A Daytona 500 list of celebrities, models, NASCAR drivers who served as Grand Marshal

When the Great American Race takes off, the Grand Marshal is going to say, "Drivers, start your engines!"

This year, that job belongs to action star Dwayne Johnson aka "The Rock."

On Monday, Feb. 19, Johnson has a pivotal role for the 2024 Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway (inclement weather postponed the event, originally scheduled a day earlier). The Grand Marshal's chief duty is delivering the proverbial "four most important words in motorsports" — Drivers, start your engines.

Over the years, celebrities, models and even former presidents have held that title. Here's a recap of who held the title of Grand Marshal for the past 20 years.

• 2003: actor John Travolta ("Grease," "Face/Off," "Pulp Fiction")

• 2004: President George W. Bush

• 2005: actor Matthew McConaughey ("How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," "Magic Mike," "Interstellar," "Dallas Buyers Club")

• 2006: actor James Caan (TV's "Las Vegas," "The Godfather," "Elf")

• 2007: actor Nicolas Cage ("Face/Off," "Con-Air," "The Rock")

• 2008: 24 living Daytona 500 champions served as the Grand Marshal

• 2009: former Gov. Charlie Crist

• 2010: former driver and team owner Junior Johnson, NASCAR hall-of-famer

• 2011: actor Josh Duhamel ("When in Rome," "Las Vegas," "Life as We Know It"), actress/model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley ("Mad Max: Fury Road," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon") and director Michael Bay ("Transformers," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles")

• 2012: supermodel and three-time Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covergirl Kate Upton and actress Jane Lynch ("40-year-old Virgin," "Only Murders in the Building" and "Glee")

• 2013: actor James Franco ("Spider-Man" films with Tobey Maguire, "The Interview," "The Disaster Artist")

• 2014: actor Chris Evans ("Captain America," "The Avengers" films and "Knives Out")

• 2015: actor Vince Vaughn ("Wedding Crashers," "The Internship," "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story")

• 2016: actor Gerard Butler ("300," "Olympus has Fallen," "How to Train Your Dragon")

• 2017: actor Owen Wilson ("Wedding Crashers," "Cars," "Meet the Parents")

• 2018: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

• 2019: football player and TV personality J.J. Watt

• 2020: former president Donald Trump

• 2021: singer Pitbull (coincidentally, in 2024, Pitbull will headline the pre-race concert for the Daytona 500)

• 2022: retired football star Charles Woodson, NFL hall-of-famer

• 2023: NASCAR driving legends Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano

• 2024: actor/wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (the remake "Jumanji," "Black Adam," "Moana" and "Fast & Furious presents: Hobbs and Shaw")

Contributing: Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Grand Marshals of the Daytona 500: The Rock, Travolta, Pitbull, Trump