The 3–5 took over the Daytona 5–.
Terry Renna / AP
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Pitbull and DJ Khaled represented South Florida at the Daytona 500, as the trio of Sunshine State superstars brought a dose of star electric power to Sunday’s scheduled race day that was washed out by rain.
Johnson, the wrestler/actor, mentioned he would stay for Monday’s rescheduled race and honor his part as Daytona 500 grand marshal and give the command for motorists to commence their engines.
Pitbull was scheduled to conduct the pre-race concert in the Daytona infield, but it was scrapped since of constant rain. He agreed to return in 2025 for the very same occasion. Khaled said he unable to stay Monday for his role as honorary starter.
The last time the Daytona 500 was postponed a full day was in 2012.
Terry Renna / AP
“Who would have at any time thought,” Pitbull said, “The Rock, Khaled and Pit at the Daytona 500?”
Khaled moved to Miami — household of the 305 location code — in 1998 to kickstart a radio job that led to Grammy wins and a profitable run as DJ, producer, and music author. Recognised as “Mr. Globally,” Pitbull was born in Miami and named his debut album “M.I.A.M.I.” in advance of he released large hits this kind of as “Timber” and “Fireball.”
“It’s incredible to see us all appear with each other for the Daytona 500,” Khaled stated. “But to represent Florida is wonderful.”
The 51-year-previous Johnson is set to return to wrestling for WrestleMania in April in Philadelphia. The “Rapid and the Furious” franchise star performed soccer at Miami and was a reserve on the team’s 1991 nationwide championship staff.
“Very best college in Florida,” Johnson said.
The A-listers stuck about the monitor to endorse their present-day projects.
Johnson posted an Instagram video clip of himself driving previous Daytona Worldwide Speedway late Saturday night, joking he was “up to no very good. Issues. With a money T.”
“I bought a tiny cooky previous evening for the reason that I couldn’t snooze,” Johnson stated Sunday. “I went to the gym at midnight. I drove by the Speedway, all the lights had been on, just quickly felt the electrical power.”
The Rock presented some guidance to NASCAR villain Denny Hamlin: roll with it.
Johnson, whose modern return to the WWE has occur in a heel purpose, reported Hamlin ought to embrace the boos and make them element of his racing persona.
Hamlin, a a few-time Daytona 500 winner, has all of a sudden grow to be general public enemy No. 1 in the Cup Series. He gets jeered far more than Kyle Busch when he wins and has leaned into it a tiny by saying issues like “I just beat your favourite driver.”
The Rock would like to see a lot more.
“Being the villain is the best thing in the planet,” The Rock stated. “Every person would like to be a good dude or great girl, absolutely everyone would like to be beloved and cheered and considered the hero, which is great and it truly is pure it really is just human psychology and motivation.
“But I have felt in my profession and through my working experience — that I’ve been very privileged to have — is that the unusual air is when you have the chance and you get it by the throat and you really don’t enable it go and that is the chance to be a terrific poor male.”
Johnson has seasoned both sides as an actor and as a experienced wrestler.
“I constantly assume that the best and best lousy fellas, bad women and villains out there are coming from a area of truth. So a single of the amazing matters that remaining a great terrible male and a good villain gives — and this is my tips to Denny — is not only do you embrace it, but also you get the prospect to say and do a good deal of items that individuals cannot.
“A great deal of folks want they can, but they really don’t. So you never have to. Permit me and Denny do the speaking and get the boos.”
Pitbull nevertheless considers himself a NASCAR underdog.
Even with 6 wins and 36 top rated-five finishes in 3 seasons as co-proprietor at Trackhouse Racing, the Grammy Award-successful singer suggests “this is just the commencing.”
“Underdogs, one point we really like is a obstacle,” Pitbull claimed. “We enjoy when persons tell us no, you should not, is not going to, by no means will occur, outrageous, stupid, difficult. Those people are text that gasoline us.”
He then stated how simple it is to flip these from detrimental to constructive: altering can’t to can, don’t to do and won’t to gained.
“And if you genuinely put it together, just place an apostrophe involving I, M and Probable, it’s I am possible,” he added.
“So when you deliver that mentality to a complete sport who is hungry to feed the world and educate unique communities, diverse cultures that, ‘Hey, there’s alternatives below,’ then you in the top environment of do good and be very well.
“So for Trackhouse to be underdogs, that was a gorgeous factor in the beginning, but we are going to eternally be underdogs and that is why we’ll struggle the way that we combat and we’ll proceed to construct the way that we build and continue on to encourage and motivate other people out there.”
Pitbull, who co-owns the staff with retired driver Justin Marks, now has two full-time autos pushed by Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez. He also fields a third motor vehicle at decide on races for street-racing specialist Shane van Gisbergen.
He lately introduced a new NASCAR-themed album that includes songs with Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton and Nile Rodgers. He also has a music devoted to the late Jimmy Buffett.
Terry Renna / AP
Could DJ Khaled increase NASCAR crew owner prepared to get, win, earn no make any difference what to his previously loaded resume of hype person, producer, author?
Khaled suggests he is the a single.
Khaled reported he envisioned a time when he would return to the Daytona 500, not as element of race day amusement, but as a movie star owner substantially like Pitbull and 23XI Racing’s Michael Jordan.
“I would really like to be a workforce operator,” Khaled reported. “Appear at Michael Jordan, the lovely points he is performing. All the other fantastic crew homeowners. Just one day, God eager, I am going to have a ‘We the Best’ vehicle out there, bringing house a trophy.”
NASCAR is littered with celebs who have moved via media facilities building the exact same bold statements about team ownership with out a offer ever panning out. Khaled explained he’s been a race supporter since childhood.
The DJ-producer, whose serious name is Khaled Mohamed Khaled, said he attended a Daytona 500 or two as a child since of his love of autos. Khaled introduced his spouse and two youthful sons with him to the monitor.
Khaled flexed when he stated he set his fingers in the air and practiced waving the inexperienced flag.
He also teased new new music would fall quickly.
“Everybody acquire it simple, the title is coming soon,” Khaled claimed to laughter standing above the Harley J. Earl Trophy. “It really is heading to contact everyone throughout the world.”
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