Sheet Metal Worker Wins NASCAR Trip Through Union Sportsmen’s Alliance

by James Parks, Nov 25, 2007

Mark Shughart and his wife Lynn on Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR fans know that 2007 Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson won the Dickies 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway three weeks ago. But they didn’t know there was another winner on Victory Lane that day.  

Mark Shughart, a member of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 2 and the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), was visiting the Lone Star State with his wife Lynn for a weekend of NASCAR racing. He won a contest sponsored by USA and Beretta-USA for a prize package valued at more than $6,000. The package included airfare, three nights lodging, two tickets to the Craftsman, Busch and Nextel Cup races, unlimited access to Beretta’s private suite, VIP passes for unlimited access to the garage and pit area throughout the weekend and a brand new Beretta Xtrema2 shotgun.

Says Shughart, who lives near a track in Topeka, Kan., but never had a chance to go to a race: 

Winning this trip gave me the opportunity to experience a NASCAR race firsthand in grand style. Being 6 to 10 feet behind the pit wall watching the cars fly by during the races was unbelievable. 

Launched in July, the Union Sportsmen’s Allliance is a joint venture between 21 unions and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). One of the main goals of the two groups is working together to boost the TRCP’s long-standing dedication to guaranteeing access for hunters and anglers, conserving fish and wildlife habitat and increasing funding for conservation.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka said at USA’s launch:

When union workers get on a job, they get it done right, so bringing them together in this new way promises to dramatically advance the effort to better conserve our natural resources while extending union member benefits to the woods and water.

TRCP President George Cooper says union members are some of the most active conservationists in the nation but that:

most of them are not affiliated with hunting, fishing or conservation organizations. USA gives them a unique affiliation opportunity and will bring them into our fight to insure policymakers are better addressing the priorities of our nation’s sportsmen-conservationists.

Shughart says he missed the opening day of pheasant season in Kansas to attend the races in Texas, but said he is sure he can make up for it later. An avid sportsman, Shughart added: 

I would truly like to put an emphasis on union members joining the USA to help preserve what we’ve been able to do for hundreds of years…to hunt and fish.  We need to keep these sports going for future generations. 

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