This weekend DJ Kennington and Michael Annett will pay tribute to the 16 players and staff of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team who have lost their lives as a result of an April 6 bus crash.
The bus was carrying 29 members of the junior-A Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team which is based in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Kennington is a native of St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, and both drivers have played hockey.
Kennington, who drives for Gaunt Brothers Racing, will have the team’s logo on the hood of his No. 96 Toyota this weekend in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Annett, who drives for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, will have the logo above the B pillar on his No. 5 Chevrolet.
The logos are the latest in a series of tributes in memory of the victims and the first in NASCAR.
“I remember riding buses when I played hockey,” Annett said in a press release. “It was part of the game, traveling together to away games. In NASCAR, we use planes and motorhomes, but none of us as players had the ability to do that. You went as a team.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and my heart goes out to the families and fans of the Humboldt Broncos.”
.@DJKRacing will return to the seat of the No. 96 GBR Toyota Camry this weekend @BMSupdates, making his first career NASCAR Cup Series start on the half-mile track. Kennington has three prior starts at Bristol in the @NASCAR_Xfinity Series with a best finish of 29th in 2008. pic.twitter.com/dGr06ZaO97
— Gaunt Bros Racing (@GauntBrosRacing) April 12, 2018
If you would like to make a donation to the team, visit one of the Conexus Credit Union branch locations, or mail a check or money order payable to Humboldt Broncos to:
— Gaunt Bros Racing (@GauntBrosRacing) April 12, 2018
Conexus Credit Union
Humboldt Branch
PO Box 480
Humboldt Saskatchewan
S0K 2A0#PrayersforHumboldt pic.twitter.com/u6RFwwqCW8
.@MichaelAnnett to Carry Decal Honoring Humboldt Hockey Team @BMSupdates.
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) April 12, 2018
Story ➡️ https://t.co/VgGPrxe78M pic.twitter.com/cqKM188g4q