Franco named grand marshal for 500

Actor James Franco has been named the grand marshal for the 55th running of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Daytona 500 (Feb. 24, 12 p.m. ET on FOX). Franco is the star of the upcoming Disney movie, "Oz the Great and Powerful." Through his role, Franco will give the command, "drivers start your engines." He'll also be introduced at the drivers' meeting, participate in prerace ceremonies and ride in one of the grand marshal cars during the pace laps prior to the green flag of the 200-lap, 500-mile race. Franco's film credits include "127 Hours," for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination, " the "Spider-Man" trilogy, "Milk," "Pineapple Express" and most recently "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Previous grand marshals include John Travolta, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage, Kate Upton, Jane Lynch and Matthew McConaughey.