Run to the fire. Swim in the flood. Search in the rubble. Rescue the trafficked. Heal the heroes who have served.
These are just some of the global missions of Aerial Recovery, a veteran-led 501c3 nonprofit organization based out of Nashville that is announcing a new partnership today with Trackhouse Entertainment Group and its Trackhouse Racing division.
Aerial Recovery’s mission is to SAVE LIVES & STOP EVIL, which is carried out by 3 Core Pillars: The Heal the Heroes Initiative, Man-made and Natural Disaster Relief, and Anti-Human Trafficking. This group of highly skilled former Special Forces Operators from the Heal the Heroes Initiative now train and deploy as Humanitarian Special Operators, saving lives amidst natural and man-made disasters and engaging in complex global anti-human trafficking missions. In the partnership, Trackhouse will support Aerial Recovery with recognition, marketing, corporate support, and fundraising efforts to enhance the scope of this important recovery work.
Trackhouse Racing will feature the Aerial Recovery story on its No. 99 Chevrolet with driver Daniel Suárez during Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
The race marks the beginning of a new relationship as the Aerial Recovery mission will become an extension of the Trackhouse Racing community impact initiatives.
“I have spent a lot of time with the Aerial Recovery leadership over the last few months, and the more I learn, the more I want Trackhouse to embrace their mission,” said Trackhouse Founder and Owner Justin Marks.
“Positively impacting the lives of those in need, and in many cases, saving their lives all together, is a mission ALL of us can get behind. This is what Trackhouse is about. Finding opportunities for good and wanting to bring as much recognition to these efforts as possible and help raise money to fund these incredible recovery missions.
“These men and women are expertly trained and highly skilled, and it is an honor to know people who put these skill sets to work in the harshest and most austere conditions like war zones and sites of tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, and floods. Trackhouse is looking forward to providing Aerial Recovery with sophisticated branding, marketing, public relations, partner support, and fundraising.”
Aerial Recovery’s work is both international and domestic. Their Heal the Heroes Initiative exists to support military veterans and first responders during and after their transition from military and service careers to civilian life. The organization does this through a completely donor-supported year-long program that consists of four phases: Healing Retreat, Mentorship Program, Entrepreneurship Education, and ongoing Heroes’ Community. As the Heroes complete the program and additional training, they become Humanitarian Special Operators who deploy on Aerial Recovery’s missions.
“We repurpose military veterans primarily from the Special Forces community,” explains Aerial Recovery Co-Founder/CSO Jeremy Locke, retired Green Beret. “We take these Operators, and we respond to some of the most critical missions all over the world and provide life-saving aid to people in their greatest hour of need. Veterans and first responders are incredibly effective within the humanitarian space.”
Since its inception, the organization has provided relief from hurricanes to tornadoes to volcanoes and earthquakes. Aerial Recovery has been conducting rescues in 20+ countries including missions taking place throughout the United States, Haiti, Honduras, Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India, Cuba, and Ukraine, where it extracted over 7,500 orphans and displaced citizens out of the war zone to safe houses in other parts of the country.
Aerial Recovery team members recently assisted with medical and SAR (Search and Rescue) responses in Hawaii as the Aloha State recovers from deadly wildfires. To date, Aerial Recovery has saved over 8,000 lives across the globe. The non-profit survives on donations and fundraising efforts.
“These guys are amazing,” said Suárez, who enters Saturday night’s race after leading 12 laps and finishing 16th at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City on Sunday. “The more I have learned about them, the more honored I am to represent them. I have learned that they respond so quickly that they are often the first group to the disaster, beating all of the other recovery agencies there. At Trackhouse, we are always about speed and execution, so that is very impressive to me.”
To learn more about Aerial Recovery and support their work, visit www.AerialRecovery.org today.
Suárez Notes
Suárez, 31, became the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the NASCAR Cup Series on June 12, 2022 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
He is one of six drivers not from the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race: Shane van Gisbergen (New Zealand), Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy).
Suárez owns one victory and three Busch Light Pole Awards – Pocono (Pa.) Raceway July 2018, Kentucky Speedway July 2019 and on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 2023.
Suárez drives for the third-year team Trackhouse Racing – a team owned by former racer Justin Marks and partner Pitbull.
Suárez, came to America to race. He did not speak English when he arrived in Buffalo, New York.
He is the only Spanish-speaking driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Suárez became the first Latin American, as well as the first NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduate, to win a NASCAR national series title when he won the 2016 Xfinity Series championship.
In 2016, he became the first Mexican driver to win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, claiming three victories at Michigan, Dover and the championship finale at Homestead-Miami.
`He was the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year – the first Mexican driver to win the award.
In 2013, Suárez finished third in the ARCA Menards Series East final championship standings, the highest finish for an international driver in series history.
Suárez and fiancé Julia Piquet were engaged in November 2022.
Suárez received the National Series Driver Award during the NASCAR Diversity Awards in Los Angeles in February.
Suárez is a fan of the Mexican Soccer team Tigres UANL – he grew up playing soccer.
No. 99 Trackhouse Team Roster
Founder: Justin Marks, Rocklin, California
President: Ty Norris, Sumter, South Carolina
Driver: Daniel Suárez, Monterrey Mexico
Crew Chief: Travis Mack, Louisville, Kentucky
Car Chief: Eddie D’Hondt Jr., East Islip, New York
Spotter: Frank Kimmel II, Jeffersonville, Indiana
Engine Builder: ECR Engines, Welcome, North Carolina
Engine Tuner: Brad Thurlow, Poland, Maine
Fueler: Milan Rudanovic, Wantage, New Jersey
Front Tire Changer: Josh Bush, Lexington, North Carolina
Rear Tire Changer: Jerick Newsome, Memphis, Tennessee
Jackman: Josh Appleby, Athens, Alabama
Tire Carrier: Jeremy Kimbrough, Decatur, Georgia
Engineer: Dustin Zacharyasz, Berea, Ohio
Engineer: Troy Davis, Windham, Maine
Mechanic: Matt Petrea, Kannapolis, North Carolina
Mechanic: Tony Barkman, Rio Vista, California
Interior Mechanic: Collin Hoeffner, Bay Shore, New York.
Truck Driver: Glenn Shano, Toronto, Canada
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
