$45 million-worth baseball legend Jose Bautista set to pilot NASCAR pace car during Cup race in Las Vegas - Reports

Baseball legend José Bautista is getting ready for a new role at the NASCAR Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas on March 3rd. Switching from the baseball field to the racetrack, Bautista, whom CelebrityNetworth.com has valued at $45 million, will drive the pace for this week's NASCAR Cup race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass announced the news on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

"Former baseball star José Bautista to drive the pace car Sunday prior to the start of the Cup race at Vegas."

The Major League Baseball star is the latest addition to the roster of celebrity pace car drivers at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams and actor-comedian Nick Cannon.

José Bautista, also known as “Joey Bats”, had a successful baseball career, including 344 home runs and six All-Star appearances in 15 seasons in the MLB.

In his pace car driver role, Bautista will have the honor of leading the entire field before the race begins. In an official statement released by the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bautista expressed his excitement, saying:

“I’m really looking forward to Sunday. I’ve been able to watch a few NASCAR races from afar, but to be the guy leading them to the green flag on Sunday is going to be something else. I can’t wait.”

The NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas will race on Sunday, March 3rd, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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Daniel Suarez's Atlanta victory sets the stage for Las Vegas NASCAR weekend

Daniel Suarez's win in a three-wide finish over Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in Atlanta sets the stage for an exciting weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As of now, Suarez, Kyle Busch, and William Byron are at the top of the championship standings.

After two consecutive superspeedway races, NASCAR fans are looking forward to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway triple-header. The weekend festivities are scheduled to start on Friday, March 1.

Here is the schedule for the race weekend (all times in Eastern):

Friday, March 1st

4:35 p.m.: Truck Series drivers practice and qualifying sessions.

6:35 p.m.: Practice and qualifying sessions for the drivers of the Xfinity Series.

9:00 p.m.: Main Craftsman Truck Series race.

Saturday, March 2nd

2:05 p.m.: Cup Series practice and qualifying.

5:00 p.m.: Xfinity Series main race.

Sunday, March 3rd

3:30 p.m.: The premier event of the weekend, the Pennzoil 400 Cup Series race.

All events can be watched live on FS1 or Fox in the United States.