennessee Air Guard recruiting team will have vendor booth space and will be in attendance to garner leads and assist in promoting the ANG message at the race.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., will also race at Bristol with the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet.
In 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, he has scored one win, seven top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. The 35-year-old driver has completed 98.5 percent of all laps he has attempted. He has led 743 laps at the .533-mile oval.
"Bristol is a pretty physically demanding track, but we've always been pretty good there," Earnhardt said. "I like running there. It's tough to qualify, but it's important to have a good pit stall selection. You want to have that front straightaway pit. Bristol is a tough track. I got to go there when I was growing up, and I always look forward to going back."