Daytona Beach, FL – Another Hollywood star will tell drivers at this year’s Daytona 500 to start their engines.
Actor Gerard Butler was named the Grand Marshal for the 58th annual edition of the Great American Race on Tuesday.
“Gerard is a talented actor and we look forward to hearing his starting command to kick off the first Daytona 500 held in the new motorsports stadium,” said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III.
The 46-year-old Scottish actor will also participate in other pre-race ceremonies, including riding in one of the Grand Marshal cars during the pace laps prior to the green flag and attending the drivers meeting.
Butler has starred on the big screen in several action films, including 300, Machine Gun Preacher and Olympus Has Fallen. He’s also starring in London Has Fallen, a sequel to Olympus Has Fallen that debuts nationwide on March 4th.
Butler joins a long list of actors who have previously served as Daytona 500 Grand Marshals. Those include Vince Vaughn, James Franco, Chris Evans, John Travolta, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage and Matthew McConaughey.
The Daytona 500 runs at 1 PM on Sunday (February 21st).
Gerard Butler (photo courtesy DIS)
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