This past weekend a record crowd attended the annual Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona where 59 teams battled it out in four classes of cars.

On February 18 NASCAR will run what is termed “The Great American Race” – the Daytona 500.  The annual event caps off a week of racing events to begin the season.  And not to be outdone, The 500 is also sold out…and has been for a number of months.

The action begins on February 14 with qualifying for the front row which includes the pole position.

On the following day the drivers will be divided into two groups where they will race in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel races to set the remainder of the field.

The Craftsman Truck Series gets the weekend of racing started; followed by the ARCA and Xfinity races on Saturday, and the grand event of the 500 on Sunday.

The festivities on Sunday will begin with a performance from Latin music star and Trackhouse Racing co-owner Pitbull.

And to give the most famous words in motorsports will be the Grand Marshall – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson!  Johnson is a professional wrestler, actor, and entrepreneur.

Daytona International Speedway president Frank Kelleher spoke on the event saying, “nothing compares to the intensity and anticipation of that first command of the NASCAR season as we kick off the 66th running of the Daytona 500, and who better to say those four famous words than Dwayne Johnson,” said Frank Kelleher, president of Daytona International Speedway.”

He added, “there are very few people who can truly match the energy around the pomp and circumstance of The Great American Race, and The Rock may be the only person who can actually ramp it up even more. We can’t wait to see how he fires up the crowd and the engines for all the fans.”