UPDATE: Earlier this week, Ford and NASCAR collaborated on an event aboard the USS Midway in downtown San Diego, where they announced the inaugural Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic. This event, which will take place on Nov. 11, will honor all six military branches and feature Ford Racing drivers competing in Mustang Dark Horse Rs. In addition, Zac Brown Band and other notable acts will perform with proceeds from the event going to support military families, continuing a Ford tradition that dates back to when the company was formed in 1903.
Nick Ford, Director of Corporate Strategy, Ford Motor Company, participated in the event along with Tim Clark, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer. Below are some of their comments regarding this new event.
NICK FORD, Director of Corporate Strategy, Ford Motor Company:
HOW DID THIS IDEA COME ABOUT? “First of all, supporting the military is core to who we are as a company and as a family company it’s core to our values. We’ve done it throughout our 123-year existence in a lot of different ways, whether that’s all throughout history with the Arsenal of Democracy, hiring disabled veterans throughout the decades, or showing up in times of crisis like COVID. Just a few months ago, we were named by Time Magazine the Most Iconic Company in America in a survey of over 10,000 Americans, and I think a big part of that is because we were recognized for the ways we show up for the military community. That manifests itself in a lot of different ways for our business, but it’s hugely aligned with who we are as a company and the values that our company and my family hold. So we thought about this summer trying to find a creative and different way to authentically show our support for the military. We thought about another really exciting aspect of our business in Ford Racing and how we could bridge those two worlds, and we reached out to our great longstanding partner in NASCAR and came up with this awesome idea. This will be the first-ever Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic. It will be a military tribute race honoring all six branches of the military, sort of like the Army-Navy Game, but now we’re throwing all six into the mix on the racetrack, so it’ll be an awesome event on Veterans Day.”
IS THE GOAL TO RAISE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY? “More to come on the details, but it will directly benefit a lot of our great military service organizations. We’ve got some great partners in Blue Star Families, Disabled American Veterans, TAPS, Team Rubicon, so it’s a military tribute race that honors all six branches of the military. We’re going to have our NASCAR drivers there driving our Mustang Dark Horse Rs. It will be on Veterans Day. Zac Brown Band is going to be performing. It’s going to be a heck of an event and it will all be in support of our great partners.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL NASCAR DOES IN TERMS OF HONORING PATRIOTISM AND THE MILITARY? “I think incredibly well. There are probably no two brands in this country that represent what America and our military stand for more than Ford and NASCAR. We’ve got such a close decades long partnership with NASCAR and we’re so aligned in our values in supporting the military community. I think they do it authentically week in and week out, and that’s going to show up especially this weekend for what’s going to be an incredible event in Coronado.”
WHAT IS THE GOAL FOR THIS EVENT? “I certainly hope this becomes an annual event. We’re focused on getting the first one right, but we have great faith in our collaboration and our partnership with NASCAR, and I think as evidenced by the event they’re gonna put on this weekend at Coronado, they know how to do great events. So, we have a lot of faith in them to have a killer event on Veterans Day.”
TIM CLARK, Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer, NASCAR:
HOW RECEPTIVE WAS NASCAR TO THIS AND THEN IN WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE? “In terms of being receptive, I think I may have said yes before Nick finished the question. It’s a great idea and I think there are so many similarities between the two organizations. Ford Motor Company, Ford Racing and NASCAR are so symbolic of American culture and American spirit and always being supportive of the military. Just to have an event like this that is so unique and such a great showcase of the cars and the venues and the drivers, it was a very easy yes for us to be involved. We’ve got some work to do over the next couple of months to pull the details together, but the framework of a really great event is in place and we’re excited to be a part of it.”
HOW DID THIS IDEA START? “This is very much a Ford idea. I said earlier there are no-brainers and then there’s this level of no-brainer. There are parallels to the Army-Navy Game. There are parallels to what Macy’s has done with Thanksgiving Day. There are a lot of parallels here, but I think there are 100 reasons, if not more, that we were excited to work with Ford on this. One of them is that we have such a long season it’s difficult to do a race that is equal parts entertainment, fun and competition, and I think this is a great way to showcase the drivers and showcase the cars.”
YOU ARE A FORMER MILITARY MEMBER. DOES THIS RESONATE AS SOMETHING SPECIAL TO YOU? “It does. It’s a big part of my upbringing. I’m a third generation. I’m an army veteran. One of the reasons I appreciate working at NASCAR is it’s a league and a company that obviously supports the military. I know Ford does as well, so when I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of this, it was like if I’m checking the personal and the professional box, then you can consider both of them checked.”
— Ford Racing —
ORIGINAL POST 6-18-2026: Together on the iconic USS Midway aircraft carrier, reps from NASCAR and Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday they are collaborating on a first “Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic” — a Nov. 11 exhibition race at a yet-to-be determined location that will serve as a nod to all six branches of the military.
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Ford’s track-only Mustang Dark Horse Rs will be on display at the Veteran’s Day race, which is an independent special event separate from the NASCAR race calendar. At that time, Ford will also promote its limited-edition red, white and blue Super Duty Proud to Honor package — with some portion of the proceeds supporting Blue Star Families.
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NASCAR’s season had been scheduled to wrap up at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8, which normally would have led to an off-track NASCAR military tribute on Veterans Day. But the newly minted race on the 11th elevates the tribute exponentially.
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“The Veterans Day Classic race this November is going to be the start of a great new tradition that I’m super proud to be a part of,” Brown said Wednesday night following his performance. “And these events will give us a real way to show up for our troops. And to do that during America’s 250th feels incredibly meaningful.