Matthew Brabham, crew member and former Navy SEAL Dave Rutherford and Taya Kyle pose alongside the PIRTEK Team Murray Chevrolet. [Joe Jennings Photo]
By Joe Jennings
St. Petersburg, Fla. – Third-generation driver Matthew Brabham has been chosen by PIRTEK Team Murray founder Brett Murray to drive the No. 61 Chevrolet in the upcoming Indianapolis 500. In a unique program, the team and the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation will recruit six military veterans and first responders to serve as the pit crew members.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) worked with the team and the foundation to create the concept and WBHE will use the pit crew program to launch American Sniper: The Chris Kyle Commemorative Edition Blu-ray on May 3.
The pit crew will be trained and coached by some of the sport’s leading fitness and movement professionals, including Pit Fit’s Jim Leo.
The announcement came today in St. Petersburg with Murray, Brabham, Taya Kyle and the first member of the CK pit crew, David Rutherford, a former Navy SEAL. Rutherford served eight years as a SEAL, leaving the service in 2003.
Taya Kyle is the widow of Chris Kyle and best- selling author of American Wife. “I’ve liked racing but haven’t known much about it until we got this opportunity to partner with PIRTEK and our foundation,” Kyle said. “To have our foundation involved, to include veterans, is an amazing opportunity and we are excited about that.”
Brabham is thrilled with the opportunity. “This opportunity means the world to me, and I am very grateful to be involved,” he said. “There will be a lot of preparation for me, but I have been preparing for this moment for last 14 years. Now, it is down to the details and fine-tuning everything. Guys like Dave Rutherford will be great as coaches, and he will bring a lot of experience to the team.
“My dad (Geoff Brabham) is the most proud father he could be, and I know my grandfather (Jack Brabham) is looking down on me. All he would talk about was racing together as I was growing up, especially when I started showing an interest. It means a lot to them and the Brabham name, and it is going to be great to be the third-generation Brabham in the race along with the Vukovich and Andretti families.”