'Be a Sponge': US Army Specialist Kevin McCrea to be honored by Ross Chastain at Coca-Cola 600

Kevin McCrea was only 17 years old when he joined the United States Army in 1982. 

McCrea, a paratrooper, suffered a spinal cord injury during a night jump in 1983 after his parachute malfunctioned. He spent the rest of his life disabled. 

Thirty-seven years later, Specialist Kevin McCrea passed away on June 16, 2020, after spending the final 14 months of his life in the hospital. He was 55 years old, a husband of 30 years to his wife, Marie, and a father of three.   

On Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Specialist McCrea’s name will adorn the windshield of Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet as Chastain competes in the Coca-Cola 600. Specialist McCrea’s daughter, Allie, was the one to tell Chastain her father’s story. 

“Her talking about her dad, you can see the pride,” Chastain told Yardbarker. “It’s really inspiring to hear her talk about her dad. Her dad had a positive attitude when he could’ve been negative about a lot of things.” 

Following his time in the military, Specialist McCrea furthered his education. He graduated with a degree in criminal justice from Temple University, and later earned a law degree from Widener University in Chester, Pa. 

“He led his family with a strong, positive mindset,” Chastain said of McCrea. “By the time he had his kids, he’d already been injured. He would be on his way out of the house because something was going wrong physically; they’d be taking him to the hospital at three in the morning, and he’d say, ‘this is not an excuse to not have your homework done.’ 

“Him instilling that in his family is inspiring, (that) there are no excuses, we’re not using them. We’re not looking for an out. We’re going to get our work done and get something from it.”  

“He never wanted us to use his illness or our hardship as an excuse to not be working hard,” Allie McCrea told Yardbarker. “The last 14 months of his life, he was in the hospital. He would always say, ‘Be a Sponge’—live in the moment, absorb everything.” 

McCrea’s catchphrase will ride on the decklid on Chastain’s No. 1 this weekend as Allie and her family take in their first NASCAR race.  

“It’s special for us to be celebrating Memorial Day together and also to have such an honor with my dad’s name and catchphrase racing in the Coke 600,” Allie said. “It’s something you don’t think is ever going to happen. It’s a wild journey.”  

“I didn’t know he was going to be on a race car or anything,” Allie said. “As we got in contact with Jockey and the planning with Trackhouse, I was like, ‘this is a bigger deal than I anticipated’.”  

The journey to honor Specialist McCrea on Chastain’s car began in March, when Folds of Honor reached out to Allie in a partnership with Trackhouse Racing and a Trackhouse sponsor in Jockey. Allie was a recipient of a Folds of Honor scholarship, which allowed her to earn her bachelor's degree. She followed in her father's footsteps, attending Temple University for her Masters degree. In a quintessential full-circle moment, Allie McCrea works as a music therapist in the same Philadelphia hospital where her father was treated. 

The unwavering spirit McCrea embedded in his family will undoubtedly ride with Chastain as he chases a victory in one of NASCAR’s crown jewel events.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.