Food City will salute its military veteran associates and welcome longtime NASCAR favorite Jimmy Spencer as part of pre-race ceremonies for the 35th running of the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, Sept. 18.
The celebration comes as the nation marks its 250th anniversary. Food City plans to recognize associates who are service members and veterans for their sacrifice, commitment and service to the country. More than 300 Food City associates have served in the Armed Forces, and a group of company managers and supervisors with military service will represent them as grand marshals for the Food City 300.
Food City President and CEO Steven C. Smith said the tribute has a personal connection to the company’s history. His father, company founder Jack C. Smith, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served seven years in the U.S. Navy.
“We’re proud to employ more than 300 associates who have served in the Armed Forces,” Smith said. “While they can’t all be with us for the race, we are honored to have a distinguished group of managers and supervisors who served in the military representing our Food City veteran associates as our Food City 300 Grand Marshals.”
Greg Sparks, Food City senior vice president and chief operations officer, will lead the Food City team in giving the official command to start engines. Sparks joined Food City in 2016 after a long retail career that included serving as executive vice president of store operations for a national discount retailer. In that role, he oversaw the opening of more than 2,000 stores, more than 2,500 remodels and relocations, and operations involving 12,000 stores and 105,000 retail associates.
Sparks also spent 34 years with a major international supermarket chain, rising through a number of leadership positions, including division president. His work included leading the acquisition and integration of a subsidiary chain in Alaska, developing a fuel rewards program and serving in international operations in Egypt.
His industry leadership has included service with the Western Association of Food Chains, Northwest Grocery Association and POP Gourmet Foods. He currently serves on the Breakthrough T1D Board. Sparks earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management and marketing from Phillips University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
A native of Enid, Oklahoma, Sparks lived in Nashville for four years before moving to Kingsport. He and his wife of 39 years, Adele, have three children, Whitney, Elle and Jackson. Whitney is married to Brandon. Sparks enjoys martial arts training, sports-related activities and reading.
Food City also is marking 35 years of racing by naming Jimmy Spencer honorary starter. Spencer will wave the green flag for Friday night’s Food City 300.
Known to NASCAR fans as “Mr. Excitement,” Spencer is a former driver, team owner and television personality whose racing career spanned more than two decades. He followed his father, racer “Fast Eddie” Spencer, into the sport and won back-to-back NASCAR Modified championships in 1986 and 1987 before moving into NASCAR’s national series.
Spencer competed in 478 NASCAR Cup Series races and earned two Cup victories in 1994, at Daytona and Talladega. He also drove Food City-sponsored cars during his Busch Series career, including special Food City paint schemes at select events in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002, Spencer won the NASCAR Busch Series Food City 250 at Bristol.
He finished his career with 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series victories and one NASCAR Truck Series win, making him one of the relatively few drivers to win in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions. After his driving career, Spencer became a television analyst and commentator for SPEED Channel’s NASCAR programming.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back an old friend and racing partner to Bristol Motor Speedway to wave the green flag for Friday’s Food City 300,” Smith said. “Jimmy delivered many memorable moments at Bristol and throughout his racing career and has always been a valued friend and partner to our company.”
Food City is the title sponsor of both the spring NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 and the fall Food City 300 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. The supermarket retailer is Bristol Motor Speedway’s longest-running sponsor and the second-longest-running sponsor in NASCAR.
The Food City 300 begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 18, at Bristol Motor Speedway. The race will be carried on The CW, PRN Radio and SiriusXM Radio.
K-VA-T Food Stores, Food City’s parent company, is headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, and operates 163 retail outlets across southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, north Georgia and Alabama.
More information: foodcity.com
Betsi James is the special events manager for the Food City Knoxville division.
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