Spencer Boyd Honors Medal of Honor Recipients at COTA

Young’s Motorsports driver Spencer Boyd is going to showcase a special scheme at Circuit of the Americas. He will honor Medal of Honor recipients during the Craftsman Truck Series race on March 25.

This scheme, which was made possible through a partnership with Sportsman’s Choice & Record Rack Feed, features a white base. There are splashes of blue, yellow, red, and green. The scheme will honor both Medal of Honor recipients and Vietnam War veterans during the Truck Series race, which takes place on National Medal of Honor Day.

As part of the special weekend, Boyd and Young’s Motorsports will have special guests. Vietnam War veteran Captain Gary Michael Rose, US Army, and his grandson Christian Bowen will join them at the Texas road course.

“Record Rack is always raising the bar when it comes to honoring our country’s heroes,” . “When they came to me with this idea it filled my heart just to be a part of it. I’m looking forward to meeting Mike at the track, shaking his hand, and saying thank you. I get to race because of men and women like him who have sacrificed so that we have our freedom.”

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Boyd Will Make His Second Career Start at COTA

The race at Circuit of the Americas will mark the 91st time that Boyd has competed in the Craftsman Truck Series. It will also be his second time taking on the Texas road course.

The 2021 trip to Circuit of the Americas — the first for the Truck Series — did not feature Boyd in the starting lineup. He was one of eight drivers that did not make the 36-truck field.

Boyd officially made his debut at COTA in 2022. He qualified 30th overall while three other drivers failed to make the field, and he went on to finish 23rd overall while Zane Smith won the race.

Boyd will now make his return to the 3.410-mile road course outside of Austin, and he will attempt to secure his spot in the 36-truck field. He will have to beat out three other drivers to achieve this goal as multiple guests attempt to qualify for the Truck Series race.

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CPT Rose Was Awarded the Medal of Honor in 2017

CPT Gary Michael Rose — Sergeant Rose at the time — served as a medic with the 5th Special Force Group and the Military Assistance Command Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) during “Operation Tailwind” in September 1970.

CPT Rose’s actions took place on September 11-14, 1970. He was part of a MACV-SOG group sent into Laos — unofficially at the time — where they faced a numerically superior hostile force. The enemy engaged them with small arms and machine gun fire, as well as B-40 rockets and mortar rounds.

The attack wounded many, but CPT Rose sprinted fifty meters through the combat zone to treat a fellow soldier. He then carried the wounded soldier to cover while the enemy continued firing.

Over a period of 96 hours, CPT Rose went without sleep as he treated 51 wounded soldiers, helped them to the extraction helicopters, and repelled enemy attackers.

CPT Rose ignored his own injuries while treating his fellow soldiers. For example, a B-40 rocket impacted the ground mere meters from him, which led to injuries on his head, hand, and foot. He was also involved in a helicopter crash. However, CPT Rose continued to carry wounded soldiers to safety and administer aid until another extraction helicopter arrived.

CPT Rose did not receive the Medal of Honor in the immediate aftermath of his heroic actions. President Richard Nixon denied that US forces were in Laos, a neutral country at the time, so the citation was downgraded. Though CPT Rose officially received his Medal of Honor in 2017 during a ceremony at the White House.

 

 

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