Start your engines! The American Idol Top 11 singers, along with their new mentor, Scott Borchetta, served as Grand Marshals at last weekend’s NASCAR race in Fontana, Calif. — and Us Weekly was there for their big day!
The season 14 Idol finalists took a bus out to the track early Sunday morning, March 22, for the day of festivities, which began with a 9:30 a.m. sound check and photo op with Big Machine exec Borchetta in front of the track.
As part of their duties, Quentin Alexander, Clark Beckham, Joey Cook, Adanna Duru, Nick Fradiani, Jax, Tyanna Jones, Qaasim Middleton, Rayvon Owen, Daniel Seavey, and Maddie Walker then gathered with the racers trackside for a pre-race pep talk that included the rules and regulations and a hearty cheer.
The gang was escorted next to a suite for a quick break (tacos and snacks included) before heading out to perform the National Anthem — complete with a fighter plane flyover, a giant American flag, and fireworks.
While you’ll see the highlights on the show, here’s what else Us saw on our trip with the group:
Borchetta, who discovered a young Taylor Swift and signed her to this year’s Idol winner’s future record label, Big Machine, is a NASCAR supporter — Big Machine even sponsors a car that raced that day. Chip Ganassi Racing Teams’ first car, driven by Jamie McMurray, finished 21st at the Auto Club 400.
Although the appearance came just days after the group’s second live show, they had fans already — early in the day a young girl shyly approached the group to tell Jax she was her favorite, and later, Jax spotted another fan in the audience and gave her the ring she was wearing as a keepsake.
Walker was the most excited after singing the anthem. “I LOVE this! This is just like being in Iowa,” she gushed to Us. “This is so cool.”
Being Grand Marshal has excellent perks: The Idol crew watched the race from a suite with a great view of the pits, and had plenty of fun watching the teams changing tires and fueling the cars.
American Idol airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
