Story By: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Multi-platinum, ACM, CMA, CMT and Billboard Music Award-winning artist Luke Combs will perform the DAYTONA 500 Pre-Race Show prior to the 63rd running of The Great American Race on Sunday, Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Combs, an Asheville, NC native, is a longtime NASCAR fan and is looking forward to performing at the World Center of Racing to help ignite the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
“I grew up watching the NASCAR race every Sunday with my granddad; that was our thing.” said Combs. “I never could have imagined back then that I’d be playing the Daytona 500 one day, so this is super awesome and is something I’m really looking forward to.”
Combs will take to the stage prior to the start of DAYTONA 500 in front of a limited number of fans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, while millions will watch from home on FOX. The race will see Denny Hamlin go for a record third consecutive victory in NASCAR’s biggest race.
“The tradition of the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show has been an incredibly popular hit with race fans,” Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile said. “Luke has been one of the most influential country music stars over the last few years and his fan appeal is incredible. It’s a bonus, too, that he loves our sport. He will help get another thrilling DAYTONA 500, as well as a new NASCAR season, off to an exciting start.”
Combs’ new deluxe album, What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, is out now on River House Artists/Columbia Nashville and debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart as well as Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. It also set the new weekly streaming record for a country album with 102.26 million on-demand streams, breaking Combs’ own record, which he set last November (2019) with the release of his platinum-certified, global #1 album, What You See Is What You Get.
The new deluxe album features all 18 tracks from What You See Is What You Get as well as five new songs including “Forever After All,” which debuted at #2 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart—the highest entrance ever for a male country solo artist. With the release, Combs also reached #1 on Rolling Stone’s Top 200 Albums chart, Top 100 Songs chart and Artists 500 chart—the first country artist ever to lead all three charts in the same week and first to top the Artists 500.
Adding to a series of groundbreaking and historic years, Combs recently won two awards at the 55th ACM Awards, three awards at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards and two awards at the 54th CMA Awards. He also recently made history as the first artist ever to have their first two studio albums spend 25 weeks or more at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart—breaking Taylor Swift’s previously held record at 24 weeks.
Continuing his triumphant run at country radio, Combs’ single, “Lovin’ On You,” spent multiple weeks at #1 on both the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart and the Billboard Country Airplay chart. This is Combs’ ninth-consecutive #1 single—a first on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart—as well as his eighth single to spend multiple weeks at #1. Additionally, Combs’ current single, “Better Together,” is currently top 3 at country radio and rising.
Fans can follow Luke across a variety of platforms, including LukeCombs.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
For information on the 2021 DAYTONA 500 and all Speedweeks Presented By AdventHealth events, which kicks off on Tuesday, Feb. 9 with the 43rd Annual Busch Clash on the DAYTONA Road Course under the lights, fans can visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
All Speedweeks events will be conducted in accordance with enhanced safety protocols and procedures to provide a safe environment for guests, NASCAR competitors, employees and the local community. All guests will be screened before entering the facility and will be required to wear face coverings while maintaining six feet social distancing throughout their visit.
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest Speedway news.
