NASCAR: Peyton Manning to drive pace car at Daytona 500

Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning is set to drive the pace car at the Daytona 500 to kick off the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to begin this weekend with the 60th annual Daytona 500. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning is set to drive the pace car before the race to kick off the 2018 campaign.

The race is set to be held this Sunday, February 18th at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The front row for the race includes Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman on the pole and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin.

The remaining 38 starting positions for the race are up for grabs and set to be determined by the finishing orders of the two Can-Am Duels that are set to be held this Thursday, February 15th. The starting grids for those two races were determined by Sunday’s qualifying session.

Here is what Manning had to say about getting the opportunity to lead the field prior to the green flag coming out during Sunday’s race, according to NFL.com.

"“Serving as the Honorary Pace Car Driver will be a truly unique and exciting experience. I want to thank NASCAR, Daytona International Speedway and Nationwide for making this possible. I’m really looking forward to race day.”"

JUST ANNOUNCED! Peyton Manning will be the Honorary Pace Car driver for the 2018 #DAYTONA500!
📰 https://t.co/5Q4LRC9XKj pic.twitter.com/Qli9BEXfq5
— Daytona International Speedway (@DAYTONA) February 13, 2018

Manning, 41, spent 17 seasons playing in the NFL after being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. He played for the Colts for 13 seasons before being signed by the Denver Broncos for the final four seasons of his career.

Over the course of his NFL career, Manning played in 266 games. He completed 6,125 of his 9,380 career passes (65.3% completion percentage) for an NFL record 71,940 yards and he threw an NFL record 539 touchdowns with 251 interceptions.