Pete Hegseth at Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte

The race, which occurs the day before Memorial Day, remembers service members who lost their lives in the military.

Hegseth climbed into the pit box for Hendrick Motorsports’s Kyle Larson. Hegseth could be seen listening to team communications on the radio.

Larson started at the Coca-Cola 600 after racing in the Indy 500 in Indianapolis earlier in the day.

Ahead of the race, Hegseth joined alongside military personnel to offer the Grand Marshal’s Command of “Gentlemen, start your engines!”