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CONCORD, N.C. — Officials with Charlotte Motor Speedway will once again pay tribute to America’s armed forces this year with a Coca-Cola 600 pre-race show that will include everything from Humvees to Howitzers, helicopters to F-16 fighter jets. And of course a tremendous number of members of the military.

It’s a tradition that’s taken place for approximately four decades at the 1.5-mile speedway, which will host the annual Memorial Day weekend race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series May 28.

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Concord Republican for the 8th District, spent time in Fayetteville on Tuesday to learn how federal lawmakers can assist a veteran-owned business.

The tour was part of Hudson’s initiative to familiarize himself with businesses in the southern part of North Carolina, including several that surround Fort Bragg. His initiative provides local business owners face time with the congressman, while also affording Hudson the opportunity to learn about needs and concerns of businesses.

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-Concord, received an award this week from a well-known conservative advocacy organization.

Hudson, who represents the 8th Congressional District, received the American Conservative Union’s Conservative Achievement Award for the fourth-consecutive year. Hudson has a lifetime rating of 91.71 from the American Conservative Union. In 2016, he received a rating of 96.

SALISBURY — Rowan County’s congressmen joined the majority on Thursday when the U.S. House passed a Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Reps. Richard Hudson, R-Concord, and Ted Budd, R-Advance, voted in favor of the American Health Care Act with 215 other Republicans. Hudson has supported the bill from its first introduction months ago. Budd had opposed it until recently.

The final vote count, mostly along party lines, was 217 in favor and 213 opposed.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a Republican health care plan, handing President Donald Trump his biggest legislative victory but setting up a tough fight in the Senate.

With the 217-213 vote, Republicans obtained just enough support to push the legislation through the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration. No Democrats voted for the bill.

North Carolina is one of the states that could benefit most from a new executive order from the Trump administration intended to expand offshore energy production, according to the N.C. Petroleum Council.

Last week, President Donald Trump signed the America First Offshore Energy Strategy executive order, which directs the U.S. Department of Interior to review and replace the Obama administration’s most recent five-year oil and gas development plan for the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf.