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  • Staff Sergeant Randy Gray Speechless After RPM Race Experience

    Staff Sergeant Randy Gray Speechless After RPM Race Experience

    This past race weekend, thanks to Richard Petty Motorsports, driver Aric Almirola and team, sponsor Eckrich, Weis Markets, and Operation Homefront, wounded warrior Staff Sergeant Randy Gray was given a VIP NASCAR experience that literally left him speechless.

    The weekend started out with the Gray family’s shopping trip to their local Weis Markets in Tannersville, PA. There, the family was greeted by members of the No. 43 team who surprised them with free groceries for one year at any Weis Markets location.

    The team then invited Staff Sergeant Gray and his family outside where the No. 43 Eckrich Ford race car drove up to the store front. A member of the RPM team invited the Gray family to not only join them at the track, but also informed them they would be guests of “The King” Richard Petty.

    “That was an amazing night,” Gray said. “I wasn’t expecting it. It was like come on in and boom, I met all the crew. They came out of an aisle. We didn’t see anybody until we rounded the corner and there was like a hundred people around us.”

    “I was speechless,” Gray continued. “I was blown away. It was an amazing thrill that they took the time to just do that.”

    Staff Sergeant Gray, who lives about an hour from the track in Hunlock Creek, PA, recently returned from a nine month deployment in Kuwait. He was enlisted as active duty in the Air Force from 1991 to 1993 before joining the National Guard and deploying to Kuwait.

    But it was an act of kindness from this wounded warrior caring for another service brother in need at a most critical time that got him nominated for the NASCAR VIP honor.

    “Well, we just got back from the deployment from Kuwait,” Gray said. “My wife seen a Facebook message from a soldier that was concerning and I intervened. They kind of said I saved his life. There’s a lot to it because of the privacy rules. The military is very hip on no suicide for soldiers. And I just reacted in a way that impressed my upper echelons.”

    “It was a very late night but he’s doing great now.”

    “I’m still in active duty, waiting on shoulder surgery. I’m actually injured and on June 12th I go for surgery,” Gray continued. “What caught their attention was that I put my stuff aside to help somebody else.”

    For that act of heroism, Gray headed to the track for Pocono race weekend. And while Gray enjoys watching races now and again, he admitted he is not a hard core fan. But his son, who follows Jeff Gordon, certainly considers himself a true NASCAR aficionado and was thrilled to tag along.

    “I’m a NASCAR fan but I don’t follow it, follow it,” Gray said “When they told me that I was coming to the track, I was like ‘whoa’ but my son is on cloud nine.”

    “It’s beyond anything I have ever felt before,” Randy Gray Jr. said. “Usually when I get the opportunity to do things like this, something stupid happens like I get hurt and I can’t do it. But I’m here. And I’ve been pinching myself and slapping myself all weekend.”

    “I wasn’t at the visit at the grocery store in Tannersville but when my parents came home and told me, I mentally passed out and don’t remember a lot of the conversation,” Gray Jr. continued. “I heard ‘Richard Petty, car, hot dog’ and that’s about it. It has been beyond belief.”

    “Jeff Gordon is my driver so I felt kind of bad,” Gray Jr. said. “I rooted for Aric but I mentally had to root for Jeff too.”

    “I can now die happy,” Gray Jr. continued. “I can go into a coma, I can get hit by a truck, whatever. I can die happy after this.”

    Staff Sergeant Gray and his family were impressed not only with opportunity to be at the race track, but also with being able to spend time with the team, from pushing the race car through inspection with them to sitting atop the pit box and watching them work during the race.

    “The fact that the team had to fit every piece of the car through the different inspection bays and they knew the tolerances, it’s just amazing,” Gray said. “We watched qualifying, hung out with the pit crew and took it all in.”

    “The team was so busy, doing their thing,” Gray continued. “I tried to stay out of their way. I’m a mechanic in the Army so I can appreciate the need to stay out of the way and let them do their job.”

    When the race was finished, Staff Sergeant Gray and his family were still pinching themselves, still speechless as they reflected on their VIP weekend.

