Supplee honorary starter at Kentucky 300

SPARTA, Ky. – Retired military working dog Sgt. Beyco and ESPN NASCAR analyst Ricky Craven will join singer/songwriters MacKenzie Morgan and Ryan Broshear during prerace ceremonies on Kentucky Speedway’s Sept. 21-22 NASCAR doubleheader weekend. 

Sgt. Beyco will join retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Major Jimmy Supplee and Morgan on the NASCAR Nationwide Series Kentucky 300 prerace stage on Saturday. 

Sgt. Beyco, United States Marine Corps (USMC) MP H100, and her handler, Vietnam War veteran Joe Sturm, will deliver the command to fire 43 engines for the Kentucky 300 just before the 4 p.m., green flag. Sgt. Beyco earned eight medals, including the Combat Action Ribbon, during eight years of service that included a three-year tour in Iraq. She worked additional missions with the United States Secret Service, United States Marshals Service and select law enforcement agencies.

Supplee, of Carrollton, Ky., will be the race honorary starter. He is a 34-year veteran of the Kentucky National Guard 138th Fires Brigade who served in the Vietnam War. 

Morgan, 15, of Richmond, Ky., will honor America Saturday when she sings “The Star Spangled Banner.”   

Craven, the former driver of the No. 32 Tide NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) machine, will send the 36-truck NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Kentucky 201 field racing on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Gallatin County Judge-Executive Ken McFarland will be the race grand marshal and deliver the command to start engines after Broshear, of Oxford, Ohio, performs “The Star Spangled Banner.”

McFarland is a long-time resident who has served the county with distinction for more than 10 years.