Earlier this week the call came in to the Roush Racing shop in Concord, N.C. that the National Guard had finalized special travel arrangements for the #16 team. After several weeks of planning, it was confirmed that the team would arrive and depart from Infineon Raceway on Sunday in a CH 47 Chinook Helicopter. “We were able to do this last year and wanted to be able to do something for the guys again this year,” said SFC John Metzler of the National Guard. “They work week in and week out to give the men and women of the Army National Guard great a car to root for on the track. The morale boost they’ve given to Guard soldiers everywhere this year with such an incredible season is immeasurable and we just wanted to be able to do something for them.” The CH 47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor transport helicopter. It is 51 feet in length, weighs approximately 33,000 pounds, has a maximum payload of more than seven tons and travels at up to 150 mph. It requires three crew members and can carry 33 troops. The first Chinooks were built in 1961 and were first used in combat during Vietnam War. By 1968, the Chinook had put in 161,000 hours of flying time, carrying 22.4 million passengers and 1.3 million tons of cargo. Chinook helicopters were also used to transport U.S. and allied troops in the Persian Gulf War. The CH 47 used to transport the National Guard crew this weekend will be operated by three members of the National Guard. The Chinook will be brought in to Oakland, Calif. on Saturday for the early morning flight to Infineon Raceway. The team will meet the helicopter at 5:30 am for the 20-minute flight to the track as the garage is schedule to open at 6:00 am. Following the 110-lap event, the CH 47 will be brought back to the Infineon Raceway helipad where it will pick up the National Guard team to take them to Roush Air in Oakland.(Roush Racing)(6-23-2005)
