Dale Earnhardt Jr. may be in the booth now, but he can't seem to stay away from a little on-track action.

Next up, the fan favorite will find himself driving the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado pace truck to lead the field to green for the 61st running of Daytona 500 in February 2019. This is the first time the Daytona 500 will be paced by a pickup truck.

“I’ve had a lot of fun and a lot of success at Daytona over the years, and now I can’t wait to get out on that track in a Silverado,” said Earnhardt Jr. “Away from the track I’ve driven Chevy trucks all my life, and I’m excited to have this unique experience of pacing the Daytona 500 with the Silverado.” 

Earnhardt won two Daytona 500s and two July races at Daytona in his career. He has 13 top-5 finishes and 19 top-10s in 36 Cup Series career starts at Daytona.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the perfect choice to pace the race because of his enthusiasm for the sport, his long history with Chevrolet and his love of trucks,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “It’ll be exciting to have Dale lead the field to green in the strongest, most advanced Silverado ever.”

The Silverado pace truck is powered by a production 6.2L V-8 engine paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. It delivers 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque. Chevrolet has paced the Daytona 500 12 times, seven with Camaro and five with Corvette.