Petty Motorsports To Honor Juneteenth At Nashville NASCAR Race

NORTH CAROLINA — Richard Petty Motorsports and its entrepreneurial non-profit sponsor are honoring the emancipation holiday Juneteenth this weekend through an initiative supporting Nashville-based Black entrepreneurs, the race team announced.

June 19 is the annual celebration of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. Thursday, President Joe Biden made June 19 a federal holiday after he signed a bill that passed through the U.S. House of Representatives a day before.

SEE ALSO: What Is Juneteenth? 5 Things To Know About The Holiday That Marks The End Of Slavery

The New York-based non-profit, The Lonely Entrepreneur (TLE), and the Black Entrepreneur Initiative are primary sponsors of RPM's No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro that will be driven by Erik Jones during the Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series at the Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 20.

As part of this weekend's partnership, TLE is giving away 100 free sign-ups for one year on its platform to members of the Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce.

“We are proud to partner with The Lonely Entrepreneur and their Black Entrepreneur Initiative as we collectively celebrate Juneteenth,” Brian Moffitt, chief executive officer for Richard Petty Motorsports, said in a statement. “Entrepreneurism can be a lonely path, so the resources and support structure provided by the Black Entrepreneur Initiative will provide the tools to assist Nashville Black entrepreneurs in their quest to be successful business leaders.”

SEE ALSO: Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth A National Holiday: Replay

With this week's signing into law, Juneteenth has become the 12th federal holiday. The House voted 415-14 on Wednesday to send the bill to Biden. The Senate had already approved the bill unanimously.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas — two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. That was also about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Southern states.

It's the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.