Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of FOX, to serve as honorary starter for Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR on Wednesday named FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch the honorary starter of the season-opening Daytona 500.
Murdoch, the executive chair and chief executive officer of FOX Corp., will wave the green flag Sunday to start "The Great American Race."
Murdoch served as Executive Chairman of 21st Century FOX prior to the closing of the merger of 21st Century FOX and The Walt Disney Company in March 2019.
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(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)
The 64th running will be aired live on FOX, which is in contract negotiations with NASCAR on the current television deal that expires at the end of the 2024 season.
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The Daytona 500 will have a heavy Fox presence: Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, a Fox Sports analyst, will give the "Drivers, Start Your Engines" command as grand marshal for the Great American Race at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Feb. 20 on FOX at Daytona International Speedway, the season-opener for the NASCAR Cup Series.
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Landon Cassill is driving a car fielded by Spire Motorsports and sponsored by Fox Nation. Country music icon Trace Adkins will perform the national anthem.
The race is sold out.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Watch FOX 35 on Friday and Sunday as Good Day Orlando is LIVE from the Daytona International Speedway with pre-race coverage before drivers hit the track.
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