By Seth Eggert, Associate Editor
Late Model racer Christopher Tate will become the latest active-duty United States military serviceman to compete in the ARCA Menards Series, although he will be the first active-duty Marine to race on the national level.
Tate has competed sporadically in Late Model competition for 3f Racing. The LCpl has balanced racing on track with his military service. In addition to Tate, Ryan Roulette is an active-duty United States Air Force pilot and Jesse Iwuji was active in the United States Naval Reserve.
The Marine will drive the No. 10 T-Top Manufacturing Chevrolet for the Andy Hillenburg-owned Fast Track Racing in the Atlas 150 at Iowa Speedway. Fast Track Racing is the same team that Roulette drives for. Tate is hopeful that this is just the first step in his NASCAR journey.
“After a very long couple of years, I am thrilled to announce that I will be making my ARCA Menards Series debut on June 14th at Iowa Speedway!” Tate said. “While my ultimate goal has been and still is to compete in NASCAR on a full-time basis, this is a major step in the right direction and accomplishes one of the many goals I look to achieve in my career.”
Tate will have not one, but two fallen servicemen on his Chevrolet. Two of his friends, LCpl Jonathan Gierke and PFC Zachary Riffle, were killed in an accident during training in 2022. Tate initially was scheduled to make his ARCA debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the No. 01 Chevrolet, but that has since been delayed to Iowa.
“As many of you may know, I am currently serving Active Duty in the Marine Corps and it may not be Memorial Day weekend, but I’ll still be carrying the names honoring both PFC Zachary Riffle, and LCpl Jonathan Gierke on the car!” Tate explained. “So, when the green flag drops on June 14th, I will officially become the first ever Active-Duty Marine to compete in a NASCAR sanctioned national touring series event.”
The Atlas 150 at Iowa Speedway is scheduled for Friday, June 14 at 7:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. The race will also be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and the Fox Sports App.