DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA (August 29, 2017) – Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier and Robert Yates, all of whom will be inducted into the 2018 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, will serve as grand marshals for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 3.

Accompanied by Bojangles’ CEO Clifton Rutledge, the four legends will give the command to start the engines for the iconic race – one that will again feature “throwback” paint schemes honoring NASCAR’s storied history and heritage.

“Having the NASCAR Hall of Fame members, and Bojangles’ CEO Clifton Rutledge, serve as grand marshals for our Bojangles’ Southern 500 is a wonderful tradition we started in 2015,” Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp said. “It concludes pre-race ceremonies with an historic touch. We appreciate the great partnership we have with the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Bojangles’ so it’s only fitting that we have them participate in this celebrated role for our event.”

This the third consecutive year members of the incoming class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame have said the command for Darlington’s Labor Day weekend Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event.

In 2015, Terry Labonte said the command to start engines during the Bojangles’ Southern 500 return to Labor Day weekend. Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick and Mark Martin served as grand marshals for the 2016 edition.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame inductions ceremonies will take place in January of 2018 in Charlotte, N.C. For more on the inductees, as well as information on visitor and membership packages for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, visit NASCARHall.com.

Darlington Raceway’s award-winning throwback campaign is now The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. The NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 will race on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. Tickets are on sale now by calling 866-459-7223 or visiting DarlingtonRaceway.com. Children 12 and under can get in free to Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway and on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame. Fans are encouraged to post their Bojangles’ Southern 500 stories and memories using #TraditionContinues, #BojanglesSo500 and #SportClips200.