Cookie Monster to Serve as Grand Marshal of Brickyard 400

Cookie Monster, the lovable, cookie-eating creature featured on the children’s television program Sesame Street, is set to travel to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend to take part in the pre-race festivities of the Brickyard 400.

Just prior to the drop of the green flag, Cookie Monster will deliver the most famous words in motorsports and get one of the biggest NASCAR Cup Series events of the season underway.

It’s all part of a summer-long tour that Sesame Street will be taking across the United States, which will bring communities together and put on display the many ways that Sesame Street – and Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind the iconic children’s brand – helps children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.

Serving as the Grand Marshal of the Brickyard 400, Cookie Monster will be reunited with Bubba Wallace, a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Cup Series driving for 23XI Racing. In advance of the road trip, the pair taped a special video to let fans know that they’re going to be on the move this Summer.

“For over 55 years, Sesame Street has been reaching and teaching children across America,” said Aaron Bisman, Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing for Sesame Workshop. “What better way to extend the laughter and learning than by bringing Sesame Street to where our young fans are – their hometowns? This summer, families will experience the joy of Sesame Street at state fairs, baseball games, and so much more.”

Highlights of the cross-country road trip include several state fairs and a zoo, where families will enjoy a Sesame Street-themed interactive digital booth, photo opportunities, coloring stations, and giveaways at Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina state fairs, as well as at Utah’s Hogel Zoo in Salt Lake City.

Partnering with The MAiZE, Inc. Sesame Street is also set to team up with more than 30 local farms across the United States to make Muppet mazes for the entire families to enjoy, which collectively, will reach up to a million visitors this Fall.

Finally, like at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sesame Street will be collaborating with some Major and Minor League baseball clubs, hosting Sesame Street-themed days with virtual character greetings, custom giveaways, seventh inning stretch activations, and in-stadium games.

Major League Baseball stops will include the Seattle Mariners (July 21), Milwaukee Brewers (July 25), Pittsburgh Pirates (August 24), New York Mets (August 27), and Cleveland Guardians (August 31). Minor League Baseball stops include Fayetteville Woodpeckers (August 17), Fort Wayne TinCaps (August 17), Alburquerque Isotopes (August 24), and the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (September 21).

The road trip (which leads into the premier of Sesame Street’s 56th season later this year) will be largely supported by a major social media campaign that will feature the faces and places where Sesame Street friends and fans live, so families across the country can join in on the fun.

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