FONTANA, Calif. (March 16, 2016 ) – Eric Dane, the star of TNT’s The Last Ship, has been named Grand Marshal for the NASCAR Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series on March 20, 2016 at Auto Club Speedway.
As Grand Marshal, Dane will give the command “Drivers, start your engines” to the 39-car field of the NASCAR Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series at Southern California’s premier motorsports facility. The event will be televised on FOX at 12:30 p.m. PT.
As an Honorary Race Official, Dane will be involved with pre-race ceremony activities including driver introductions and special NASCAR awards. He will be joined by Miss Sprint Cup, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, Kevin Ortiz, Regional Mexican Artist, John Lynch, NFL on FOX, Nine Time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champ, and USMC Staff Sergeant Charlie Linville.
Dane is currently in production on Season 3 on “The Last Ship” from executive producer Michael Bay. He plays Capt. Tom Chandler on the series which has the full cooperation of The US Navy, and was the #1 new cable series of 2014.
He got his start in television with guest appearances on series such as “The Wonder Years,” “Married with Children” and “Roseanne.” In 2000 he spent two seasons on the hit series “Charmed.” In 2005, Dane made an appearance on the second season of ABC’s critically-acclaimed series “Grey’s Anatomy” and received such positive audience reaction to his character that he was then cast as a series regular. He played Dr. Mark Sloan (aka “McSteamy”) for seven seasons during which time the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble, and was nominated twice. Film credits include the independent film The Grey Lady, X-Men: The Last Stand in 2001 for 20th Century Fox, Marley and Me in 2008 also for Fox, Burlesque for Screen Gems in 2010 as well as the Garry Marshall directed New Line/Warner Bros film, Valentine’s Day.
To see Eric Dane and other honorary race officials get the Auto Club 400 underway at Auto Club Speedway or to purchase tickets to race weekend call 800-944-RACE (7223), log on to www.autoclubspeedway.com, or visit the Auto Club Speedway Ticket Office.
About Auto Club Speedway: Located 50 miles east of Los Angeles in Fontana, Auto Club Speedway is California’s premier motorsports facility, hosting over 320 days of track activity each year including the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 weekend March 18-20, 2016. The two-mile D-shaped oval is one of the fastest tracks on the circuit. The Speedway is also home to numerous movies, television and commercial productions, photo shoots, new car testing, club racing and a variety of racing schools. For more information on events at Auto Club Speedway call 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com.
