What does it take to build a sandwich fit for a king? Just ask Mike Shillinger of San Antonio. Shillinger's roast beef and turkey creation topped the competition in Kretschmar Premium Deli Meats' "Build A Sandwich Fit For A King" contest. As the winner, Shillinger prepared and served his triumphant creation to "The King" Richard Petty and the No. 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

Kretschmar Premium Deli Meats, part of the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, started its sandwich race on June 15, inviting fans to submit their original sandwich recipes on the Kretschmar Facebook page over a three-week period. In the end, it was Shillinger's combination of roast beef and turkey topped with his special maddog sauce that took the checkered flag.

"We loved seeing the creative and innovative ways that our Kretschmar Premium Deli Meats products were used," said Chuck Gitkin, VP, Marketing, Innovation and R&D, John Morrell Food Group. "The 'Build A Sandwich Fit For A King' promotion was a great example of our consumers' originality and how dynamic their visions can be. We really enjoyed their creations and are pleased to know that Richard Petty did as well."

For his winning effort, Shillinger was invited to the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway as a guest of Kretschmar and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team. On Saturday, Shillinger put his culinary skills to the test.  They not only made the winning sandwich for Petty, but also for the rest of his race team. 

"Mike created a great sandwich," Richard Petty said. "He really spiced up a traditional recipe and made it his own.   It must have been a tough contest to pick a winner. I'll bet all of the entries were really good. Of course, it's tough to make a bad sandwich when you're using Kretschmar meats."

In addition to meeting the team, Shillinger was able to tour through the garage, walk down pit lane and watch the weekend's races.

"This weekend is a once-in-a-lifetime event," Shillinger said. "To meet Richard Petty and serve him and his team lunch, that's pretty unbelievable. I was a little nervous serving them my sandwich. I was really hoping that they liked it. Fortunately Richard told me that it was really good."

Source: Kretschmar Deli