Kevin Harvick Coca Cola 600
Kevin Harvick is honoring Staff Sgt. Leroy E. Alexander, a Special Forces engineer sergeant assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina during the Coca-Cola 600, Image from Stewart-Haas Racing

Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing Honoring Staff Sgt. Leroy E. Alexander at Charlotte

Kevin Harvick is a two-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600. He took the trophy in 2011 and 2013. Harvick beat David Ragan by .703 of a second in 2011 and he beat Kasey Kahne by 1.490 seconds in 2013. Harvick led only two laps in 2011 and just 28 laps in 2013, but each of those tallies contained the only lap that mattered most – the last one.

Leroy Alexander Harvick
Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team will honor Leroy E. Alexander, a Special Forces engineer sergeant assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina during Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Image from Stewart-Haas Racing

As part of #NASCARSalutes and the 600 Miles of Remembrance initiative during the Coca-Cola 600, the No. 4 Mobil 1 team is honoring Staff Sgt. Leroy E. Alexander, a Special Forces engineer sergeant assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At 27, Alexander was killed in action while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on June 3, 2005 when an enemy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded near his Ground Mobility Vehicle during operations in the vicinity of Orgun-e, Afghanistan. A native of Dale City, Virginia, Alexander entered the Army in August 1997 and completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After completing airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in April 1998, he was assigned to 27th Engineer Battalion at Fort Bragg in support of XVIII Airborne Corps. Following completion of Special Forces Assessment and Selection, Alexander arrived at the 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) in October 2002 to begin the more than two years of intense training it would take for him to become a Special Forces engineer sergeant. He was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group in June 2004. Alexander’s military education included the Basic Airborne Course, the Primary Leadership Development Course, the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course, the Special Forces Qualification Course, the Spanish Language Course, the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Mountain Course. His awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, and the Special Forces Tab. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. Alexander is survived by his wife, Marissa, and parents, Ronald and Felicia Alexander of Manassas, Virginia.

— Stewart Haas Racing —