    “I was really taken back by everything,” Gray said. “It’s awesome to have Eckrich, Weiss and Richard Petty Motorsports do something like this for us. It’s humbling to see people recognize what we go through and it meant a lot to me.”

    “It was an overwhelming and amazing experience.”

    “We are proud to honor our military families,” Charles Gitkin, vice president, marketing, innovation and R&D for the John Morrell Food Group, said. “Our partnerships with Richard Petty Motorsports, Operation Homefront and Weis Markets allowed us to give back in a very special and unique way this weekend.”

    “It’s something that we’re very proud to do for the Gray family after all of their sacrifices for us.”

     

  • NASCAR BTS: Sgt. Harroff ‘Overwhelmed’ by NASCAR Experience

    NASCAR BTS: Sgt. Harroff ‘Overwhelmed’ by NASCAR Experience

    The weekend started off like any other for Sgt. Ralph Harroff and his family, that is until NASCAR driver Aric Almirola showed up at his local Kroger grocery store, revving his engine in the parking lot and inviting the Harroff family inside for shopping spree courtesy of Eckrich, in partnership with Operation Homefront and Richard Petty Motorsports.

    “Our contact from Operation Homefront asked us to meet him and we had no idea what was going on,” Harroff said. “We met in the Kroger parking lot and here comes Aric in his car and pulls up, gets out and picks up my two year old daughter, put her in a shopping buggy, and we went on a shopping spree.”

    “We got a lot of food, some diapers, and we loaded up on the Eckrich meats of course,” Harroff continued. “It was totally cool.”

    “It has all been surprising and a bit overwhelming to be honest with you.”

    Harroff was further surprised and overwhelmed, however, with the additional gift of being able to accompany Aric Almirola to the track at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “I didn’t know that we would go to the race and I didn’t know what to expect,” Harroff said. “We’ve got all access passes and we got to eat lunch with Aric’s crew.”

    “We were down in the garage area and all the drivers, the crews, everyone is really down to earth,” Harroff continued. “They are really nice people. Having all access and being able to do what these really die-hard fans would pay millions of dollars to do, the whole experience, I just can’t find the words to sum it up.”

    “Everything has been so awesome.”

    The VIP NASCAR treatment is especially meaningful to Sgt. Harroff as he has always been a big race fan.

    “I kind of lost touch with everything going on in NASCAR with all my deployments,” Harroff said. “I’m an Almirola fan but I would get kicked out of my family if I didn’t like Earnhardt, Jr.”

    “But I also follow Kasey Kahne and I kind of bounce around between drivers,” Harroff continued. “I’m older in age so a lot of the drivers that I used to follow are retired or gone now.”

    “But this is just breathtaking. Watching all the pieces come together, wow, it’s just overwhelming,” Harroff said. “I’ve always wanted an experience like this and never had anything like it.”

    Harroff served his country with the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade. He was injured in Afghanistan after losing his footing when getting off an Army helicopter.

    “We were coming off a mission and I was getting off of a Black Hawk,” Harroff said. “I lost my footing and fell and messed up my back and shoulder. When I got to Germany, they found other things wrong with me.”

    “I had a surgery that resulted in two cut nerves,” Harroff continued. “It was a very long healing process but now I’m back at the job before I had going into the Army.”

    “Trying to make the transition back into civilian life is when I met the people from Operation Homefront,” Harroff said. “They helped me out in a time of need and are extremely good people. I can’t say enough about them.”

    “This is a family that I can really relate with,” Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, said after meeting Harroff.  “Growing up in a military family, and now being a father myself, I can understand the sacrifices the Harroff family has made.”

    “It makes me feel good that I can work with Eckrich to help honor and give back to military families.  I know we put a smile on their faces today and hopefully we helped them out with some of their needs.”

    “This is really what ‘Operation Inspiration’ is all about,” Charles Gitkin, vice president, marketing, innovation and R&D for the John Morrell Food Group, said. “We heard the story of Army Sgt. Ralph Harroff and his family and it is families like these that inspire us to honor and assist them, and give them an experience they will never forget.”

