Joel Correll, a United States Marine Corps veteran, and his 15-year son, Jarrett, who lives with cystic fibrosis, received a Fathers Day surprise of a lifetime today at Michigan International Speedway. Joel and Jarrett Correll, along with Jarretts mother, were on a VIP tour of the track – or at least thats what they thought – when Aric Almirola, ‘The King” Richard Petty and representatives from Operation Homefront and Victory Junction surprised the family with an experience they will not soon forget. As part of the ‘tour’ the family was brought to the facilitys media center to listen to a press conference involving Almirola and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Petty. In the middle of the press conference, Almirola called the family to the front. The driver of the famed #43 announced that Eckrich , part of the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, would be providing Jarrett with a week at Victory Junction , a camp founded by the Petty family that hosts children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. But, the surprises werent over yet. ‘The King” then offered Joel and his son Eckrich crew uniforms and asked them to be a part of the race team on Sunday as special guests of the team, Eckrich and Operation Homefront. Petty and Almirola also informed Joel and Jarrett that they would have their names on the #43 Eckrich Ford on Sunday to honor them and help celebrate Fathers Day. This Fathers Day surprise was a part of ‘Operation Inspiration’ a campaign launched by Eckrich and Operation Homefront earlier this year to help honor, thank and support the military families who inspire their fellow Americans. Eckrich is providing additional assistance to military families by donating up to $250,000 to Operation Homefront this year through the contribution of five cents from the purchase of specially-marked packages from May 1 through July 4.( RPM )
