CONCORD, N.C. – This Memorial Day weekend, all five Hendrick Motorsports drivers will participate in “600 Miles of Remembrance” to honor military service members and their families, and commemorate the launch of NASCAR: An American Salute. The salute is the industry’s collective expression of reverence, respect and gratitude for those who have served and continue to defend our nation today.
As part of the initiative, the names at the top of the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS windshields will be replaced with the names of United States Armed Forces members who have fallen in service to their country.
Tune in to FOX this Sunday night at 6 p.m. ET to catch the annual Charlotte Motor Speedway 600-mile race.
Here’s what you should know before the green flag waves under the Charlotte lights:
THIS WEEK’S PAINT SCHEMES: Kasey Kahne will debut the No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet SS during this weekend’s Charlotte 600. Jeff Gordon and Chase Elliott will pilot the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS and No. 25 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS, respectively. Jimmie Johnson will drive the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. competes in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS.
PRACTICE: Two more practice sessions will be held for this weekend’s event on Saturday, May 23, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET also on FOX Sports 1.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT CHARLOTTE: Hendrick Motorsports has 18 wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which ranks first all-time among teams at the 1.5-mile oval. Johnson most recently won the 600-mile event there in May 2014 and has an all-time record seven career victories at Charlotte. Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammates Gordon and Kahne rank second and third, respectively, among active drivers in wins at Charlotte. The organization has 56 top-five finishes and 88 top-10 finishes and has led 4,722 laps at Charlotte since 1984.
TRAINING AT FORT BRAGG: On April 23, Kahne joined paratroopers at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for tower jumping, howitzer training and repel tower walking to help promote this Sunday’s Charlotte 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. During the 600 pre-race activities, soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division will repel from helicopters onto the front-stretch grass, as other soldiers fire blanks out of howitzers to show off the firepower of the U.S. military. Go behind-the-scenes during Kahne’s trip there, where he got a taste of some military training: VIDEO | PHOTOS
KAHNE AT CHARLOTTE: Three of Kahne's wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway came in the 600-mile race. Kahne and Matt Kenseth lead all active drivers with three runner-up finishes at Charlotte. Kahne recorded his first win for Hendrick Motorsports in Charlotte’s 600-mile event in May 2012 after leading 96 laps and establishing a 4.295-second margin of victory. The win happened in his milestone 300th Sprint Cup start.
INDY-CHARLOTTE ‘DOUBLE’: The 43-year-old driver is doing a version of the Indy-Charlotte "double" on Sunday. Gordon, driving a Corvette Z06 pace car, will lead the field to the green flag in the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. He will then fly to Charlotte where he will compete in the annual 600-miler.
GORDON AT CHARLOTTE: The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS has nine pole positions at Charlotte Motor Speedway – his most prolific track in terms of number of pole positions. Gordon also has 17 top-five finishes and 24 top-10 finishes which are most among active Sprint Cup drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway, while his nine pole positions are tied for most among active competitors.
NO. 4: Elliott, driver of the No. 25 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS, will make his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start this Sunday night in the 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It will mark Elliott’s third points-race start in the No. 25 Chevrolet SS. The 600-mile, 400-lap Memorial Day weekend race will serve as the longest race Elliott has ever run in his entire racing career.
ELLIOTT AT CHARLOTTE: Elliott is getting a heavy dose of Charlotte Motor Speedway, running in three races over the course of a 10-day stretch. Elliott -- who competed in the Sprint Showdown on Friday, May 15, finishing eighth in the first 20-lap segment after starting 11th and finishing fifth after starting 12th in the second 20-lap segment -- will drive in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race Saturday afternoon before taking on the 600 Sunday under the lights.
JOHNSON AT CHARLOTTE: Twice in his career, Johnson has won the 600-mile event from the pole position at Charlotte. The first was in 2004, when Johnson started first and led 334 out of 400 laps en route to victory. The second time was in May 2014, when Johnson won the pole and led 164 laps on his way to the win. Johnson has a total of seven Sprint Cup wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway with four coming in the 600-mile event.
EARNHARDT AT CHARLOTTE: In 30 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Earnhardt has claimed five top-five finishes, 11 top-10 finishes and one pole. This weekend at Charlotte, crew chief Greg Ives and the No. 88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-810. Earnhardt most recently raced the chassis to a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas in March. It is the same chassis Earnhardt drove to Victory Lane at Pocono in June and August of last season.