Scottish actor Gerard Butler is adding another iconic phrase to the list of memorable lines he has uttered in his career.
"Drivers, start your engines! This is Daytona!"
Ok, so Butler probably isn't going to shout out that last bit a la Sparta's King Leonidas in "300," but he gets to give the famous command in motorsports nonetheless, as he has just been named the 58th annual Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Grand Marshal.
He also gets to ride one of the Marshal Cars during the pace laps before the green flag and attend other ceremonies before the race.
"We're honored to have Gerard Butler serve as Grand Marshal for the Daytona 500 [...] and we look forward to hearing his starting command to kick off the first Daytona 500 held in the new motorsports stadium," Joie Chitwood III says. Chitwood is the Daytona International Speedway president.
Surely Chitwood means they're excited to hear Butler's Spartan voice commanding the participants to get their engines revving. After all, the photo of Butler that Daytona used in its announcement definitely calls to mind Leonidas announcing that his army of 300 Spartan men will dine in hell that very night.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Actor Gerard Butler will be the Grand Marshal for the DAYTONA 500! https://bit.ly/1QjkRey
Posted by Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Daytona also named two other celebrities who will take on honorary roles for the Feb. 21 200-lap, 500-mile event. The first is Major League Baseball outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. who will serve as the honorary starter, and the other is WWE superstar John Cena, who will be the honorary pace car driver. Cena has already served as an honorary starter in 2012.
Assuming everything goes smoothly and Butler will be in full health on Feb. 21, he will join the ranks of other actors who previously served as Grand Marshal. John Travolta, Matthew McConaughey, James Caan, Nicolas Cage, James Franco, Vince Vaughn, Chris Evans, Kate Upton and Jane Lynch are only a few in the list.
