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­TRANSFORMERS DAYTONA 500 CAST – Grand Marshal Announcement

The stars of "TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon"– Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and director Michael Bay – will serve as the Grand Marshals for 53rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, airing at 12 p.m. ET on FOX.  As Grand Marshals, the TRANSFORMERS cast will deliver the four most famous words in motorsports – "Gentlemen, start your engines."

In addition, the modified NASCAR stock cars of drivers Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- featured as characters in the film -- will make their first public appearance by leading the 43-car field during the pace laps of "The Great American Race," the kick-off event to the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

The Daytona 500 will not be Bay or TRANSFORMERS’ first introduction to the NASCAR world.  In 2009, Bay piloted the official pace car at a NASCAR Sprint Cup race to promote the DVD release of "TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen."  NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman also took part, racing with branded images of opposing AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS on their cars and uniforms.  Bay credits his vision to include NASCAR stock cars in the new TRANSFORMERS film to this experience.

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­PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Brandon Goodman/Getty Images­