Army Guard adds to NASCAR racing stable

Courtesy Photo | The Army National Guard will be sponsoring driver Landon Cassill in the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Winn-Dixie NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The sponsorship of Cassill, who drives the number 81 truck, at Talladega ties in with Guard recruiting and retention events to be held during the race.  

ARLINGTON, VA, UNITED STATES

10.02.2008

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy 

National Guard Bureau

By Army Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy
National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. – Many NASCAR fans are accustomed to seeing the National Guard name on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s number 88 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

Recently, however, the Guard added another driver, and racing series, to its roster.

This weekend, driver Landon Cassill will be sponsored by the National Guard in the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Winn-Dixie NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.

The sponsorship of Cassill, who drives the number 81 truck, at Talladega ties in with Guard recruiting and retention events to be held during the race, said Army Lt. Col. Joseph Day, chief of Army National Guard marketing programs.

Those events are scheduled to include an appearance by Cassill as well as a performance after the race by the band Three Doors Down, whose song "Citizen/Soldier" honors Army National Guard Soldiers. During the race there will also be Guard recruiting booths set up along the track.

For Cassill, this weekend's race will be his seventh start as part of the 2008 season of the truck series. While this is Cassill's rookie season, he placed in the top 10 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in May and finished third at the Milwaukee Mile in June.

Those wins, said Cassill, have largely been from the efforts of the team behind the number 81 truck. That he hopes, as well as the Guard sponsorship, will bring him success at Talladega.

"We've got the National Guard on board, and I think it's a perfect combination for my first race at Talladega," he said in a press release.

This isn't Cassill's first time racing for the Guard. He also drives the National Guard-sponsored number five car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series where he took first place in the 2007 Busch Series 250 race.

Saturday may mark Cassill's first race at Talladega in the truck series, but he is scheduled to make the rounds of Talladega's 2.66- mile course the day before behind the wheel of the number 88 car in the Automobile Racing Club of America's Re/Max series race.

And that race, he said, will give him experience with drafting that he can build on for the truck race the following day.

"I learned a lot in Daytona this winter about drafting, but I also learned even more about drafting at some of the truck races that I've ran this year at fast tracks," he said. "It's going to take a lot of focus to catch on to the drafting techniques on race weekend, but I think the seat time and experience that I'll get from the ARCA race will be able to transfer right over to the truck."

And perhaps that is something that will translate into a win.

"Obviously we want to put the National Guard truck in victory lane for [the Guard members] and I feel confident Landon and all the guys on the team can do just that," said Randy Moss, co-owner of Randy Moss Motorsports, which owns the number 81 truck.

• Date Taken: 10.02.2008
• Date Posted: 10.02.2008 14:18
• Story ID: 24438
• Location: ARLINGTON, VA, US