The final day of our three-day swing across southwest Virginia started off with a tour of the General Dynamics plant in Marion. The plant assembles parts of jets, including wings and nose cones, and employs 500 residents of Smyth county.

After the tour Senator Warner spoke to about 200 employees. He discussed his work on Startup 2.0, as well as the value of attracting highly skilled manufacturing jobs to Virginia.

"When I was governor, one of my best days was announcing the opening of a CGI location in Lebanon," Senator Warner said. "Our small towns, like Marion, can attract and keep high tech jobs if we make sure Virginia is as competitive as possible."

Afterwards, the Senator met local officials at the Northern trailhead of the Virginia Creeper Trail in Abingdon to announce the award of an $815,000 federal grant to Southwest Virginia’s ‘Round the Mountain art and outdoor recreation network.

Senator Warner praised the work of Southwest Virginians in networking to promote their natural assets to tourists.

"It's incredible to see what you've done here - taking all of your natural beauty, music, culture and turning them into an economic engine," the Senator said.

Senator Warner concluded the three-day swing by attending Friday night’s NASCAR race at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Torrential rains briefly delayed the green flag, so the Senator visited with race fans, including southwest Virginia's newest member of the House of Delegates, Republican Israel O'Quinn.