For Immediate Release
Lachlan Murdoch to Serve as Honorary Starter for 64th Running of the DAYTONA 500
Executive Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Fox Corporation to Wave Green Flag to Start the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Season in The Great American Race on Sunday, Feb. 20
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 16, 2022) – Daytona International Speedway announces that Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Corporation, will wave the green flag as the Honorary Starter for the 64th running of the DAYTONA 500 this Sunday, Feb. 20.
FOX Sports will broadcast its 19th consecutive DAYTONA 500 and 22nd consecutive season of NASCAR coverage at Daytona International Speedway. The DAYTONA 500 will be broadcast on Sunday, Feb. 20 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and FOX Deportes). Live prerace coverage begins on FS1 with NASCAR RACEDAY at 11:00 a.m. ET, before the show’s move to FOX at 1:00 p.m. ET.
NASCAR on FOX will present broadcast cover of Speedweeks Presented By AdventHeath, totaling more than 40 hours of live programming, including FS1’s live telecast of the season openers for the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday, Feb. 19 (5:00 p.m. ET), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Feb. 18 (7:30 p.m. ET) and ARCA Menards Series on Saturday, Feb. 19 (1:30 p.m. ET). This year marks FOX Sports’ 20th consecutive season of exclusive Truck Series coverage. All FOX NASCAR events are streamed live in English and Spanish on the FOX Sports app.
Fox Corporation is among the most recognized and influential media companies in the world. In this role, Murdoch oversees the Company’s premier portfolio of news, sports and entertainment assets. Murdoch was instrumental in the spinoff of FOX by 21st Century Fox and the establishment of FOX as a standalone public company.
Murdoch has spent the past two decades building, operating and investing in many of the world’s most prominent television and publishing businesses. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of News Corp and Executive Chairman of NOVA Entertainment, an Australian media company. Murdoch previously served as Non-Executive Chairman of Ten Network Holdings.
Murdoch served as Executive Chairman of 21st Century Fox prior to the closing of the merger of 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company in March 2019. He began that role in 2015, working directly with the company’s senior management and Board of Directors to develop global strategies and set the overall corporate vision. Murdoch served as a member of the 21st Century Fox Board of Directors from 1996 until the closing of the merger with Disney.
Earlier, Murdoch served as Co-Chairman of 21st Century Fox and also held a number of senior executive roles from 1994 to 2005. From 2000 to 2005, Murdoch served as Deputy Chief Operating Officer of 21st Century Fox (previously known as News Corporation), a role in which he was directly responsible for the company’s U.S. television stations group and publishing assets.
In 2005, Murdoch founded Illyria Pty, a successful private investment company. In 2009, Illyria acquired 50 percent of DMG Radio, a network of radio stations, which later was renamed NOVA Entertainment. After Murdoch became its Chairman in 2009, NOVA grew exponentially, nearly doubling in value during the first three years of his tenure, while its EBITDA rose more than threefold, from $16M in 2009 to $52M in 2014. In 2012, Illyria purchased the remaining 50 percent and, under Murdoch’s leadership, NOVA Entertainment became Australia’s leading network of FM stations. Murdoch holds a B.A. from Princeton University.
While the DAYTONA 500 is sold out, there are still plenty of exciting ways to experience the pageantry of Speedweeks Presented By AdventHeath with an excited lineup of super-competitive races. For ticket information, log onto www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
- Wednesday, Feb. 16: DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Presented By Busch Light (8:05 p.m. ET).
- Thursday, Feb. 17: Bluegreen Vacations Duel At DAYTONA qualifying races (7:00 p.m. ET); NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice (4:35 p.m. ET) & ARCA Menards Series practice (5:30 p.m. ET).
- Friday, Feb. 18: NextEra Energy 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race (7:30 p.m. ET); ARCA Menards (1:30 p.m. ET) and Camping World Truck Series qualifying (3:00 p.m. ET); NASCAR Cup Series practice (6:00 p.m. ET).
- Saturday, Feb. 19: Lucas Oil 200 Driven By General Tire ARCA Menards race (1:30 p.m. ET) and Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series event (5:00 p.m. ET); NASCAR Cup Series final practice (10:30 a.m. ET); NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying (11:35 a.m. ET).
- Sunday, Feb. 20: DAYTONA 500, The Great American Race (2:30 p.m. ET).
** Schedule subject to change
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as the all-new NASCAR Tracks App, for the latest speedway news.
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. In addition to at least nine major event weekends, the Speedway grounds are also used extensively for events that include concerts, civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training. The iconic venue will be the site of a host of motorsports events early in 2022, beginning with AHRMA Classic Motofest and the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA in January, and the 64th DAYTONA 500, which will debut the first points race for NASCAR’s ‘Next Gen’ car as part of Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth in February. The tradition-rich 81st Annual Bike Week At DAYTONA returns in March, featuring DAYTONA Supercross and the DAYTONA 200, and in May with the Heroes Honor Festival. Later in the summer during Independence Day weekend, the track, in association with Torneos, will host Soccer Fest before the NASCAR Cup Series returns for the final race of the regular season with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Aug. 27.
About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing FOX Corporation’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, the business has ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing relationships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Network; FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes. FOX Sports’ digital properties include FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports App, which provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content, instant scores, stats and alerts to iOS and Android devices. Additionally, FOX Sports and social broadcasting platform, Caffeine jointly own Caffeine Studios which creates exclusive eSports, sports and live entertainment content. Also included in FOX Sports’ portfolio are FOX’s interests in joint-venture business Big Ten Network, a licensing and commercial relationship with The Stars Group that created the FOX Bet sports betting platform and the FOX Sports Super 6 free-to-play game, and a licensing agreement that established the FOX Sports Radio Network.
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 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro 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 eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
