Courtesy of RFK Racing and Action Sports Photography, Inc.
A Ford Mustang with a fresh look hit the racetrack for the first time at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 17. BlueForge Alliance, or BFA, partnered with RFK Racing to create a stock car to compete in NASCAR Cup Series races. This car, with a buildsubmarines.com logo, has a mission to promote job opportunities that aid in building undersea platforms for the United States Navy, according to BFA Media and Outreach Lead Steve Fullhart.
“We've partnered with the Navy as their neutral integrator,” Steve says. “But the main focus, and especially in connection with this NASCAR team, is relating to our workforce work. We're trying to get people into stable, well paying, purpose-filled jobs across the nation in order to ensure that our Navy has what it needs to serve, protect and defend our country.”
BFA, a non-profit organization headquartered in Texas and based in Bryan, owns buildsubmarines.com, which is their front-facing effort to connect employers with applicants interested in the job. BFA supports Submarine Industrial Base, or SIB, initiatives by connecting Americans to manufacturing jobs relating to submarines. Over 15,000 companies across the country make up the SIB by helping build various parts meant for a submarine, Steve says.
“We are hopeful that with BlueForge Alliance's help, we can have a submarine fleet that continues to be the leader in the world, and to be able to serve, protect and defend the country,” Steve says. “As a result of that, The Navy would like a lot more submarines in their fleet. And to do that, of course, you have to build them. And to build them, you need people. And right now, there's a lot of emphasis on building more things in America, which means there's job opportunities that are associated with that.”
The partnership of RFK Racing and BFA was announced on May 28. How the two got connected in the first place was in part thanks to RFK Racing co-owner and driver #6, Brad Keselowski.
“We ran some advertising during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, back in March,” Steve says. “It just so happens that some of the viewers of those basketball games were some of the leadership at RFK Racing. And so they saw the commercials, and they did what we hope a lot of people do, which is go to the website and check out what it's all about.”
Brad was included in the leadership watching, and he additionally owns an advanced manufacturing company that is a defense contractor, Steve says. As Brad learned more about the mission behind buildsubmarines.com, the pieces starting falling into place for him and the team.
“They're like, ‘Holy cow, we have a very patriotic owner of an advanced manufacturing company, who owns our NASCAR team and drives for it, maybe we should talk to him about partnering with this BlueForge Alliance,’” Steve says. “And so within a day or two … they reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, we'd love to talk to you guys about possibilities of amplifying your mission and all these job opportunities that you're trying to promote.’”
After the announcement, Steve says their website got tremendous traffic and lots of public interest. The fact that NASCAR fans are watching on television, listening on radios and seeing on track their company is great for both themselves and the country, Steve says.
“NASCAR fans are incredible supporters of our military by and large,” Steve says. “They care deeply about those who serve our country.”
Brad drove the buildsubmarines.com car for the first time on July 17 and placed 5th despite rain delays. He will return to the track this Sunday July 30 for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway in Virginia. Both Brad and fellow driver Chris Buescher, #17, have scored enough points to be considered for playoffs, Steve says.
“Chris is a great up and coming driver, he’s been on RFK’s team for a few years now and is showing significant improvement, he’s won on a few occasions,” Steve says. “Chris is from Prosper, Texas, and so it’s just nice to have a Texas guy behind the wheel as well, and obviously he cares deeply about this opportunity and this mission as well.”
Brad will drive the buildsubmarines.com car seven times total this season, and Chris three times. Steve will attend seven races, and says any number of BFA employees will be at each one.
“We’ve got staff members on hand who are going to all of these races, including Fort Worth,” Steve says. “That was one of the really cool things when we were working out the deal, is we were able to work out for this season at least that the buildsubmarines.com car will be at the track in Fort Worth. So we’re definitely excited for a Texas audience to see that.”
