DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be the honorary starter for the 2020 Daytona 500, making him part of the pre-race ceremonies for the third consecutive year.

Earnhardt made the announcement on his podcast Monday, one day after the NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Daytona International Speedway confirmed the news. Earnhardt, a two-time Daytona 500 champion (2004, 2014) who retired at the end of the 2017 season, served as grand marshal in 2018 and drove the pace truck in February.

Recent Daytona 500 honorary starters include retired NFL star LaDainian Tomlinson, retired baseball star Ken Griffey Jr. and actors Charlize Theron and Gary Sinise.