September 26, 2024 | By Knoxville Raceway

Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall to serve as Grand Marshals for Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET

KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Kansas Speedway announced today that Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall and Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhall will give the command to start engines prior to Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET.

“The prestige of earning a gold medal on the world stage is second to none,” said Kansas Speedway President Pat Warren. “We’re honored to have such respected athletes in Tara and Hunter say the most famous words in motorsports before we kick off another race at the most exciting track in NASCAR.”

The couple is one of the most accomplished duos in all of modern Track and Field. Tara, a two-time Olympian, recently won gold in the Women’s Long Jump at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. She was named an assistant track and field coach at Kansas State University in August. The 25-year-old from Agoura Hills, Calif. also set an American Junior Women’s Record for the Indoor Long Jump at the Dumanis Sports Group Prep Classic in 2017.

Hunter, based out of Syracuse, Utah, is a three-time Paralympian and most recently took home gold in the Men’s 400 m T62 in Paris this summer. Upon graduating from high school in 2016, Woodhall became the first double-amputee track and field athlete to earn a Division I athletic scholarship, which he accepted from the University of Arkansas.

NASCAR returns to Kansas Speedway this weekend with four incredible races over three days. It begins Friday with a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series/ARCA Menards Series doubleheader and continues Saturday with the NASCAR Xfinity Series‘ Kansas Lottery 300. Then on Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will compete in the Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET, the first race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs‘ Round of 12.

Tickets for all seats are on sale and can be purchased at www.kansasspeedway.com.