Caleb Williams Dec 10, 2022; New York, NY, USA; Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams speaks to the media during a press conference in the Astor Ballroom at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York, NY, before the 2022 Heisman Trophy award ceremony. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Heisman Trophy and USC quarterback Caleb Williams received a huge honor from NASCAR on Sunday. The quarterback was asked to serve as the honorary starter for NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum on February 5th.

Williams will drop the green flag to start the race NASCAR said. Williams had a spectacular year for the Trojans throwing for over 4500 yards and 42 touchdowns last year while leading his team to the PAC 12 Championship Game.

NASCAR holds this pre-season event before its biggest racing even the Daytona 500 which officially kicks off the season on February 19th.

NASCAR announced earlier this month that 27 cars will compete in the main event. Preceding that, up to 40 drivers will compete to qualify for the main event via four heat races and two last-chance qualifiers. So, although it’s a preseason event, this has a big effect on the qualifying for the Daytona 500.

This pre-season event used to be held in Daytona before the actually race from 1979-2022. Maybe NASCAR is trying to have its footprints again back on the West Coast by holding this event there.

Several current and former NASCAR drivers are from California like Jeff Gordon and current NASCAR great Kevin Harvick. It will be interesting to see if this generates a lot of interest before the Daytona 500.

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About Stacey Mickles

Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.