NASCAR at Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 begins its annual "American Salute" in support of the U.S. military, according to Jeff Gluck of USA TODAY. Among the drivers that will be "sporting patriotic paint schemes" at Charlotte Motor Speedway are Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman. Meanwhile, "all of Goodyear's tires" will read "Support our Troops" as part of the campaign (USA TODAY, 5/23). Roush Fenway Racing Nationwide Series driver Ryan Reed on Tuesday unveiled a new patriotic design for the No. 16 American Diabetes Association Drive to Stop Diabetes. The design will debut on Saturday at CMS and will run in five of the six NASCAR Nationwide Series races during NASCAR's "American Salute" program (Roush Fenway). USA TODAY's Mike Hembree notes as part of a multiyear sponsorship deal between Hendrick Motorsports and DC Comics, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet "will carry a huge Superman decal on its hood" for Sunday's race. Earnhardt on Thursday "wore a Superman shirt for a news conference" (USA TODAY, 5/23). Earnhardt said DC Comics is "an iconic Americana kind of thing so to be able to partner with something so big, so well respected, with such a great history, it's good for our company, good for our teams." Earnhardt said of his paint scheme, "The car looks good. Those Superman colors are pretty easy to work with and they make a good-looking race car" ("NASCAR Race Hub," FS1, 5/21).
A SLICE OF THE PIE: Hunt Brothers Pizza will be the primary sponsor for Harvick and the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for Saturday's Nationwide History 300 at CMS. Hunt Brothers also will be the primary sponsor on Harvick's Chevrolet for two more races this season, including the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway in November (Hunt Brothers).
