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Great- at the peak of rush hour!

NASCAR haulers will parade in Concord: NASCAR Sprint Cup haulers will roll down Union Street in Concord, NC on Thursday [May 14th] on their way to Charlotte Motor Speedway. "Haulers on Union" will take place at 5:45pm/et as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series haulers parade down Union Street en route to Charlotte Motor Speedway. In addition to the parade, fans can meet their favorite hauler drivers, get free t-shirts and enjoy music, food trucks and more at the event staging area at Ride Now Powersports from 1-4 p.m. Attendees can then make their way to Union Street for a Vietnam Veterans 50th Anniversary Commemorative Program at 5 p.m. featuring hometown hero, vet and POW Colonel J. Quincy Collins Jr. As the last truck exits downtown, fans will be serenaded with the sounds of Route 66.(Independent Tribune)(5-14-2015)

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Coca-Cola 600 Salute to the Troops Pre-Race Festivities: As part of the biggest Memorial Day Weekend celebration on the planet, Charlotte Motor Speedway will honor Taya Kyle with the coveted Stonewall Jackson Award and will welcome Gen. Mark Milley to offer the State of Freedom address during the Coca-Cola 600 pre-race Salute to the Troops on Sunday, May 24. Given annually since 1992, the Stonewall Jackson Award recognizes recipients who have demonstrated, by example, the highest standards of patriotism through personal support of the military and/or by personal service to sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty. Kyle is the widow of the legendary U.S. Navy SEAL and author of the bestsellers American Sniper and American Gun, Chris Kyle, whose story of service and sacrifice was told in Clint Eastwood's critically acclaimed blockbuster film American Sniper.
Milley, a decorated veteran with more than three decades of service in the U.S. Army, will offer a moving State of Freedom speech as part of the Coca-Cola 600 pre-race Salute to the Troops. A 1980 graduate of Princeton University, Milley has served in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, California; the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York; the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea; the Joint Readiness Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana; the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.(CMS)(5-10-2015)

• Guy Fieri named Grand Marshal, Honorary Pace Car Driver for All-Star Race: Always a star-studded affair, the 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will have more celebrity star power than ever as Charlotte Motor Speedway officials announced that TV personality and food icon Guy Fieri will serve as the Grand Marshal and Honorary Pace Car driver for the biggest all-star event in sports on May 16. The dynamic chef, restauranteur and author is best known for his hit Food Network TV shows "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and "Guy's Big Bite," as well as his appearances as a judge on "Next Food Network Star." Fieri will bring his larger-than-life personality and his signature blonde hair to the 30th anniversary of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race to give the command to fire engines before jumping behind the wheel of the official Charlotte Motor Speedway Toyota Camry pace car to lead the field to green. The $99 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race weekend pass includes frontstretch tickets for the N.C. Education LotteryCamping World Truck Series race and Sprint Showdown on Friday, May 15; plus the no-speed-limit NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race qualifying, a rocking pre-race concert with country mega-group Little Big Town, presented by Rayovac, and capped off with a blockbuster shootout for $1 million at the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday, May 16.(CMS)(5-7-2015)