Daytona 500 promises thrills, celebrities

DAYTONA BEACH — When the green flag drops Sunday for the 54th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, fans, viewers and racing enthusiasts will get more than just the thrill of speed.

RIC BUSH/Special to the Chronicle

North Carolina-based designer Sam Bass gives a guitar to Daytona International Speedway on Thursday on Media Day. He also designed a guitar for Lenny Kravitz and will present it to the star Sunday before the start of the Daytona 500.

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The race usually guarantees nail-biting passes between drivers vying to lead a lap for extra points, tandem drafting and multi-car crashes. And NASCAR’s aerodynamic changes this year to the restrictor-plate race cars promise a competitive race — one drivers said will be decided by who gets the nose of the car over the finish line first.

But there is also the entertainment aspect before the engines start and tires peel down pit road. And this year is no exception. Hollywood and the music industry will once again contribute to the event billed as the Super Bowl of car racing.

Pat Monahan of multi-platinum, Grammy-winning group Train will sing the National Anthem. The band from San Francisco has won three Grammys.

“Pat has one of the most amazing voices in music today and we are ecstatic to have him perform the National Anthem before hundreds of thousands of fans in attendance and millions more watching live on FOX Sports,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood said.

The race’s grand marshals are Jane Lynch and Kate Upton, who co-star in the new  Three Stooges movie, which opens April 13. The duo will deliver the four most famous words in motorsports: “Drivers, start your engines.”

WWE superstar John Cena will wave the green flag as the honorary starter of the Daytona 500.

Cena was invited to participate this year by 2011 Sprint Cup Series runner-up Carl Edwards on WWE’s Monday Night Raw. Edwards got out of his official No. 99 Fastenal Ford and told Cena, “NASCAR asked me to come to Monday Night Raw and personally invite you to drop the green flag and officially start the Daytona 500 on February 26.”

An appreciative Cena enthusiastically accepted with an emphatic “Yes!”

For the traditional pre-race concert, recording artist Lenny Kravitz, who has sold more than 35 million albums and is the only musician in history to win the Grammy for best male vocals in rock music four times consecutively, will perform the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show. Ticketed fans will be treated to front row seats on the grassy tri-oval infield area at noon on race day.

Sam Bass, designer of special guitars for NASCAR and other movie stars, will present Kravitz with a one-of-a-kind guitar prior to the race.

Kravitz joins a long list of star-studded names who performed in the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show, including Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey and Brad Paisley.

“It’s a complete day for the fans,” said Andrew Booth, senior communications director of the speedway.
Other entertainer highlights include:

* UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones will participate in pre-race ceremonies and ride in the pace car as Honorary Race Official for the Daytona 500.

* For the third time, the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron will perform the flyover, featuring six F-16 Fighting Falcons, the Air Force’s premier multi-role fighter aircraft.

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SO YOU KNOW
* More Money, More Competition: The 54th Daytona 500 will carry a record purse of more than $19 million, as well as a $200,000 mid-race bonus for the driver in the lead on Lap 100.