Gill lends Wounded Warriors healing hand
Neither of Gill Racing's teams will finish first in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Neither of its drivers will be the first to run under the checkered flag and hoist the trophy in the Smith's 350k.
But the teams will start the race as the night's biggest winners and will leave the track with their hearts filled.
That's because trucks driven by Clay Greenfield and J.C. Stout, who have combined for only 17 starts in the series this year, will carry the colors of the Wounded Warrior Project that provides programs and services to severely injured members of the U.S. military.
NASCAR, the speedway and the Stratosphere have joined Gill to bring five veterans who suffered injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan and their wives to Las Vegas, and give them the VIP treatment.
"It's important to be able to get soldiers who were physically injured or suffer from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) out to big events like NASCAR to help them get out of their shell," said Las Vegan Joe Perez, who suffered a spinal cord injury in 2003 in a riot at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, while serving in the National Guard.
"I just want to see these Warriors happy, and for people to see that they are not just a Wounded Warrior but also a husband and father."
Perez, 42, is emblematic of many who served. He was a Marine from 1988 to 1996, then volunteered for the National Guard after 9/11. He now donates time helping other Wounded Warriors. He returned from Iraq with nerve damage that affects his walk.
"I'll do whatever it takes to make these guys feel like rock stars," Perez said.
Starting Saturday, team owner Danny Gill of Murfreesboro, Tenn., will bring Wounded Warriors to the last six races of the season, and his Dodge Rams will display the Wounded Warrior logo on the hoods and quarter panels.
America has learned much from the Vietnam War debacle, and the biggest lesson was to not blame troops for decisions made by politicians and military brass. Far too many Vietnam vets were shunned upon their return and not publicly welcomed back until decades later.
One of the biggest NASCAR fans in Las Vegas, Bill Cozad, appreciates how times have changed. Cozad, 80, spent his honeymoon with wife Marilyn at the 1965 Daytona 500, and health issues are one reason Saturday's race will be the first major LVMS event he will miss since the track opened in 1996.
Cozad recalls riding in a parade as grand marshal near his native Salem, Ore., soon after returning from Korea in 1952 with a Purple Heart for losing his right arm and leg in a mortar attack.
"They weren't yelling 'baby killer!' or spitting at me," he said of the treatment some American soldiers received upon returning from Vietnam.
Thankfully, today's vets are treated differently and should receive the biggest ovation Saturday.
The Warriors will be part of today's free driver autograph session from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Stratosphere, where Gill had autograph cards made for them. In this case, the colorful handouts truly can be called "hero" cards.
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To help with the Wounded Warrior Project, during the race you can text WWP to 90999 to make a $5 donation, or visit woundedwarriorproject.org and SignsAndDisplaysDirect.com.
Jeff Wolf's motor sports column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247. Visit Wolf's motor sports blog at lvrj.com/blogs/heavypedal/ throughout the week.
