For many country music fans, nothing beats spending some time in front of the TV watching the big race. Country music and NASCAR basically run hand in hand, which is why it made perfect sense when a major country star was picked to promote the sport’s upcoming races.
On Monday, USA Today Sports debuted Blake Shelton‘s new video for NASCAR on NBC. The video will serve as the opener to NBC Sports’ NASCAR broadcast, after the network took over the remaining 20 Cup events on the schedule.
Shot in April at the Texas Motor Speedway, the clip starts off showing Shelton on his bus along with a few NASCAR drivers. Then, Shelton walks out on stage to an enthusiastic crowd, before he starts singing his song “Bringing Back the Sunshine” from his 2014 album of the same title.
Footage of Shelton performing on stage is featured alongside clips from various NASCAR races. Some of the drivers even join Shelton during his performance, and driver Clint Bowyer did his part by throwing in some air guitar.
It was really a no-brainer to have Shelton serve as the voice behind NASCAR’s new opening video. As Bowyer told USA Today Sports, Shelton actually knows and understands the sport, which makes him a fitting spokesperson.
“He knows the sport,” Bowyer said. “You don’t have to pay an actor to come in and sell something they don’t know and read cue cards. He understands it. He follows it, he knows it and he represents it, so that’s cool.“
You can tell from watching the video that Shelton feels completely at home in the NASCAR scene. You can check out his fun-filled mini concert below.
Now that’s the way to get pumped up for the big race!
