NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch will speed ahead of the field with
the fastest man in football riding shotgun.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2026) – Daytona International Speedway today announced Los Angeles Rams wide receiver and Team Toyota athlete Puka Nacua will zip ahead of the DAYTONA 500 field in NASCAR’s new “Speed Seat Thrill Ride” two-seater experience driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch prior to the drop of the green flag on Sunday, Feb. 15.
Nacua’s DAYTONA 500 experience highlights Toyota’s cross-sport athlete partnerships, which recently included Nacua and 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace appearing together in the brand’s Super Bowl LX spot, “Where Dreams Began.”
The “Speed Seat Thrill Ride” puts Nacua in the passenger seat of a stock car that parallels the experience of being in one of the 40 NASCAR Cup Series cars that will compete in the 68th running of the DAYTONA 500. The two-seater will take a lap ahead of the field on Sunday afternoon, allowing Nacua to experience the sights, sounds, smells and horsepower of Cup Series racing.
“As a kid, we all craved that adrenaline rush of ripping a stock car around the World Center of Racing,” said NASCAR Vice President, Signature Experience Group Michael Verlatti. “We’ve witnessed Puka’s incredible speed on the football field, and now we’re going to see how that compares to being a passenger in a stock car on the high banks at the World Center of Speed.”
Los Angeles Rams star Nacua is a multi-time All-Pro receiver who continues racking up accolades year-after-year. The now 24-year-old has set several NFL records, including the most receiving yards in a season by a rookie (1,486) and receptions in a game by a rookie (15). In 2025, he led all of football with a total of 129 receptions.
Nacua’s fellow Vegas-native Kurt Busch will get behind the wheel at Daytona International Speedway for the first time since 2022. The 2004 Cup Series champion and 2017 DAYTONA 500 champion, was recently inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Busch tallied 34 wins over 776 career Cup Series starts during his 22-year career in the preeminent NASCAR series.
Nacua joins a star-studded list of dignitaries announced to kick off the NASCAR Cup Series season. On Sunday, three-time GRAMMY-award winning country music star Miranda Lambert will kick things off as the pre-race performer before the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds soar above The World Center of Racing. Following the famed flyover, the nicest man in stand-up comedy, Nate Bargatze, will command the drivers to start their engines. Finally, acclaimed actor Kurt Russell will lead the field to the green flag to officially start the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Though grandstand tickets and camping are sold out for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500, fans can still purchase verified resale tickets on Ticketmaster.
For information on the DAYTONA 500 and the day’s schedule of events, log onto www.DAYTONA500.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
About Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a state-of-the-art motorsports facility and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s prestigious Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year in 2016. Daytona International Speedway is the home of The Great American Race – the DAYTONA 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series event garners most of the attention – as well as the largest audience in motorsports – the approximately 500-acre motorsports complex, also known as the World Center of Racing, boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. Some of the exciting racing events include January’s Rolex 24 At DAYTONA and Roar Before The Rolex 24, February’s DAYTONA 500 and Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth, March’s Bike Week At DAYTONA featuring DAYTONA Supercross and the DAYTONA 200, the August Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend, and much more. The Speedway grounds are also used extensively for other events that include concerts such as Welcome to Rockville, sporting events including CLASH DAYTONA, civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Euro Series, NASCAR Mexico Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.
For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X and Facebook.
