Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will head to Phoenix for the fifth race of the season. The Instacart 500 will feature a game show host as a special guest, who will utter the most iconic words in motorsports. Jason Biggs, the host of Cherries Wild will serve as the grand marshal.
Biggs will not be at the track in order to fulfill his duties. He will instead give the call virtually due to the COVID-19 guidelines. Biggs will set the stage for 500 kilometers of racing action in the desert. Once the race comes to an end, fans will have the opportunity to watch Cherries Wild, “a fast-paced,” half-hour trivia game show. The show airs at 7 p.m. ET.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Yeah, you heard it right last night! @JasonBiggs will be our Grand Marshall for the #Instacart500 this Sunday 🌵 #NASCARReturns | @NASCARonFox pic.twitter.com/SxmEeVkBF0
— Phoenix Raceway (@phoenixraceway) March 8, 2021
“A lot of people don’t know this, but I am a HUGE [NASCAR] fan,” Biggs tweeted after Phoenix Raceway revealed his participation. “Beyond excited to be Grand Marshall for this weekend’s race in my wife’s hometown.” He joins a stacked list of previous grand marshals including Tua Tagovailoa, Derek Carr, Kevin James, and Pitbull.
The first trip to Phoenix in 2020 was a memorable race. Team Penske driver Joey Logano dealt with some issues during the race, including a broken jack, and he only led 60 of the 316 laps. He recovered from the issue, regained position at the front of the pack, and then held off Kevin Harvick in overtime to secure his second win of the season.
“Man, we had a really good car, really good Shell Pennzoil Mustang,” Logano said after winning his second race of the season, per MRN. “We had more things go wrong today. Unfortunate situation with the jack breaking. No one’s fault.”
The FanShield 500 at Phoenix also marked the final “normal” race of the Cup Series schedule. The sports world came to a halt days later, resulting in the postponement of the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NASCAR seasons. The Cup Series drivers remained out of action until May 17 while taking part in virtual races on the iRacing platform.
Sunday’s return to Phoenix will not feature a packed stadium, but there will still be a limited number of fans in attendance. Those who show up will have to undergo screening before they can enter the facilities. Once inside, they will have to remain six feet away from each other.
