The NASCAR community waited with bated breath to hear the iconic line “Drivers start your engines” at Daytona. However, it was once again Mother Nature who intervened and threw a wrench in the initiation of NASCAR’s Super Bowl weekend. As a result, the grand opening that awaited the eager NASCAR audience was scrapped from the pre-race schedule of the race weekend. Owing to this, many avid NASCAR fans failed to catch a glimpse of their favorite celebrities, like Pitbull and DJ Khaled, except one person. The #97 Camaro driver, Shane Van Gisbergen was able to savor his moment of meeting Mr. Worldwide and was able to tick off a box from his bucket list.

Shane Van Gisbergen shares his fanboy moment after posing with his celebrity team owner

Instead of sulking over his poor fate, van Gisbergen seized the opportunity of the rain delay to play catch up with his co-owner Pitbull and channel out his inner fanboy moment. In a Twitter post, the Kiwi driver was seen posing with the Grammy award winner, with the words, “Great use of a rain delay to finally meet @pitbull.”

Crossing the Pacific and settling down in an alien country was not only overwhelming but also a mammoth task for the Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen. It was not only the race track that the driver had to acclimatize himself but also the culture shock and, most importantly, his new environment. However, nothing seemed to be a daunting task for the Kiwi after flooring the NASCAR world with his buoyant success in the inaugural street race in Chicago.

As a result, the driver inked a developmental program with Trackhouse Racing to chisel his stock car racing skills. Van Gisbergen in the 2024 season is set to race in the ARCA and the Xfinity Series along with seven Cup Series races in his rookie season. While his run in the ARCA Daytona debut was marred after being caught in a wreck, he made a promising start in the Xfinity Series, after qualifying fifth in the race. However, the weather inclement played the role of spoilsport in the debut of the driver.

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Nevertheless, meeting Pitbull was a ray of light on a rather gloomy weekend. Both personalities were seen smiling ear-to-ear and donning jackets and t-shirts with the logo of Trackhouse Racing on it.

Fans share their admiration after SVG was able to meet Mr. Worldwide

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Not every fan turned out to be as lucky as Shane Van Gisbergen, as the deluge forced Pitbull to call off his pre race concert. This was the first time since 2012 that the race was completely postponed to a full day. Nevertheless, the fans commented on the picture, sharing their joy at seeing the two stars meet.

One fan wrote, “Life goal to meet Mr world wide lol,” while another said, “Mr world wide good work Gizzy go get em legend.”

Another fan joked about Pitbull’s nickname, “New Zealand legend meets Pitbull? He really is Mr. Worldwide,” while others joked, “Pretty sure he was there to meet you,” and “His Make-A-Wish was to meet SVG. I hope the little guy makes it.”

Mr. Worldwide was set to perform in the Daytona infield as a part of the pre-race festivities, but the steady rains marred the celebrations. However, the singer promised to be back and rescheduled for the Daytona 500 in 2025.

In a media briefing, the singer promised the President of Daytona International Speedway Frank Kelleher, “I’ll tell you what, you know I’m old school. No contract, no nothing, just handshake, eye to eye. I will be there.” Pitbull also added, “Even if it’s raining, it don’t matter, we gonna bring the light regardless. So thank you for having me, I appreciate it, it was an honor and blessing to be here and I’m always excited to be part of NASCAR and Trackhouse family. So one way or another we’re going to make best of it.”

With the race slated to be held on Monday, it is to be seen whether the weather remains favorable for the Great American race to take place and see the new driver be crowned as the winner.

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