The Daytona 500 is barely a month away now, but new faces are still being announced for NASCAR's season opener.
This weekend, organizers confirmed that country music legend Miranda Lambert will perform the pre-race concert at the iconic race,
The news was initially announced live on Fox during Sunday's NFL playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, with Fox also broadcasting the race next month.
Last year's pre-race concert was performed by Pitbull in slightly odd circumstances, coming just days after 'Mr Worldwide' announced that he would be ending his partnership with Trackhouse Racing – the team which he co-owned – with immediate effect.
68th Daytona 500 taking shape
Daytona International Speedway President Frank Kelleher said in a statement: “To have this level of talent with an artist such as Miranda Lambert performing our pre-race concert adds an incredible amount of energy for the 68th running of the Daytona 500.
"Her powerhouse vocals and passion for music are the perfect mix to represent the prestige of this event. Get ready for the thunder of country music before we wave the green flag and engines roar to kick off the 2026 season.”
The 2026 Daytona 500 will run on February 15, with the green flag set to wave at around 2:30pm ET.
Denny Hamlin will start the race looking to bounce back from a devastating end to the 2025 season on the track, losing out on the championship at the very last moment through no fault of his own. With a win, Hamlin would go into a tie with Cale Yarborough for second most Daytona 500 wins of all time.
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