The 2026 Daytona 500 honorary pace car driver is 74 year-old “Miracle” and “Tombstone” actor Kurt Russell, partner to Goldie Hawn and stepfather to Kate and Oliver Hudson.
The announcement came Jan. 25 on Fox during Sunday’s matchup, where the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-27, earning a spot to play in Super Bowl LX Feb. 8 against the New England Patriots.
The pace car driver role is an honor bestowed upon prominent figures in their field, including NFL Hall of Famers, Miss America beauty queens, famed Hollywood actors and WWE superstar wrestlers.
Here’s who’s served in the role in the past ten years.
“Tombstone,” “Miracle” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” actor Kurt Russell will serve as the 2026 Daytona 500 honorary pace car driver, announced on Fox during the NFC championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams.
The 74-year-old Hollywood actor will take to the track Feb. 15, 2026.
More: 5 things to know about 2026 Daytona 500 pace car driver Kurt Russell
Alan Ritchson, star of the Amazon Prime Video series, “Reacher,” was the 2025 Daytona 500 honorary pace car driver, alongside grand marshal Captain America star Anthony Mackie.
Ritchson drove Chevrolet’s electric Blazer SS, the first EV to lead the Daytona 500.
Madison Marsh, the first active-duty Air Force officer to be crowned Miss America, drove the pace car ahead of the 66th Great American Race on Feb. 18, 2024.
Marsh was crowned just a month earlier, on Jan. 14, 2024.
Former “SNL” star and stand-up comedian Pete Davidson was the honorary pace car driver at the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 19, 2023, according to FOX 51.
World Wrestling Entertainment champion and Tampa, Florida, native Big E piloted the “Official” 2022 Toyota Camry pace car ahead of the 2022 Daytona 500.
Known as the “Celtic Warrior,” four-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus served as honorary pace car driver for the 62nd NASCAR Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020.
Two-time Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. served as the honorary pace truck driver at the Feb. 17, 2019, Daytona 500, driving a2019 Chevrolet Silverado at Daytona International Speedway.
Peyton Manning, widely considered to be one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time, played 18 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos.
Manning retired from the NFL in 2016, at nearly 40 years old. Two years later, he served as honorary pace driver at the 2018 Daytona 500.
Four-time NASCAR Cup Series and three-time Daytona 500 champion Jeff Gordon retired from full-time driving at the end of the 2015 Cup Series season.
In 2017, he returned to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, as an honorary pace driver.
The now-retired WWE superstar and “F9,” “Peacemaker” actor John Cena served as an honorary starter of the 54th annual Daytona 500 in 2012, and as an honorary pace car driver of the 58th Daytona 500 in 2016.
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