The 56th annual Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be held on Sunday, February 23, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL, and who better to be on hand for this most American of sporting events than Captain America himself?

Chris Evans, best known for playing Marvel Comics’ legendary star-spangled superhero in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers, as well as the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, will serve as Grand Marshal for the race. In addition to participating in pre-race ceremonies and riding in one of the Grand Marshal cars during the pace laps prior to the green flag of the Daytona 500, Evans has been granted the honor of beginning the race with the proclamation “Drivers, start your engines.”

“What better way to kick-off “˜The Great American Race’ than with Captain America, Chris Evans, giving the command to start engines,” said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III in an official press release. “We look forward to having him be a part of our pre-race ceremonies in front of more than a hundred thousand race fans in attendance and millions more watching on FOX as we launch the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.” Past Daytona 500 Grand Marshals have included John Travolta, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage, Kate Upton, Jane Lynch, Matthew McConaughey, and James Franco.

Evans’ appearance at the race will no doubt generate some fine publicity for the forthcoming release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the third film in Marvel Studios’ Phase Two line-up to feature Steve Rogers/Captain America. CSI: NY star Gary Sinise will wave the green flag to officially start the race.

The Daytona 500 is scheduled to begin at 1pm Eastern Time and will be broadcast on FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, as well as be streamed live on the FOX Sports GO app. You can stay up to date on racing news by following Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be released on April 4, 2014.