Bears quarterback Justin Fields served as the grand marshal for the NASCAR Cup Series’ first ever street course race in the streets of Chicago on Sunday.
Fields spent the day getting a closer look at the action, including meeting with some drivers like Bubba Wallace, whose team is co-owned by Chicago legend Michael Jordan.
“He’s cool,” Fields told The Associated Press. “He seemed like a pretty chill guy. He seemed pretty calm. Cool, calm and collected.”
Fields gave command with the most famous words in motorsports: “Drivers, start your engines!” He told NBC he spent three days rehearsing before Sunday’s race.
Justin Fields gives the command to start engines for #NASCAR's first street course race in Chicago! 🏁
Watch on @NBC and @Peacock. pic.twitter.com/cwrYFzNKTz
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) July 2, 2023
Fields had plenty of time to soak up the action as the race was delayed by a historic amount of rain on the Chicago course.
“It’s fun,” Fields told The AP of his experience. “This is my first kind of interaction with it, and you know, my time here, I really enjoyed it. It’s fun, and I think as time goes on, I mean I know it’s already a big sport, but I think it’s going to continue to grow, for sure.”