    While Harroff enjoyed every minute of his at-track experience, he unfortunately may not be able to return on Monday since the race was postponed by the rainy weather. But the precipitation did nothing to dampen the spirits of a very grateful service man.

    “Unfortunately, where I work, I have to plan all the production and I had only planned to miss Friday,” Harroff said. “So, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to go to work.”

    “But this has just been a totally awesome experience, starting Friday to being at the track,” Harroff continued. “Everyone has all been so good to us.”

    “It’s hard to find words because it is just totally overwhelming.”

     

     

     

  • NASCAR BTS: Fabian Hall Fulfills Dream of Cooking for Aric Almirola and Petty Race Team

    NASCAR BTS: Fabian Hall Fulfills Dream of Cooking for Aric Almirola and Petty Race Team

    This edition of NASCAR ‘Behind the Scenes’ focuses on Fabian Hall, Army Staff Sergeant, cancer survivor, and aspiring chef, who had his dream come true thanks to Petty Motorsports, Aric Almriola and Eckrich.

    This past weekend, Hall was surprised with the opportunity to be the chef at Texas Motor Speedway for Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Almirola’s sponsor Eckrich, part of the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, made the dream come true thanks to their corporate partnership with Operation Homefront.

    Eckrich gave Hall the opportunity to not only accompany the Petty race team to Texas for the NASCAR weekend, but also set him up with a new grilling set so that he could prepare meals for the team. And this was all revealed to Hall in a surprise trip to a local grocery store.

    “We went to Kroger’s and saw all this stuff set up by Eckrich and all of a sudden, here comes the race car around the corner,” Hall said of how he first learned about his opportunity to cook trackside. “I was surprised.”

    “After that, they told me what was in store for the whole race weekend and then we shopped for what I would be cooking for the team all weekend,” Hall continued. “It was a thrill ride for me.”

    “It was really cool to be able to surprise Fabian,” Aric Almirola, driver of the famed No. 43 said. “I drove the show car around the corner and of course revved the engine when I got up to him.”

    “He has done a lot for our country and it was really great to give back to him,” Almirola continued. “He was very surprised and really got a kick out of the car being there.”

    While Hall enjoys NASCAR, he is primarily a fan of the automobile.

    “I’m a car fan period,” Hall said. “If it’s got wheels on it, I’ll watch it.”

    While Hall has heard of many of the NASCAR stars, he admitted to not following a particular driver or team. This past race weekend, his first ever at the track in person, may just have changed all of that for this warrior chef.

    “I’ve heard of a lot of the drivers but don’t follow any one driver,” Hall said. “I like the sound of the engines and how they are driving. so I just watch the sport because of my love of the cars and the enthusiasm I get from watching the cars.”

    “I’ve never really followed just one driver but I’m definitely keeping my eyes on Aric from here on out.”

    “This was my first time at the track,” Hall said. “I was pretty amazing, especially when you get to hear that caliber of car and the engines revved up.”

    While Hall was having a great time ogling all those fast cars, he also had a job to do. And this aspiring chef cooked up a storm for Almirola, the ‘King’ Richard Petty and the No. 43 team.

    “The first meal I did was a beer brine for the sausages,” Hall said. “I did a vegetable medley with peppers, onions, and squash on the grill with that and some nice white rice to go with it.”

    “I also did a beer brine barbecue sauce to finish it off,” Hall continued. “The second day, I did a mac and cheese casserole with several different cheeses, sausage, peppers and garlic.”

    “I grilled all that off together and did some bacon as well,” Hall said. “I covered it all with cheese and when the team opened it up and saw it, it was like they were in Disneyland.”

    “It was pretty awesome.”

    Hall admitted that what has meant most to him was the encouragement and positive comments that he got from the team about his cooking.

    “He is a great cook!” Almirola said. “He made dinner for the team on Friday and Saturday and it was delicious.”

