Olympians Bobby Finke, Parker Valby to serve as honorary officials for Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

NASCAR has announced that three Florida Gators Olympians will serve honorary roles at this weekend’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.

The organization announced Wednesday that swimmer Caeleb Dressel will serve as the honorary starter for the event. On Thursday, NASCAR announced that swimmer Bobby Finke will wave the green flag, while distance runner Parker Valby will be an honorary event official.

All three Olympians competed in the recent Paris Olympic Games.

While not quite as dominant as he was in Tokyo, Dressel was once again a stalwart in the pool in Paris. He claimed gold medals in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay and the 4×100-meter mixed medley relay, as well as a silver medal in the 4×100-meter medley.

Finke nearly ran the same double in Paris as he did in Tokyo, claiming gold in the 1500-meter freestyle and silver in the 800-meter freestyle. He had claimed gold in both events at Tokyo.

Finally, Valby finished 11th in the 10,000-meter run after qualifying for her first Olympics.

All three Olympians hail from the University of Florida.

Kevin Harvick makes his pick for Daytona

Going into the weekend at Daytona with chances to clinch a playoff spot quickly narrowing, Kevin Harvick has made his pick on a race winner: Bubba Wallace .

It would be the first win for Wallace since 2022, when he took home the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.

“They ran well enough at Michigan to be able to put themselves in the conversation,” Harvick explained on the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “But I love where he’s at mentally. I just love his space right now and just the things that he’s doing and the way that they’ve come back from the break and performed. And I think Daytona’s a good track for him.”

Wallace finished P26 in the race at Michigan over the weekend, struggling in the FireKeepers Casino 400 after getting collected in a wreck by Kyle Larson .

As things currently stand, Wallace is sitting just one point outside the playoff cut line, trailing Ross Chastain by a narrow margin. Overcoming it will require some good racing the next couple weeks … and maybe even a win in front of the Olympians.

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