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General Tommy Franks Grand Marshal At June 4 Milwaukee Mile Race, Military Salute
Free Admission to All Active, Active Reserve and
Retired Military
MILWAUKEE (May 16, 2005) – Four-star General Tommy Franks will lead The
Milwaukee Mile’s “Salute To America’s Military Champions” on Saturday,
June 4, headlining the pre-race festivities for the historic speedway’s
afternoon of racing featuring a doubleheader of Champ Car World Series and
ARCA RE/MAX Series action.
Franks, who will serve as the race day Grand Marshal June 4, is best known for
his leadership of American and Coalition troops in two strategically
unprecedented campaigns in two years – Operation Enduring Freedom in
Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. He was promoted to
four-star General and assigned as Commander-in-Chief, United States Central
Command in June, 2000, the culmination of an almost four-decade military
career.
Since his retirement from the military in 2003, the General has traveled the
world speaking on leadership, character and the value of Democracy. His
autobiography, American Soldier reached Number #1 on the New York Times Best
Seller list in August 2004.
Between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Saturday June 4 at The Milwaukee Mile, all six
branches of the military will be represented in a unified display of past,
present and future members of America’s armed forces. This “Salute
To America’s Military Champions” will serve as a prelude to the
nationally-televised “Time Warner Cable Road Runner 225 presented by U.S.
Bank” Champ Car race on CBS.
Military Personnel Admitted Free
As an outreach to include the participation of all active, active reserve and
retired military personnel, one free ticket will be given to all servicemen
and women who present Military I.D. in advance of the race at The Milwaukee
Mile Ticket Office, 7722 W. Greenfield Ave., or at designated ticket booths at
the speedway on Saturday June 4. For details, call (414) 453-8277.
“As a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, it gives me great satisfaction to present a
special Milwaukee Mile ‘Salute To America’s Military Champions’,”
commented Milwaukee Mile GM Gary Girard. “And to complete our salute
to these fine individuals we are honored to have Gen. Tommy Franks serve as
our Grand Marshal for the weekend.
One Busy Race Weekend
For the first time, stock car racing has been added to what’s been
traditionally an open-wheel weekend at America’s Legendary Oval. The
ARCA RE/MAX Series makes its return with a 150-mile contest on Saturday
afternoon. Formula Drift-sanctioned events will also introduce drifting
competition to the Midwest June 3-4.
All practice and qualifying on-track action will take place on Friday, June 3.
Kicking-off an event-filled day, Formula Drift will sanction the fine-art of
modified street vehicle power slide competition at 10:20 a.m. on Saturday June
4.
Gen. Franks’ participation in The Milwaukee Mile “Salute To America’s
Military Champions” follows at 11 a.m.
The Champ Car “Time Warner Cable Road Runner 225 presented by U.S. Bank”
Champ Car race takes the green flag at 12 p.m., with a 150-lap ARCA RE/MAX
Series race starting at 2:30 p.m., all on Saturday afternoon, June 4.
For tickets and information, call (414) 453-8277, or visit www.milwaukeemile.com.
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