<table> </table> Deron Cherry didn&#8217;t pick an average NASCAR race to attend for his first race when he went to the Daytona 500 in 1996.</p><p>So, when it was time for Cherry to drive the pace car Sunday, he didn&#8217;t enter the track in an average way.</p><p>Cherry, the Chiefs Hall of Fame safety, drove the pace car out of a U.S. Army Special Operations Command Chinook helicopter before the Camping World RV 400 at Kansas Speedway.</p><p>&#8220;It was a great opportunity,&#8221; Cherry said. &#8220;Just the whole experience the second half of the week was great.&#8221;</p><p>The delivery began with skydivers and had a pair of helicopters drop Army members near the start of pit road.</p><p>Once they were in place, the Chinook came over turn two, carrying the Ford Mustang pace car. Once the Chinook landed, Cherry, an avid NASCAR fan, drove the car onto the track.</p><p>Cherry was introduced to the sport by former major-league pitcher and good friend Rick Sutcliffe.</p><p>&#8220;I had always wanted to go to a race,&#8221; Cherry said. &#8220;Sutcliffe was friends with Dale Earnhardt, so we went down to Daytona together.&#8221;</p><p>Cherry and Sutcliffe, along with Cherry&#8217;s son, Deron, Jr., were at Daytona when Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 in 1998.</p><p>As the three took pictures with Earnhardt in victory lane, Cherry had a moment he and his son will never forget.</p><p>&#8220;Earnhardt comes over and takes his hat off and gives it to my son,&#8221; Cherry said. &#8220;He looks at my son and says, &#8216;You were my good luck charm today.&#8217; He looks at me and says, &#8216;Big D, you were my good luck charm.&#8217; Then he looks at Sutcliffe, who had been going to the races for a long time and said &#8216;Now I know who my bad-luck charm was.&#8217; &#8221;</p><p>If Cherry hadn&#8217;t been hooked on NASCAR at that point, he was then.</p><p>After Daytona, Cherry headed to countless races at tracks such as Bristol, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Charlotte &#8212; and, of course, Kansas Speedway, where he has 16 season tickets.</p><p>&#8220;We just love (racing),&#8221; Cherry said. &#8220;We brought our kids out on Saturday. (Sunday&#8217;s) race is a little longer though.&#8221;</p><p>The Cherry family now attends NASCAR events every year.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just so nice to get away in February,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s cold here (in February), so it&#8217;s a good break.&#8221;</p><p>With Cherry&#8217;s love for NASCAR, that can sometimes make his Sunday decisions difficult. Between the Chiefs, the team he played with for 11 seasons, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he is a minority owner, he has to get creative on how to take everything in.</p><p>&#8220;You have TiVo now,&#8221; Cherry said. &#8220;It&#8217;s great you can watch the race and TiVo the game. Usually the race lasts longer. The Chiefs or my Jaguars are on at noon, so you can tape the game.&#8221;</p><p>His wife, Hope, interjected though.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll have his headphones on listening to the race,&#8221; Hope Cherry said. &#8220;Then he has a little TV he holds in his hands watching the game.&#8221;</p><p>On Sunday, Cherry&#8217;s day started well before the 1 p.m. green flag drop.</p><p>Cherry arrived at 9:30 a.m. at New Century AirCenter to board the Chinook.</p><p>He then spent next three hours with members of the U.S. Army that participated in the delivery of the pace car.</p><p>&#8220;Today was just unbelievable,&#8221; Cherry said. &#8220;It&#8217;s phenomenal what they do. We can only talk in certain terms. They are breathing it. When they go into battle, every minute and every second, their life is on the line for us.&#8221;