NASCAR’s Pro Invitational Series continues on Sunday as the virtual race heads to Talladega Superspeedway. This track is viewed as one of the best in all of professional racing, and the organization will be celebrating with a performance from a country music legend. Singer Randy Owen will be headlining the pre-race concert on Sunday.
According to NASCAR‘s press release, Owen will join Hall of Famer Richard Childress for the pre-race event. He will also spend time “chatting about” the Geico 70 at the virtual Talladega Superspeedway. The race is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FOX, FS1 and the FOX Sports app. NASCAR.com’s Alex Weaver will serve as the host for the online event.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Owen helped create the supergroup Alabama, country music’s first-ever superstar band. This group has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide and released 43 No. 1 singles. Owen and Alabama have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The racing organization has been striving to make the Pro Invitational Series feel like a more traditional race while the 2020 season is postponed. Pre-race concerts have been performed by Tim Dugger, Cole Swindell, Cody Cannon and Justin Moore. Additionally, NASCAR has brought in some big names to serve as the grand marshal. NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski have both filled the role in previous weeks, and they will now be joined by Tim Allen.
Once the race begins, there will be even more intrigue for the viewers watching at home. NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon will be leaving the virtual booth in order to take part in the series. He will join fellow legends Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson as more veteran presences on the virtual track. Whether he finds success is unknown, but the other drivers are excited to see Gordon take part in the action.
“It’s super cool to see those guys involved. I’ve personally gotten a chance to run door-to-door with Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and some of those guys in real life, but I’ve never had a chance to race with Jeff Gordon so it’ll be a cool opportunity for a lot of us to be able to run door-to-door with them,” driver Garrett Smithley said in an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com “Hopefully, he enjoys it but it’s cool to see all these guys really jump on board, really get into it.
“Jeff and Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, they’ve all been doing a great job in the booth and I think Jeff saw that and said, ‘Hey, this is an opportunity for me to go have some fun with these guys.’ I’m glad he’s making the decision because I think it’s going to be really fun for everybody involved.”
The Geico 70 will take place on Sunday afternoon on the virtual Talladega Superspeedway. The broadcast will begin at 1 p.m. ET on FOX, FS1 and the FOX Sports app. Owen’s concert will take place shortly before the green flag is waved.
