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Superbowl Winner & NFL Legend Announced as the Grand Marshal for 2022 NASCAR Daytona 500 Race

Published 02/12/2022, 3:55 AM EST

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The Daytona 500, without an inch of a doubt, is ‘The Great American Race.’ Nothing even comes close to this iconic NASCAR race ran on the ‘World Center of Racing’ in terms of action, star power, and prestige as far as American racing is concerned.

And this year, while the racing action is expected to be doubled down with the new car and new regulations, the star power is certainly going up. Especially off the track.

This is because it was recently announced that Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Charles Woodson, will join the Daytona 500 as a Grand Marshal. The Superbowl XLV winner will give out the command, “Drivers, Start Your Engines” at the start of the Daytona 500.

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It’s worth pointing out that for the Busch Light Clash, NBA legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar served as the Grand Marshal.

USA Today via Reuters

Another American sports icon set to join NASCAR in Daytona 500

Floyd Mayweather Jr. had also announced his venture into NASCAR a few weeks ago with an aptly named team.

Mayweather’s The Money Team Racing will enter driver Kaz Grala in the No.50 Chevrolet and attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500. And along with the attempt to compete on the Daytona Beach, TMT Racing also hopes to make a run for a few more Cup Series races this season.

I love fast cars and I love to compete. I know NASCAR will not be easy, but anything easy isn’t worth doing to me,” Mayweather said in the announcement video.

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“This move into auto racing seems to be a perfect fit for the Mayweather brand.”

Whether Floyd Mayweather’s entry turns out to be a ‘perfect fit’ for his brand, time will tell. But what is a perfect fit is the fact of NASCAR’s association with big names across the sporting spectrum such as Mayweather, Woodson, and Jabbar.

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This will certainly impact the sport’s popularity and take the stock cars into places they’ve never ventured before.

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Written by:

Shaharyar Khan Chauhan

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Shaharyar is an F1 & NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Journalism from Amity University, he has been a passionate follower of motorsports for a better part of the decade. A Max Verstappen and Ferrari supporter, he dreams of a pairing of the two in future.
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