    “I’ve gotten a lot of text messages letting me know how much the team enjoyed my food,” Hall said. “I could see the look on their faces of the crew members that they enjoyed it.”

    “They said that two top chefs came in and cooked for them before but they said my food beat their food,” Hall continued. “That was a great thing to hear and take in.”

    “To know that after so many years of being in the Army and learning so many different things and then to go to school and to be able to cook on the same caliber as someone I’ve seen on TV cooking, that was a good feeling.”

    Hall has honed his culinary skills from the time he was a young boy, cooking at the feet of his grandmother.  He then continued to cook in the Army, prior to being diagnosed with cancer and having to undergo serious treatment.

    “I’m from east Texas and that’s a little country area, where either you’re hauling logs or working on cars,” Hall said. “I worked on cars but also watched my grandmother in the kitchen.”

    “When I was 14 years old, I decided I was hungry and fixed a roast and stuck with it ever since,” Hall continued. “When I joined the military, they gave me the choice of either being a mechanic or a cook and of course I chose the lesser of the greasy jobs.”

    “I think I did my grandmother justice because not only have I taken her recipes and done elegant dishes but I’ve used the techniques that I learned from her in school and in the Army,” Hall said. “My service in the military and the time I spent learning things, from Germany to here at San Antonio receiving my treatment for cancer, I’ve done my profession well in tribute to her.”

    Hall shared that what surprised him most about being at the track and cooking for the race team was just how family-oriented the team was. And of course, he was tremendously  impressed by the head of that Petty race team family, the ‘King’ himself.

    “Richard Petty is one of the most humble guys,” Hall said. “You can tell he is a country boy and we got along well.”

    “I loved hanging out with him and him coming by and sneaking his finger into my food,” Hall continued. “That final dessert he tasted, you could tell he liked my food.”

    “He could not put that plate down of the apple ala mode,” Hall said. “A lot of people were surprised that I did that dessert being that I only had a grill to cook on.”

    “But I still made apple ala mode and they were surprised that I pulled it off.”

    For Hall, cooking for Richard Petty and company was most assuredly one of the biggest blessings that he has experienced in his life. Yet he has kept it all in perspective, especially after his experiences in the Army and with battling cancer.

    “To me, it was an add-on to God blessing me to still be here,” Hall said. “When I went through my chemotherapy, there were low points and I thought I was not going to make it.”

    “My mother and my family came in and helped push me along and kept me motivated,” Hall continued. “They would pray with me and for me and that kept me grounded to my roots in church.”

    “When you have something like that to ground you, you can’t go wrong,” Hall said. “Family, church and prayer helped me a lot.”

    “So, I was not expecting to be there for this race experience,” Hall continued. “And now that I have, it’s just another blessing.”

    “God blessed me to be able to do it and I’m looking forward to many more opportunities to bless other people’s stomachs and mouths,” Hall said. “I feel like what I do is a blessing and I’m going to keep on sharing that blessing with everyone else.”

    Petty driver Aric Almirola echoed Hall’s sentiments about his time at the track.

    “He is a great example of perseverance,” Almirola said. “He went overseas and fought for our country and then came back and fought for his life.”

    “To see someone go through all of that and still have a positive outlook on life is really inspiring,” Almirola continued. “I’m just glad to work with a company like Eckrich that supports charities like Operation Homefront and really gives back to the community.”

    “We wouldn’t be able to race every weekend if it weren’t for people like Fabian who give up everything to fight for our freedom,” Almirola said. “So anytime you can give back, even in a small way, is huge.”

     

  • Aric Almirola Pushes Patriotism with Petty Partnership

    Aric Almirola Pushes Patriotism with Petty Partnership

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]On the weekend before the Fourth of July, the driver of the famed No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports car, Aric Almirola, is celebrating a new partnership with Eckrich and Operation Homefront at Kentucky Motor Speedway.

    “I’m excited to be sporting the colors of Eckrich at Kentucky for our first of three races for them,” Almirola said. “It’s always fun to have new paint schemes and new partners on our car.”

