CONCORD, N.C. -- William Byron will have a special name on board his No. 24 Liberty University Patriotic Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the Charlotte 600 this weekend.
Staff Sgt. Cole Condiff’s moniker will run with Byron for the 600 Miles of Remembrance at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Memorial Day weekend as part of the annual NASCAR Salutes initiative. Condiff was a member of the Air Force and enlisted in 2012 after attending Utah Valley University.
Born in the Dallas area, Condiff married Rachael Cooley the same year he enlisted and had two children together. The family settled near Navarre Beach, Florida, so Condiff could continue his work with the Air Force.
Condiff was deployed to Africa for operation JUNIPER SHIELD in September 2016 and was deployed again in 2018 to Afghanistan to support operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL as a joint terminal attack controller with an Army Special Forces Team. At this point, Condiff was skilled as an air traffic controller, static line jump master, military freefall parachutist and combat diver.
He started taking online courses at Liberty University in 2019 like Byron, who currently is in his junior year. Shortly after he started his online courses, Condiff passed away from a parachuting accident. He was 29 years old.
For Byron, winning the Charlotte 600 would be huge not only for Condiff’s family but for Byron, who will be racing for his first win at his hometown track in a special patriotic scheme. The 23-year-old driver already has one win this season and five top-five finishes, 11-top 10s and has led 171 laps through 14 races.
The 600 Miles of Remembrance at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be Sunday at 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FOX.