Country music star Miranda Lambert received a custom Daytona 500-themed guitar at Daytona International Speedway before her pre-race performance. Track president Frank Kelleher stepped forward to hand in the surprise gift to the headline performer ahead of the 68th running of NASCAR’s biggest race.
The three-time GRAMMY Award winner will perform decades of country music hits to the superspeedway. The Daytona 500 start time has moved up because weather threatened the afternoon schedule and the green flag will now drop at 1:30 pm ET. Consequently, the the pre-race show was also up an hour to 11:30 am ET.
Ahead of the concert, Miranda Lambert joined a brief media session. And veteran NASCAR journalist Claire B Lang shared the video of Kelleher presenting Lambert the guitar, where he said:
“On behalf of the France family and the entire staff of Daytona International Speedway we’re just elevating what is already going to be an amazing event day the 68th running of the Daytona 500. It is my pleasure to present to you a one-of-one custom guitar that we hope that you showed off with pride.”
Country star Miranda Lambert, who is known for hits such as ‘Kerosene’ and ‘The House That Built Me,’ added that she loved the ‘beautiful’ guitar.
“These Are My People” – Miranda Lambert On The Daytona 500 Crowd
Miranda Lambert has a long list of popular songs that have also earned her multiple awards. Her breakout hit ‘Kerosene’ reached the top 20 on the country charts in the mid-2000s. ‘The House That Built Me,’ hit No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart and got her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
With three Grammy Awards from dozens of nominations across her long career, Lambert also wrote the song ‘Fastest Girl in Town,’ whose music video featured her alongside former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick cruising and racing.
During her media session, Lambert also called the Daytona 500 one of the biggest stages she has performed on.
“These are my people,” Miranda Lambert said (via Peter Strata).
The Daytona 500 is the first points race of the season, set to start this afternoon on Sunday, February 15. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch took the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series opener and will start the race from the front with Chase Briscoe alongside him. Busch and Briscoe posted the two fastest laps during the single-lap qualifying sessions at Daytona International Speedway.
JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaeir, 23XI Racing’s Corey Heim, Casey Mears and B.J. McLeod are the four open teams that qualified for the ‘Great American Race’ on speed. Jimmie Johnson took the Open Exemption Provision to get an automatic entry. Meanwhile William Byron, the defending Daytona 500 winner, will start the race from further back.
There is also a moderate chance of rain during the afternoon this Sunday and the weather could extend the race into the evening.
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