Who is the grand marshal for the Indy 500 this year?

Blake Shelton, country music superstar and coach on NBC’s “The Voice,” will be the grand marshal of the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Bainbridge, which will take place on Sunday, May 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Shelton will give the traditional instruction for drivers to report to their cars during the ceremonial pre-race festivities and walk the Indy 500 red carpet as grand marshal.

“Blake is a country music powerhouse and a great friend to all motorsports fans,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles stated. “His winning enthusiasm will be a wonderful complement for the intensity of ‘The Greatest Spectacle of Racing,’ for both spectators at the track and everyone watching on NBC.”

Shelton is a guest of NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Jimmie Johnson in the Racing Capital of the World. Johnson’s helmet design was created in collaboration with Blake Shelton.

Shelton was in attendance for the NASCAR All-Star Race’s pre-race activities that took place at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas on May 22. The vocalist of “Austin” was given the distinction of signalling the cars to begin their engines.