By Todd Silvey, Drag Racing Scene
NHRA Pro Stock drivers Greg Anderson and Jason Line along with Pro Stock Motorcycle riders Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec will once again make the journey to visit troops in Japan for 2017’s Operation Appreciation.
For the seventh consecutive year, Summit Racing Equipment and Armed Forces Entertainment will join together to send a group of top motorsports competitors overseas to visit American troops on duty in remote locations. The annual trip, appropriately coined Operation Appreciation, will make stops this year at various stations in Japan.
Along with the NHRA competitors, the Summit Racing/Bigfoot 4×4 Monster Truck competitors Dan Runte and Larry Swim will visit U.S. military troops as a group.
The drivers and riders will have the opportunity to meet men and women of the American Armed Forces and bring them a little bit of home just as the holiday season is kicking into gear.
“Operation Appreciation is something very special that we look forward to each year,” said Anderson, who first joined the group in 2011. His Team Summit counterpart Line, whose first overseas visit with the troops was in 2008, will be making his 10th trip. “It really puts things into perspective for us, and each trip has been unforgettable in its own way. This year we have the opportunity to visit the men and women of our Armed Forces who are on duty in a place we’ve never been. It will be very different from any of our other visits overseas, and I’m sure we’re going to learn a lot. The main goal, though, is to bring a little bit of home to these service members. These visits mean a lot to us, and to be able to thank these folks in person is an honor…”
