DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – To get racing underway Saturday at the Coke Zero Sugar 400, NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, his son Kyle and nephews Ritchie, Timmy and Mark Petty will give the command to the drivers to start their engines at Daytona International Speedway.
What you need to know
- Richard Petty and his family are the Grand Marshals for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday in Daytona
- They will get the drivers excited for the race by asking them to start their engines
- The race is the penultimate in the regular season of the NASCAR Cup Series
- The King’s Hat will also be on display as part of the racing festivities at Daytona International Speedway.
This year marks the 75th year the Petty family has been racing. Richard’s father, Lee, won the first Daytona 500 on February 25, 1959, while Richard Petty holds the most wins at the superspeedway with seven Daytona 500 titles from 1964 to 1981 and 10 overall victories at the track.
Maurice Petty – the father of Ritchie, Timmy and Mark – was an engine builder for cars that won eight Daytona 500s. Kyle won eight races in what is now known as the NASCAR Cup Series. Kyle’s son, Adam, became the first fourth-generation driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, but died at age 19 after crashing on a practice lap for a Busch Series race in Loudon, NH on May 12, 2000.
“As we continue to celebrate one of NASCAR’s greatest legacies, we are thrilled to welcome the Petty family to help us launch the Coke Zero Sugar 400,” said Frank Kelleher, president of Daytona International Speedway. “Our history here at Daytona International Speedway and in NASCAR goes hand in hand with the Petty family’s history, which began when Lee won the very first Daytona 500 in 1959. Given all of the significant racing moments their family produced in the years since, we are honored to have the Pettys return to Daytona as our Grand Marshals.”
Earlier this year, Daytona International Speedway became the first track to feature the King’s Hat exhibit, a statue in the shape of Richard Petty’s famous cowboy hat that details the Pettys’ history in Daytona and throughout the sport of NASCAR. The King’s Hat will be on display again during the upcoming NASCAR race weekend in Daytona.
The race weekend begins on Friday with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250, which is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, rock band Lit will perform a pre-race concert, and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will begin at 7:30 p.m. The race is the second-to-last of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. The final race is the Southern 500 in Darlington, SC, on Sept. 1, and the playoffs begin Sept. 8 in Atlanta.
Tickets and more information are available on the Daytona International Speedway website.
