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The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season is all set to kick off with the Daytona 500 next month. Another headline name joining in for the famed 500-mile-long race will be WWE wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson, who fills in as the event's Grand Marshal for its Sunday proceedings.
The 51-year-old actor will be seen giving drivers the command to start their engines once again after having undertaken Grand Marshal duties during the 2004 spring race in Texas.
The official announcement came during the NFL game between the Detroit Lions and San Fransisco 49ers last weekend. As confirmed during FOX Sport's broadcast of one of the Conference Championship games, the broadcasting giant will also be covering NASCAR's crown jewel event in February.
The 2024 Daytona 500 field consists of 40 drivers with names such as Jimmie Johnson and defending champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. taking the green flag on Sunday, February 18, 2024, at 2:30 pm ET.
Preceding this year's Daytona 500 will be the exhibition-style Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum, which makes its return to the Cup Series calendar after last season. The event will also be featuring one of NASCAR's international series debut at the Coliseum with the Mexico Series.
2024 Daytona 500 to be preceded by GRAMMY-award-winning rapper and NASCAR team owner Pitbull's performance
The famed 500-mile-long regular season opener will also feature rapper and Trackhouse Racing co-owner Pitbull ahead of the headline event. February 18, 2024, will mark the artist's performance this season, who will continue on his "The Trilogy Tour" with Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin for the first half of the year.
Pitbull is also looking to release the subsequent Trackhouse album series with a special EP titled Trackhouse: Daytona 500 Edition after the 2024 running of the event, taking inspiration from one of the highlights of the season.
NASCAR's Xfinity Series as well as the Craftsman Truck Series will also be starting their 2024 seasons at the Daytona International Speedway with events lined up for February 16 and 17th respectively. The Fresh From Florida 250 and the United Rentals 300 will go live at 7:30 pm ET and 5:00 pm ET on Friday and Saturday respectively.
