|
Blackanthem Military News
|
Last Updated:
Mar 14, 2010 - 4:46:24 PM |
|
|
 |
| The pit crew for the National Guard NASCAR re-fuels and changes tires on car number five driven by Casey Mears. Car and driver competeing in the Busch Series Zippo 200 race at Watkins Glen on Saturday, 11 August. Mears finished 8th in the race after starting in 19th place. |
Blackanthem Military News, WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, N.Y. – With the 42nd Infantry Division’s patch emblazoned on its hood, the National Guard’s race car finished eight while competing in NASCAR’s Busch Series Zippo 200 Race August 11.
Casey Mears Drove the Number 5 car, which bore the Rainbow Division’s emblem to honor the New York unit. Each time the National Guard-sponsored car races it wears the insignia of a local Guard major command.
"We want to recognize and show appreciation for the selfless service of these Soldiers," said Sgt. Francisco Golon of the National Guard Bureau NASCAR Team. “If we had the opportunity to thank all 350,000 National Guard Soldiers by taking them to a NASCAR race, we would.”
Approximately fifty Guardsmen and women from across the state met with Mears, toured the pit and garage, met a variety of NASCAR drivers and watched the day’s race from a designated VIP section of the Glen.
On Sunday’s race day, Mears also met with New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer, commander of the state’s military forces.
The Busch Series Zippo 200 on August 11 and the Cup Series Centurion Boats race on Sunday ran 200.9 and 220.1 miles respectively for each race. They were Mears’ first race at Watkins Glen in New York and his first road race in the Busch series.
Mears and the National Guard car are currently in the top 20 of all NASCAR racers after 21 starts this season. He won his first NASCAR race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. He has also placed in the top five four times and in the top ten six times.
The 42nd Division, known in the Army as the Rainbow Division for its unique shoulder insignia, was created at Camp Mills near Garden City, Long Island in the summer of 1917 when America mobilized National Guard forces for service in World War I. The division served with distinction and was reactivated for European service again during World War II where members of the 42nd Division helped liberate the notorious Dachau Concentration Camp in the spring of 1945.
The 42nd Division has been part of the New York National Guard since 1947, following its redeployment from overseas in World War II.
Rainbow Division Soldiers are among the first military responders following the terror attacks in New York City on September 11th, 2001. As part of the New York National Guard response and recovery in New York City, thousands of division Soldiers served alongside New York’s Finest and Bravest to assist with security, logistics, transportation and other essential emergency response needs.
The 42nd Division again made history in early 2004 when the division headquarters and units across the state mobilized for combat service in Iraq, the first National Guard division element to lead large-scale combat formations in the Army since the Korean War. The Rainbow Division led Task Force Liberty, the multinational division headquarters in North Central Iraq from February through November of 2005, providing critical support to the successful Iraqi constitutional national referendum vote.
Members of the 42nd Division have literally gone from ground zero to the Sunni Triangle and back in the course of the past six years. Elements of the division’s 27th Brigade Combat Team here in New York are now preparing for a pending deployment to Afghanistan in 2008.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
 |
| Casey Mears, the driver of the National Guard NASCAR, slides into his car to prepare for the Busch Series Zippo 200 race at Watkins Glen on Saturday, 11 August. |
|
 |
| Pit crewmen await the arrival of National Guard NASCAR driver, Casey Mears. prior tro the start of the Busch Series Zippo 200 race in Watkins Glen International Speedway. The car was painted with the 42nd Infantry Division's "Rainbow" logo. |
|
Comments
NO Soliciting.
Comments with links to websites or soliciting services will be removed.
Please read our Terms of use for more information.
|
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
