Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images(DARLINGTON, S.C.) — Three soon-to-be Hall of Famers will serve as grand marshals for the Sprint Cup Series event during Labor Day weekend, the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 4.
Former driver Mark Martin and current owners Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress will tell the competitors to start their engines at the race. The trio is part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s class of 2017, which will be inducted next January.
“It is my honor to be co-grand marshal for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 with two of my heroes,” Martin, a winner of 40 Cup races, including two at Darlington, said in a statement. “Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick are two of my favorite people in racing. I’m also looking forward to being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame with them, along with Benny Parsons and Raymond Parks in January.”
The Darlington race is a throwback event, with drivers paying tribute to NASCAR’s history with their cars’ paint schemes. On Wednesday, Hendrick Motorsports and Jimmie Johnson unveiled a blue-and-yellow scheme for Darlington that will honor David Pearson, who used a similar scheme when he filled in for the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr. for four races in 1979.
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