USO 'Salute the Troops' die-casts march into Action

In what has become something of a tradition, NASCAR will once again pay tribute to America's Armed Forces during Memorial Day Weekend activities held in conjunction with the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The USO Salute The Troops Memorial Day program will include a variety of pre-race activities. In addition, six NASCAR Sprint Cup and two NASCAR Nationwide Series cars will carry special paint schemes or decals paying tribute to the military.

• Shop for 'Salute the Troops' gear

Among the cars displaying a unique graphics package for the Coca-Cola 600 will be the No. 88 National Guard entry piloted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Other Cup Series participants include No. 24 Jeff Gordon, No. 48 Jimmie Johnson, No. 8 Mark Martin, No. 21 Jon Wood and No. 07 Clint Bowyer. The NASCAR Nationwide Series will be represented by No. 88 Brad Keselowski and No. 77 Cale Gale in the preceding day's CARQUEST Auto Parts 300.

In addition, NHRA Top Fuel superstar Tony Schumacher will run a USO Salute The Troops livery in the upcoming NHRA O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

As usual, Motorsports Authentics will be commemorating the program with a full complement of Action Racing Collectibles die-cast replicas, as well as a variety of other collectibles and souvenirs. The product line will raise money for military families. In addition, Motorsports Authentics will work with corporate sponsors to raise money and awareness for the men and women of the armed forces.

Of course, special military paint schemes have become an enduring part of NASCAR. The first major program emerged in 1991 when then series sponsor Winston paid five unsponsored teams to don the colors of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard for the season-opening Daytona 500 to honor the Armed Forces in the wake of Operation Desert Storm. Participating drivers included: Alan Kulwicki, Buddy Baker, Dave Marcis, Greg Sacks, and Mickey Gibbs. Though the collectibles aspect of that initial program was never heavily promoted, Racing Champions created a few die-casts that remain highly sought-after today.

In the years since, a number of Armed Forces promotions have been orchestrated, with heavy support from Motorsports Authentics in terms of program-specific merchandise.

"The Armed Services cars are always popular with race fans and military folks alike," says Tommy West, a longtime die-cast collector and former racing memorabilia dealer. "There have been some great programs.The deal at Daytona during the Gulf War... A program at Atlanta a few years ago... But you know Charlotte always does things in a big way, so they generate a lot of excitement around any program that originates there."

West says that military paint schemes are among the most sought-after based on the fact that they are often harder to find on the secondary market than most other die-casts.

"Usually, most die-casts are fairly easy to find on the internet months and even years after they are released," says West. "Military die-casts are a little harder to come by. Collectors aren't as likely to part with them because they have a special meaning. Of course, if they're harder to find, they'll hold a higher value down the road. Armed Forces paint schemes are great to collect."

Check out the entire line of Motorsports Authentics Support The Troops merchandise at the NASCAR.com SuperStore.