2024 Daytona 500: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson named grand marshal for 66th running of The Great American Race

WWE legend and accomplished actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will serve as the grand marshal for the 2024 Daytona 500, giving the command to start engines for the 66th running of The Great American Race. The announcement was made during Fox’s broadcast of the NFC Championship Game on Sunday evening.

This will be the second time that The Rock has served as the grand marshal for a NASCAR Cup Series race, and the first time in almost a full 20 years. He was previously the grand marshal for a race at Texas Motor Speedway in April 2004.

The Rock becomes the latest celebrity to serve as Daytona 500 grand marshal, joining a group that has included Houston Texans legend J.J. Watt, U.S. President Donald Trump, internationally acclaimed recording artist Pitbull and Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson over the past several years. Last year, the command to start engines was given by NASCAR legends who had won both a Daytona 500 and a Cup Series championship in commemoration of the sport’s 75th Anniversary.

The announcement of The Rock as the grand marshal comes only a few days after last Friday’s announcement that Pitbull — who is the co-owner of Trackhouse Racing, which fields two full-time Cup cars for Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez — will perform the Daytona 500 pre-race show.