USA Insider Exclusive

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!

Sign Up For Free to View
USA Insider Barmageddon

'Start Your Engines!': 'Barmageddon' Star Blake Shelton Kicks Off NASCAR All-Star Race

"Barmageddon" star Blake Shelton appeared as the Grand Marshal of the NASCAR All-Star Race in Texas over the weekend.

By Tyler McCarthy
Blake Shelton standing in front of large windows overlooking a big city

This weekend, Blake Shelton had the honor of acting as Grand Marshal for the 38th annual NASCAR All-Star Race, which allowed him to utter the famous phrase that kicks off every race in the way only the country crooner can. 

How to Watch

Watch new episodes of Barmageddon Mondays at 11/10c on USA Network

The country music star and star of USA Network's upcoming series “Barmageddon” performed at the Texas Motor Speedway between races over the weekend where he was on hand to both entertain the crowd and kick off a day of racing with the famous line, “Drivers, start your engines!” 

Shelton took to Instagram to show off the moment when he stormed the stage and screamed the line into his microphone, riling up a crowd that was already excited to see him perform as well as some of NASCAR’s biggest names run the 1.5-mile track. In the video, as soon as Shelton bellows the world-famous line, fireworks can be seen rocketing off the stage to further hype the fans. 

 "Just a totally normal day.. yep.. totally normal..." Shelton captioned the video.

According to the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram,” Shelton wasn’t sure fans would enjoy one of his concerts in the middle of the massive NASCAR event. Fortunately, he was pleasantly surprised. 

“You never really know what to expect when you play a gig like this,” he said from the Xfinity Garage in the middle of the speedway. “It’s like, ‘Are people going to be there? Are they going to show up? Is it going to suck?’”

The outlet reports that several thousand fans packed the area, all excited to hear Shelton belt out some of his country hits, including “God’s Country,” “Ol’ Red,” and “Neon Time.” Although Shelton delighted the crowd with his concert, that doesn’t mean they weren’t also there to see some world-class driving. 

In fact, Shelton’s fellow USA Network cohort, Austin Dillon of “Austin Dillon’s Life In The Fast Lane,” explained to “NASCAR” that he and his Richard Childress Racing team were using the All-Star Race at Texas as a way to sharpen their skills going into more weighty contests later this season. 

Because the outcome of Sunday’s main show did not impact any driver’s standing, Dillon explained it was a way to get some experience in, learn a thing or two, and cut his team’s teeth on a track length he’s hoping to get better with. 

“Well, no break really,” Austin Dillon told the outlet. “Because we’ve been working all week on the setup for this car. We still are grinding away, trying to make the car drive better. And it’s kind of a weekend [with] no points, which is nice, but you still want to go out there and perform well and use it as a tool, as a practice session.”

Blake Shelton's new competition series, “Barmageddon,” is set to debut on USA Network where it will join “Austin Dillon’s Life In The Fast Lane,” which is set to premiere on June 23

Read more about: