Edwards, Bayne and Stenhouse Jr. to Race for America's Heros at Richmond

Roush Fenway Racing drivers join teammate Greg Biffle in honoring the victims of the September 11 attacks and helping to help build “smart homes” for severely wounded U.S. servicemen.

CONCORD, N.C. (AUGUST 26, 2011) – Today Lionel NASCAR® Collectables (LNC) and Roush Fenway Racing announced that Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. will all race special “Honoring Our Heroes” cars at Richmond International Raceway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on September 9.

Each Roush Fenway car will pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 2001 and thank three military heroes who were severely wounded in the line of duty.  The cars will also feature the logo of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation – a charitable organization which is raising funds to build “smart homes” for these three servicemen.  Stephen Siller was an FDNY firefighter who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center 10 years ago.
Edward’s No. 60 Fastenal/Honoring Our Heroes Ford will honor those who lost their lives in the attack on the Washington D.C. area with a gold wireframe image of the Pentagon that wraps around the car’s sides and TV panel.  In addition to the American flag which waves on the sides, the name of United States Marine Corps Corporal John Peck rides on the car’s deck lid.  In May of 2010 while on patrol in Afghanistan, Peck was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and lost both legs and both arms in the blast.  He is currently recovering at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda.

The No. 16 Fastenal/Honoring Our Heroes Ford Mustang of Trevor Bayne will carry a tribute to those who died in New York when the Twin Towers were hit by two hijacked planes.  On Bayne’s car, a silhouette of the Manhattan skyline with the Twin Towers still standing wraps around the rear.  His Ford also carries the name of U.S. Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco on the rear deck lid.  Marrocco is the first American to survive losing four limbs in combat.  He was injured in Iraq on Easter Sunday 2009 when the vehicle he was riding in was hit by an Explosive Fired Projectile (EFP).  The EFP entered Marrocco’s door, causing the soldier permanent and life-changing injuries.  The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation finished the construction of Marrocco’s “smart home” in June.

Stenhouse and the No. 6 Fastenal/Honoring Our Heroes Ford Mustang will pay tribute to the passengers of Flight 93 who lost their lives over Shanksville, Pa. while saving the U.S. from suffering more casualties on that tragic day.  A ghosted number “93” is featured on the C-post and TV panel of Stenhouse’s Ford, while the name of United States Marine Corps Corporal Todd Nicely rides on the rear deck lid.  In March 2010, Nicely was injured while leading a unit of 12 men over a bridge in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.  He stepped on an IED which exploded and tore off his arms and legs. Since then, he has endured numerous surgeries and has cycled through three kinds of artificial legs and arms.

Lionel NASCAR Collectables will host Marrocco, Nicely and their families at the Richmond races on Sept. 9 and 10, where they will watch their cars take the track and be treated to a VIP NASCAR experience.  LNC will also donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each “Honoring Our Heroes” die-cast to The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation which has earmarked these funds for the construction of customized homes for Marrocco, Nicely and Peck.

“It’s a rare and humbling thing to be able to help true American heroes,” said Howard Hitchcock, the Vice President of Lionel NASCAR Collectables.  “We are really looking forward to sharing a NASCAR race weekend with Brendan and Todd and we hope that through the Honoring Our Heroes program, more people will be encouraged to donate to The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and help our wounded servicemen.”

As previously announced in May, Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle will race the No. 16 3M/Honoring Our Heroes Ford Fusion in the NASAR Sprint Cup Series Race on Sept. 10.  Biffle’s patriotic tribute features the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation logo on the C-post and rear deck lid as well as the date “September 11, 2001” over the door.

“I can’t say enough about Roush and how they’ve decided to not only honor the sacrifice my brother made on September 11, 2001, but also the sacrifices of our country’s finest like Brendan, Todd and John,” said Frank Siller, Chairman of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and brother of Stephen Siller.  “Our family is touched beyond words and we can’t wait to watch these cars race at Richmond.”

Other drivers racing “Honoring Our Heroes” cars at Richmond include Danica Patrick on Sept. 9 and David Gillland, Jamie McMurray and Tony Stewart on Sept. 10.  The following weekend at Charlotte’s zMAX Dragway, NHRA superstar John Force will race the Castrol GTX High Mileage/Honoring Our Heroes Ford Mustang Funny Car.

For images of each “Honoring Our Heroes” car, please visit www.lionelnascarcollectables.com/SPECIALS/91101-HONORING-OUR-HEROES.

For more information about the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, please visit www.tunneltotowersrun.org.