News

Actions

NASCAR driver Ross Chastain joins Tennessee Highway Safety Office for Franklin traffic safety event

Ross Chastain.png
Posted

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — NASCAR driver Ross Chastain will join the Tennessee Highway Safety Office for a traffic safety event Friday at a Franklin Walmart, urging drivers to never drink and drive.

The event runs from 11 a.m. to noon on May 29 at Walmart Supercenter, 3600 Mallory Lane, Franklin, TN 37067.

Chastain will sign autographs, offer photos with his show car and speak to attendees about the dangers of drunk driving. The event is centered on the "Use Your Melon" message, a campaign against drunk driving.

The 2026 National Watermelon Queen, Katelyn Lindsay, of Locust Grove, Georgia, will also be on hand to distribute free watermelon slices to participants.

The Tennessee Highway Safety Office will showcase its seat belt convincer, a device that allows attendees to feel the impact of wearing a seat belt during a crash.

Traffic safety partners will offer vehicle displays, educational resources and hands-on activities. Partners include:

  • AAA – The Auto Club Group
  • Vanderbilt Health
  • TriStar Skyline Medical Center
  • Reduce TN Crashes
  • Tennessee Tech University
  • Tennessee Trucking Foundation
  • Tennessee Highway Patrol
  • Tennessee Department of Transportation
  • Local law enforcement

The Tennessee Highway Safety Office is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

Carrie: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/2e/72/be0f23854c54a228c9d6138c9847/carrie-recommends-header.png

Rhori: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/5b/25/a224d13d47739165c92b94e643db/rhori-recommends-header.png

Eugene: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/7b/09/9eaf788d46f580c4234978610d60/screenshot-2026-04-29-at-12-11-52-pm.png

Lelan: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/af/54/833bf879454097a398bd44f723de/lelan-recommends.png

Nikki-Dee: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/e1/b4/685a931d4182b82d9322d496fa15/screenshot-2026-04-15-at-12-01-18-pm.png

Henry: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/f7/31/2e3894bf45d9a1668f1ccc56b9f6/screenshot-2026-04-15-at-12-01-00-pm.png

Katie: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/77/55/afe9375249a4b9e058e4b2c3d2ea/screenshot-2026-04-15-at-12-00-46-pm.png

Brittany: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/67/90/788e5c364f00baabf9c5edae87e2/screenshot-2026-04-15-at-12-00-06-pm.png

Jennifer: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/e4/1e/9771c0824888a0fd87b2a1030979/screenshot-2026-04-15-at-12-02-19-pm.png

The skies were closed on 9/11. A Nashville phone call helped save a baby’s life

September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”

- Rhori Johnston