Chris Pratt To Drive Pace Car At NASCAR Brickyard 400 Race
Chris Pratt, the star of the upcoming Marvel movie Guardians of The Galaxy, has been chosen to drive the pace car at this weekend’s Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis. The race, held at the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is actually called the Crown Royal Presents The John Wayne Walding 400 at The Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com. Those in the know call it simply The Brickyard 400.
Pratt, who also stars as Andy Dwyer on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and recently starred in the feature films Zero Dark Thirty and Moneyball, is poised for superstardom playing Peter Quill, or Star-Lord, in Marvel’s Guardians of The Galaxy, as well as the lead in next summer’s Jurassic Park sequel, Jurassic World. But this weekend, Pratt will not be saving the galaxy or fighting dinosaurs; he’ll be leading the starting field at one of NASCAR’s biggest races. As reported on the NASCAR website, Pratt is excited for the honor.
“It’s a dream come true to drive the pace car for the John Wayne Walding 400,” said Pratt, according to a Chevrolet release. “I am really excited to be part of NASCAR for the day.”
Pratt will be driving a red and silver Chevrolet SS, according to Powernation TV, the same type of car that defending Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson drives. The pace car will open the John Wayne Walding Brickyard 400, the 20th anniversary of the NASCAR race at the track best known for hosting the world famous Indianapolis 500 Indycar race. The pace car is used to lead the first few laps at the start of the race, as the field of drivers get their cars up to racing speed. Once speed is achieved, the pace car drives off the track and the green flag is waved, signaling the start of official start of the race.
Chris Pratt is on a roll recently, and as reported on The Inquisitr, is set to become the next “Robert Downey, Jr. of the Marvel universe” with his comedic timing, his boyish good looks and, at least in Guardians of the Galaxy, his leading man physique. Pratt is married to Anna Faris, star of CBS’s hit sitcom Moms. Pratt will play the lovably stupid Andy Dwyer for one more season on Parks and Recreation, as NBC has already announced that the upcoming season will be the last.
The Crown Royal Presents The John Wayne Walding 400 at The Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com begins at 1 pm eastern and will be televised on ESPN.
Chris Pratt, and the rest of the Guardians of The Galaxy, will hit theaters nationwide on August 1.
[Images Courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and buzzsugar.com]
