Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be Daytona 500 grand marshal
Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not be doing “Dancing with the Stars” next season, but he’s already got another high-profile February commitment.
Daytona International Speedway announced Wednesday that Earnhardt Jr. would serve as the grand marshal for the race on Feb. 18. The race will be the first points race since Junior’s retirement and the first Daytona 500 without a driver named Dale Earnhardt competing since 1978.
“I was humbled when asked to be the Grand Marshal of next season’s Daytona 500,” Earnhardt Jr. said in a Daytona statement. “The race has so much history and being a two-time winner of the event is something I am extremely proud of. The list of names who have Grand Marshaled the race is one I’m honored to add my name to. Speedweeks is an exciting time for our sport, and this assures me an opportunity to witness the thrills of it all.”
The Nov. 19 race at Homestead was Earnhardt Jr.’s last Cup Series race. He’ll drive a couple of Xfinity Series races for his JR Motorsports team next season as well as serve as an analyst for NBC’s coverage of the Cup Series.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