    Eckrich, part of the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, specializes in providing premium-quality meat products to families throughout the country. This is the first race of a three-race program where their colors and logo will be on Almirola’s race car.

    “The paint scheme’s really nice,” Almirola said. “It’s hunter green and brings out a lot of the Eckrich colors and logo.”

    “It’s a nice looking car and it will pop out really well on the race track.”

    In addition to his dedicated sponsor, however, the young Petty Motorsports racer is also thrilled with the new patriotic partnership with Operation Homefront,  a national nonprofit that helps over 590,000 military families in need.

    “More importantly is not only our involvement with Eckrich, but also our involvement with Operation Homefront through Eckrich,” Almirola continued. “It’s a neat deal and a great way to give back to our military families.”

    “Anytime you look at the fact that we get to wake up every morning and do whatever we want because of people out there fighting for our freedom is pretty cool,” Almirola said. “The military families make huge sacrifices for us to do that.”

    “For Eckrich to give back to military families and donate money and donate food and product to help out those in need, it’s just a great cause.”

    “I think a lot of people take for granted the sacrifices made so that all of us to not worry about bombs flying over our heads,” Almirola continued. “We live in a protected and free country and it all has to do with the people in our military and their families.”

    “To have a group like Eckrich, who gives back to an organization like Operation Homefront, I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

    Many fans may also not realize that for Almirola, this patriotic partnership is personal.

    “I was actually born in Eglin Air Force base in Panama City,” Almirola said. “My dad was in the Air Force when I was born and when I was growing up.”

    “So, I have lived being in a military family.”

    Almirola is also excited about the promotion at the track as a part of this new partnership between Petty Motorsports, Eckrich and Operation Homefront. He is particularly pleased with the specially designed tire bank to collect change to help military families in need.

    “The people at Richard Petty Motorsports put together a tire bank from the tire we raced over Memorial Day weekend,” Almirola said. “It’s a Goodyear tire that has on the sidewall ‘Support Our Troops.’

    “We took one of those tires and made a bank to put out at the track,” Almirola continued. “Hopefully, when fans are walking by they can put a nickel, a dime or a quarter or anything they have into the bank to help Operation Homefront.”

    “We’re looking to add to the cause.”

    While Eckrich kicked off the campaign with $200,000 in donations from their product sales, both Almirola and Richard Petty put 43 cents into the tire bank to get that effort started.

    “That’s what we’re looking for, that everyone who walks by that tire bank will put in 43 cents,” Almirola said. “43 is a special number to Richard Petty, RPM and me so that’s the key number we’re looking for.”

    “But at the end of the day, if you don’t have 43 cents, if you have a nickel or a dime or three pennies, we hope you stick it in there,” Almirola continued. “Ten cents can really make a difference when you start adding them together.”

    Almirola’s team owner echoed his driver’s sentiments when it came time to share the spare change to benefit Operation Homefront.

    “I’m always looking for a place to throw my spare change and thought this racing bank was just about perfect,” Petty said. “We’ve always been a family and race team that wants to give back to the people who sacrifice so much for us.”

    “Hopefully the fans will keep filling up this bank as a simple way to say, ‘thanks’ to all our military families.”

    Almirola also has another special event planned at the race track this weekend. He will be entertaining one special military family in his pit stall.

    “The family is from right here in Kentucky and we plan on showing them a good time,” Almirola said. “That will be our way of thanking them for all their sacrifices.”

    With patriotism on his mind, Almirola also revealed his plans for the upcoming Independence Day holiday.

    “I think we’re going to be celebrating that day at Richard Petty’s birthday party,” Almirola said. “They’re having a 75th birthday party for him down there at Daytona.”

    “We’re planning on celebrating the Fourth of July with RP so that will be a lot of fun.”

    “Independence Day to me is about truly that,” Almirola continued. “It’s about the fact that we live in a country that is independent and free and that we get to do what we want.”

    “I get to drive a race car for a living,” Almirola said. “It’s incredible to be able to think that is even reality.”

    “I’m just very thankful to live in the United States and I’m proud to be an American citizen.”