"I learned a long time ago that you keep your emotions in check during various scenarios, but I found myself dabbing the tears from my eyes as the cover was pulled back," Mackey, a former U.S. Army helicopter door gunner who later became a California Highway Patrol officer. "This car is as much for us as it is for those who didn't make it back."

Mackey should know the pain of losing close friends. He still carries the ID bracelets of two fellow soldiers from his unit still missing in action dating back to 1967.

..> ..>Many of those behind the scenes promoting the car were born just as the Vietnam War reached its highest troop concentrations in 1968. Award-winning driver Melanie Troxel was only three years old when the war ended in 1975. Many of the veterans who have and are attending the drag races consider Troxel to be a personal hero for simply driving their high-horsepower welcome wagon.

Giving the service members a welcome home from an unpopular war was team owner Evan Knoll's mission. Knoll is a staunch supporter of the U.S. Military both domestic and abroad and while he supports all war veterans, felt the Vietnam veterans got a raw deal upon their return.

"It was downright shameful," Knoll said. "You have these young men and women travel 10,000 miles and do what their government asks of them and when they come home cannot wear their uniform out of fear and shame? Not only that. When you're called names and people spit on you.that's just wrong in my book and should be considered that way by everyone. I've interacted with a lot of these soldiers and they've carried that shame for years and years.

..> ..>"I tell these guys to be proud. You are an American soldier and you deserve to be honored. Maybe we didn't need to be over there.but you know what? They didn't ask to be. Their country called and they answered."

Knoll's tribute has rekindled a former drag racing demographic that has been long sought-after throughout the last two decades - the 16 - 24, young male market. Drag racing firmly held that demographic throughout the Sixties and into the early-to-mid Seventies. That average age got much older and three-quarters of the blame can be assessed to the Vietnam War.

Greg Young, one of the Pomona attendees and a U.S. Army veteran, says that even though he's a neighbor of Austin Coil and lives in John Force's hometown of Yorba Linda, CA, it wasn't enough to encourage him to attend the drag races again. Case in point, Young was an avid drag racing fan in the Sixties and rarely missed an event at Lion's Drag Strip before Vietnam. Thursday in Pomona was his first event since those glory days. He's admittedly making plans for the season-ending Finals in Pomona this October.

..> ..>"A lot of soldiers either burned their uniform and everything related or stuffed it in a duffle bag out shame," Young admitted. "Now they will have a reason to bring out those items and be proud. We owe a lot to this. It will serve as healing for many of us."

The Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA Top Fuel dragster will provide a healing experience and a source for rekindling camaraderie amongst a group that largely relied on one another for support in those tough times in battle and upon returning home.

"You can already see it working," Mackey said. "There will be guys that will come out to see this car and it doesn't matter if we win or lose.it's just the fact that someone remembers us that matters the most."

Two of the major congressionally chartered Vietnam Veterans groups, the Vietnam Veterans of America http://www.vva.org and POW-MIA Families http://www.powmia-families.org support the program initiated by Knoll.

Those former military service members are returning to the drags in droves with upwards of nearly 100 planning to attend the upcoming event in Bristol. Consider Bob Marcum. The 70-something Vietnam Veteran of the U.S. Navy never attended a drag race until the Pomona. He wanted to show his support.

..> ..>Troxel, clearly the spokesperson for the project, has effectively studied every bit of literature she can find relating to the Vietnam conflict and the plight of the POW-MIA Families, who list over 1,700 servicemen still missing in action and/or still being held as prisoners of war.

"When I was first told of the project, I admit that I didn't have a lot of knowledge on the subject outside of what I learned in school," Troxel said. "The more I have learned about the things these soldiers endured upon their return, the more I realize how important this project is."

"Our veterans do so much for us, especially our Vietnam veterans. They went over and fought a war -- young Americans who gave so much of themselves, so many of them gave their lives...This is one small thing we can give back to them. I'm so proud to be involved in this, to be giving back to the veterans. It's such a huge honor for me to give something back to them. "I was barely born when we were fighting over in Vietnam, but I tried to educate myself and understand what happened over there. There are so many people today who are so behind our veterans and troops. You may not agree with the war, but you support them. This wasn't the case when our Vietnam veterans came home. They didn't get a hero's welcome home. This is a little opportunity to kind of make up for that, and let them know we really appreciate everything they did."

And, as Mackey puts it, "Melanie, you'll never know how much we appreciate you and Evan."

The Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA Top Fuel dragster is presented by Torco Race Fuels http://www.torco.com and Lucas Oil Products http://www.lucasoil.com.