Grand Marshal, Honorary Starter Named for Winn-Dixie 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series Race at Talladega

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Talladega Superspeedway announced today the Honorary Officials for the Winn-Dixie 300 on Saturday, May 2 – the 9th NASCAR XFINITY Series race of the 2015 schedule.

Drew Elkins, Regional Vice President for BI-LO Holdings, the parent company for Winn-Dixie, will serve as the Grand Marshal and will give the most famous command in motorsports – 

“Drivers, Start Your Engines.” Waving the green flag and serving as the Honorary Starter will be Jim Rossetti, District Director – Birmingham, Winn-Dixie.

Elkins is Winn-Dixie born and raised. His father Bill Elkins and his brother David Elkins, along with Drew, have more than 126 years of Winn-Dixie service combined. Since the beginning of his career in 1984 with Winn-Dixie, Elkins has held many leadership positions within the company. Prior to being appointed as Montgomery’s Regional Vice President, Elkins served as a store director and in other management positions, including District Director in the Tallahassee market and Regional Sales Manager for center store.

Rossetti manages sales and operations for stores in Birmingham and Anniston, Alabama. Rossetti has worked in the industry for more than 30 years and has held management positions with several large grocery and retail companies. Prior to his appointment as District Director with Winn-Dixie, Rossetti served as District Director for Bruno’s Supermarkets, managing 13 stores in the Birmingham area. Rossetti currently resides in Chelsea, Alabama with his wife Karen and children – James, Joshua and Sarah.

The National Anthem for the Winn-Dixie 300 will be performed by Kevin Moore, a saxophone instrumentalist from Gadsden, Alabama. He has performed the National Anthem at many sporting events in the state of Alabama, including annually at various University of Alabama sporting events. In December 2005 Kevin was invited to perform Christmas music for The National Christmas Tree at The White House.

The invocation for the Winn-Dixie 300 is scheduled to be given by Mark Wakefield, Associate Director of Alabama Raceway Ministries.

In addition to the Winn-Dixie 300, which is set for a 2 p.m. (CST) start, Saturday’s slate includes qualifying for the GEICO 500 (CST) and Winn-Dixie 300 (10 am CST). The day concludes in the evening with the Talladega Superspeedway traditional Infield Concert featuring country music maverick and Columbia Nashville recording artist Chase Rice.  The concert is free with the purchase of a Sunday GEICO 500 (12 noon CST start) admission ticket.

Talladega’s weekend kicks off on Friday (May 1) with practice sessions for the GEICO 500 (NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) and Winn-Dixie 300 (NASCAR XFINITY Series), as well as practice, qualifying and green flag for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards event, set to start at 5 pm (CST). The evening concludes with “The “Big One on the Blvd” Mardi Gras-style parade, which will feature NASCAR drivers and fan competitions on the track’s infield Talladega Blvd.

TSS PR

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