Dale Earnhardt Jr. is grand marshall for Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. has an official role in his first Daytona 500 as a retired race-car driver.
The two-time Daytona 500 winner is the grand marshal for Sunday's season-opening race, and once his duties are complete, Earnhardt plans to watch "The Great American Race" from atop the pit box of pole-sitter Alex Bowman. Bowman replaced Earnhardt in the No. 88 Chevrolet following Earnhardt's retirement at the end of last season.
The one thing Earnhardt doesn't plan on doing is offering any advice to Bowman. He said it's way too late in the preparation process for Earnhardt to offer any wisdom.
Earnhardt, meanwhile, chose a T-shirt depicting his late father at the 1987 Daytona 500 for his grand marshal duties.