A moment in time

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the home city of National Headquarters. In August 2000, Maryland Bank, National Association (MBNA) — then involved in the Legion’s affinity credit card program — was a NASCAR sponsor for the Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Bobby Labonte for Joe Gibbs Racing. For the Brickyard 400, MBNA arranged for the Legion’s emblem to be displayed on the deck plate of the car, and Labonte wore a Legion baseball cap throughout the event.

The result? Labonte won. Legion staff members had been invited to the track as guests of MBNA, and some even made it down to Victory Lane. The emblem had been even more prominently displayed on another Gibbs racing car the night before on the Busch Series car driven by Jason Leffler at what was then Indianapolis Raceway Park. Leffler won the pole and placed third in his race.

Labonte had come into the Brickyard as the points leader, and the Indianapolis race added to his banner year. He ultimately won the 2000 Winston Cup championship.