Carl Edwards visits the USS Eisenhower

Carl Edwards poses alongside some of the soliders he met aboard the USS Eisenhower.
Credit: Geoff Burke/Harrelson Photography 

Carl Edwards along with representatives from Richmond International Raceway hopped on board a C-2 Greyhound and headed towards the USS Eisenhower on Tuesday.

Upon their arrival, Edwards and race officials met with the commanding officer, Capt. Marcus Hitchcock, and then proceeded to suit up and head onto the flight deck to observe operations.

Edwards poses with a soldier aboard the IKE.

“I feel like a NASCAR fan right now,” Edwards said. “This is just amazing. I’m fascinated by all of this, by what goes on on the flight deck. They let me stand right next to the F-18s as they were landing and taking off. Being this close and experiencing something like this must be what race fans feel like when they sit so close to the action at Richmond.”

Edwards and Richmond International Raceway president Dennis Bickmeier spent their time visiting with sailors and thanking them for their service to our country. Edwards signed autographs, posed for pictures and took time to get to know the personal stories of the men and women of the IKE.

“Our sport has a great attachment to all branches of the military,” Bickmeier said. “You see it every week - our events are very patriotic and that's why so many people love the attachment that NASCAR has to the military; and in particular, being close to RIR, it means a lot for us to honor these heroes every day for the job they do to keep us protected and safe."

The crew of the IKE even baked Edwards a birthday cake and serenaded him with a rendition of Happy Birthday in honor of his 32nd birthday on Monday.

The event left an impact on Edwards, who said, “We met an amazing group of sailors. It's just spectacular what these sailors are out here doing. They're sacrificing and putting themselves in a very high risk environment for our country. I'm just honored they had us here today. It's amazing how many of these folks follow our sport and love NASCAR. We met a bunch of fans who are going to be at Richmond in a few weeks.”

Many of the sailors who met with Edwards and the RIR team will also be in attendance at the race during the Sept. 9-10 race weekend. For information on the race weekend, visit www.rir.com.