Melissa Fifield’s 158th start as a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver will be one of if not the most meaningful in a decade-long career.
The 32-year-old from Wakefield, New Hampshire is engaged to be married in November. On Oct. 20, when North Wilkesboro Speedway hosts the Brushy Mountain Powersports 150, the familiar black No. 01 Modified will feature partners near and dear to Fifield and her fiancé Hunter Smith.
Their wedding venue, The Yellow House, will be the primary sponsor on her car.
Likewise, the couple’s wedding photographer — Samantha Couick Photography — will be on board as an associate sponsor. As will Fifield’s wedding-day hair and makeup artist, Heather Mariano of Fletcher and Gaines.
In what feels like an unprecedented arrangement, all parties are thrilled about the partnership that will culminate in the race at 2 p.m. ET that Sunday in hills of northwestern North Carolina.
“Melissa and Hunter are just delightful,” said Chad King, an Innkeeper at The Yellow House. “So easygoing; fantastic people. We’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know them a little bit though this process.”
Built in the late 1800s as a summer home, The Yellow House is now a bed and breakfast getaway in Waynesville, North Carolina, the meeting point of the Blue Ridge and Great Smokey Mountains. As a wedding venue, it offers patrons a personal and intimate setting.
That — a smaller venue where guests can feel as though they’re on a weekend vacation that just so happens to include a wedding ceremony — is exactly what Fifield and Smith had in mind for their special day.
The couple toured The Yellow House in November, ironically the exact weekend of their 2024 wedding date. Fifield quickly fell in love with the venue, and Smith concurred. They worked out the details with King and booked their event.
Then, the couple had an idea.
“We were driving, and we got to talking about the venue; we knew this was going to be the place we’d get married regardless,” said Smith, who manages a driver and crew performance operation and spots for Bobby Labonte in Modified racing. “I just kind of sparked the idea [of partnering with The Yellow House]. As we were driving home, we passed an exit for Wilkesboro. I mentioned to her: ‘What do you think?’
“Do you think they would do this? Would it be weird to ask? Do you think it’s overstepping? I don’t want them to think, like, if you don’t sponsor us, we’re not going to get married there.”
Fifield saw no harm in at least inquiring. Wilkesboro, after all, is an easy drive from Waynesville.
“We just presented the offer, like, ‘Let’s just shoot the shot,'” she said. “This would be a unique opportunity for both of us to do something that’s never been done.”
Fortunately for the couple, racing is a big part of King’s life. His brother races sprint cars in Wisconsin, and he’s spent many nights at dirt tracks getting pelted with mud, memories he cherishes.
So his response to the pitch from Fifield and Smith did not take long to formulate.
“It was like, ‘Yep, sure. Let’s do this,'” King said. “That’s exactly how the conversation went when I was talking with my partner about it. It was a really easy decision.
“The racing aspect is like, ‘Oh, I understand that world.’ It’s also a really interesting opportunity for us as a business. Especially being connected to NASCAR. We’ve never had an opportunity quite like this.”
Fifield’s Modified at North Wilkesboro will feature The Yellow House prominently. Despite his busy schedule, Smith will be able to attend the race; he just so happens to be spotting for Labonte that day.
King will bring his husband, father and racer brother to North Wilkesboro to share the experience with Fifield and Smith. For King and his family, as much as anything, the event is an opportunity to enjoy great racing at a historic track.
For Fifield and Smith, though, it will be an unforgettable experience partnering with those who will make one day in November the best of their lives.
“We’re both really looking forward to having Chad and everyone at the race in North Wilkesboro,” Fifield said.
Added Smith: “This is going to be really fun, and something different.”