Nate Bargatze announced as 2026 Daytona 500 Grand Marshal

Nate Bargatze is bringing comedy to the 2026 Daytona 500. He’ll be at the track in a special role, serving as the Grand Marshal for this year’s edition of the Great American Race.

Bargatze has seen his star rise over the past couple of years after rising to fame via Saturday Night Live. He’ll be starring in his first feature film, The Breadwinner, which comes out this March. The Daytona 500 is the perfect promotional tool for that.

Meanwhile, Kurt Russell will be part of the festivities as well in Florida. FOX Sports previously announced during the NFC Championship game that the legendary actor will be the honorary pace car driver for The Great American Race. 

“It’s incredibly exciting to be named the honorary pace car driver for this year’s Daytona 500,” Kurt Russell said in a press release, per Jayski’s Silly Season Site.“I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel, it’s been a long time since I’ve been in a race car.”

The 2026 Daytona 500 takes place at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 15. Russell will drive the pace car ahead of the second season of his Apple TV series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which will premiere on Friday, Feb. 27. 

“The Daytona 500 has always been bigger than a race. It’s a global event that blends competition, spectacle, and culture,” Frank Kelleher, President of Daytona International Speedway, said in a press release. “Kurt Russell’s impact in entertainment mirrors what makes The Great American Race special – moments that endure long after the checkered flag.”

Russell has been in the entertainment industry since 1962 and is known for his appearances in films such as Escape from New York, Escape from L.A., Big Trouble in Little China, Backdraft, and Tombstone. The 74-year-old has been nominated for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017.

In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Russell stars in the show with his son, Wyatt Russell. “I was no longer really watching my son, Wyatt, or anything,” Kurt Russell said in an interview with PEOPLE in 2024. “It really hit me that this is not a father-son thing. This is the same person, and I was going to have to kind of get a hold of some things and carry them through, and it was really building on what he was doing.”

The Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s biggest race, and the winner will get a head start in the battle for the Cup Series title. William Byron is the defending Daytona 500 champion and has won the race the last two seasons. Bargatze and Russell will only add to the fun in less than two weeks.

— On3’s Brian Jones contributed to this article.