Comment here on JR Motorsports' #88 U.S. Navy Chevrolet driven by Shane Huffman in the NASCAR Busch Series.

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The California race featured the USS Stennis. A few outstanding Sailors were sent to represent the Stennis. Can anyone find the story?

Found it!

NASCAR honors Stennis ship, Sailors

By JO2 Ryan Hill
USS John C. Stennis

Friday, March 3, 2006
Five Sailors on board USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) were treated to a trip to the California speedway to watch the Stater Brothers 300 NASCAR race Feb. 25. The Sailors were selected to represent Stennis as part of the U.S. Navy Motorsports Fleet Honoree program. The program also featured Stennis’ name on the hood of the No. 88 Navy “Accelerate Your Life” Chevy Monte Carlo driven by rookie driver Mark McFarland.

“We found out Jan. 31 that Stennis had been selected to be the fleet honoree for the race in California,” said Lt. Justin Lewis, Stennis’ stock control officer. “We wanted to reward outstanding Sailors who would represent the ship well and serve as good ambassadors.”

Sailors who took the trip to Fontana, Calif. were Lewis, Sailor of the Year, Aviations Electronics Technician 1st Class(AW/SW) DeWayne Irvin; Junior Sailor of the year Yeoman 3rd Class(AW) Kamurai Dembure; Ship’s Serviceman 2nd Class(SW/AW) Jerome Reaux and Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 3rd Class(AW/NAC) Patrick Charlot.

“Being recognized with an event like this is very important for morale,” said Dembure. “Not everybody gets a chance to do what we did. It’s good to get the chance to be recognized for our hard work.”

Attending the race in uniform, these Sailors soon found out that the cars weren’t the only attraction at the event.

“I enjoyed the atmosphere of the race and the people,” said Irvin. “It is unreal how many people came up and said thank you to us during the event. The amount of respect we received was unbelievable.”

Some of these Sailors had never experienced a NASCAR event. The experience was enough to turn some into fans.

“We started out sitting pretty high in the stands, but then we got to move closer,” said Dembure. “We got to really hear the noises, feel the wind from the cars driving by and smell the rubber burning. It was a rush to see the cars drive by at 170 m.p.h. This was my first experience at NASCAR, but I’m a believer now.”

Others echoed Dembure’s sentiments.

“When’s our next trip? I’m ready to go,” laughed Charlot. “Seriously, other Sailors need to experience things like this. Looking at the reactions to the Navy car and seeing the Navy band perform was my favorite part of the event. It was a big moment of pride.”

Sailors were able to talk to driver Mark McFarland before the race and receive autographs from the first year driver.

“The Navy car showed a lot of determination and perseverance,” said Lewis.

© 2006 Sound Publishing, Inc.

If you want to keep track of the latest on the Navy team: http://www.military.com/nascar/navy

I now have my Navy Die cast

quote:

Originally posted by rallymonkey0:
If you want to keep track of the latest on the Navy team: http://www.military.com/nascar/navy

I just wrote a story on Brad and the Navy car at www.podcastpatriot.com. We talked on the phone a bit and I am going to get the audio uploaded soon.

Apparently he does have a problem turning right on the regular streets!!

The Navy is pulling their sponsorship next year from JR Motorsports