Indianapolis Motor Speedway News: Country Music Superstar Blake Shelton Named Grand Marshal of Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, May 26, 2022) – Blake Shelton, country music superstar and coach on NBC’s “The Voice,” will serve as grand marshal of the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

As grand marshal, Shelton will give the traditional command for drivers to report to their cars during the official pre-race ceremonies and walk the Indy 500 red carpet.

“Blake is a country music powerhouse and good friend of motorsports fans everywhere,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “For both spectators at the track and everyone watching on NBC, his winning energy will be a perfect fit for the intensity of ‘The Greatest Spectacle of Racing.’”

Shelton is visiting the Racing Capital of the World as a guest of NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Jimmie Johnson. The two icons collaborated on the design Johnson will use on his helmet on Race Day.

Shelton continues to add to his superstar status with the deluxe version of his new album “Body Language,” out now. The album features his Platinum-selling 28th country radio chart-topper, “Happy Anywhere” (featuring Gwen Stefani). Prior to “Happy Anywhere,” Shelton and Stefani celebrated a 2x Platinum, multi-week No. 1 with “Nobody But You,” which has now reached 475 million global streams. The single made its TV debut on the 62nd GRAMMY Awards, where Shelton was also nominated for Best Country Solo Performance for his hit “God’s Country.” The 4x Platinum smash earned the 2019 CMA Award and 2020 ACM Award for Single of the Year.

As his award wins approach the hundreds, Shelton remains a force in the industry with ACM (five), AMA (three), CMA (10), CMT (11) and People’s Choice Awards (seven), among many others.

As a coach for the Emmy Award-winning television show “The Voice,” Shelton is an eight-time champion, most recently with his contestant Cam Anthony. He and Carson Daly recently revealed that they will team up to executive produce and star in a new celebrity game show, “Barmageddon,” to air on USA Network.

Grand Ole Opry member Shelton also remains focused on his Ole Red partnership with Ryman Hospitality, with locations currently in Tishomingo, Oklahoma; Nashville, Tennessee; Gatlinburg, Tennessee; and Orlando, Florida. A noted humanitarian, Shelton has helped raise millions of dollars for children’s hospitals, disaster relief organizations, food banks and more in his home state of Oklahoma and throughout the entire country.

Shelton also is performing a concert Sunday, July 24 at Iowa Speedway after the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 NTT INDYCAR SERIES race to conclude the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend.

Follow Shelton @BlakeShelton and visit www.BlakeShelton.com for more information.

NBC’s live coverage of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge starts at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday, May 29.

Visit ims.com to purchase tickets for the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 29 and for more information on the complete Month of May schedule at IMS.

COURTESY IMS COMMUNICATIONS