NASCAR insiders share heartfelt reactions to 100-year-old WWII veteran Corporal Don Graves’ Texas vocal performance

NASCAR insiders and fans were deeply moved by 100-year-old World War II veteran Corporal Don Graves, who sang the National Anthem before the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 4. Graves, a survivor of the Battle of Iwo Jima, delivered a powerful and emotional performance that got massive applause from the crowd.

The touching moment came just before the start of the 11th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Joey Logano went on to win the Wurth 400 in an overtime finish, leading only seven laps but taking control at the end. Logano started 27th and passed Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney, who finished second and third, respectively, in the final moments.

Journalists Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck discussed Graves’ performance during their recent podcast on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Dirty Mo Media while looking back at the race in Texas. Bianchi said about the performance (1:03:20 onwards):

"I know pre-race can be really goofy and everything, did you hear the national anthem? ...The gentleman who sang it, 100 years old."

Jeff Gluck responded to this by saying:

"I saw that, and you know, he must be very well known around this area because when they said his name, there was a huge cheer um I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, maybe they just said he's 100 years old and that's why they were cheering."

"World War II survivor," Bianchi added. "He's a veteran from Iwo Jima, like incredible, like wow. I mean, one of the best anthems I ever heard, like just awesome. 100 years old knocking it out of the park."

NASCAR on NBC posted the video of Don Graves singing the National Anthem on X with the following caption:

"Corporal Don Graves sang the National Anthem before Sunday's NASCAR race in Texas. The Iwo Jima survivor just celebrated his 100th birthday."

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NASCAR attempts to add excitement to the All-Star Race

NASCAR is making big changes to the 2025 All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway to create more excitement for fans. One of the most talked-about changes is a new rule that allows a random caution flag to be thrown by Speedway Motorsports president Marcus Smith at any point before Lap 220. This "Promoter’s Caution" can only be used once and is meant to shake up the race and add an element of surprise.

The rule also has a limit; if a natural caution comes after Lap 200 and the promoter hasn’t used his option yet, it disappears. NASCAR has made other changes as well. The All-Star Race is now 250 laps long, 50 more than last year, and the pit crew challenge has been opened up to the open teams trying to qualify for the event.

However, not everybody is a fan of NASCAR’s move to introduce the Promoter’s Caution. Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch called this move a gimmick during his recent appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast as he compared the event to a circus.

"If we're Bailey and Barnum, then let's just fricking' call it Bailey and Barnum," he said (37:30 onwards).

When podcast co-host Brett Griffin joked about allowing a drunk person to throw in a caution flag randomly and called the move a gimmick, Busch immediately agreed with the idea, saying:

"You just said it, it's a gimmick, we're gimmicking. Like, why are we gimmicking in the good racing, I don't get it."

NASCAR Cup Series will return on Sunday, May 11, on Mother's Day, for the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.