Drivers visit wounded soldiers at Walter Reed

Top drivers join Army Racing's Jerry Nadeau as tour hits Richmond, Va. WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 30, 2003) - Eight NASCAR drivers visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center today. Jerry Nadeau, driver of the No. 01 U.S. Army ...

Top drivers join Army Racing's Jerry Nadeau as tour hits Richmond, Va.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 30, 2003) - Eight NASCAR drivers visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center today. Jerry Nadeau, driver of the No. 01 U.S. Army Pontiac, was joined by teammate Johnny Benson as well as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace and Matt Kenseth.

Michael Waltrip hands Pfc. Dennis Wallace some gifts during a visit by seven NASCAR drivers to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. as Ken Schrader looks on.

Photo by Spc. Bill Putnam, Army News Service.

The drivers visited soldiers recovering from injuries sustained during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

"The soldiers we visited have demonstrated heroics far beyond most of our ability to imagine," Nadeau said. "It is their individual acts of bravery for the greater good that underline what the Army is all about - what 'An Army of One' is all about."

The drivers were in the Washington, D.C., area prior to the Pontiac Excitement 400 being run this Saturday night in Richmond, Va.

"This was an amazing opportunity for me, and I am sure for the other drivers, too," said Earnhardt. "I know that there are thousands of NASCAR fans among the Army ranks. I just let these soldiers know they have hundreds of thousands of fans in NASCAR...and I am one of them."

"It was phenomenal. I really appreciate them," Pfc. Dennis Wallace, an infantryman in the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, said of meeting the racers. "This experience is definitely a lifetime experience."

For more information about the U.S. Army and its racing programs, visit www.goarmy.com.