WWE legend The Undertaker to drive pace car for NASCAR EchoPark race

AUSTIN, Texas — Instead of an ominous bell for an entrance, The Undertaker will be revving up an engine on Sunday. And it won’t be a hearse.

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The WWE legend will not be executing a chokeslam or his signature Tombstone finishing move at NASCAR’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Instead, the longtime professional wrestling star will drive the pace car for the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas track, event officials said in a news release on Friday.

Mark Calaway, 57, who retired from the ring in November 2020, is a Texas native who was born in Houston. The seven-time world heavyweight champion will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1 during WrestleMania 38 weekend, Sports Illustrated reported.

“I am honored to be the Honorary Pace Car driver at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in Austin,” Calaway said in a news release. “It’s a big week for Texas with WrestleMania in Dallas on April 2 and April 3, and I am excited to kick it off at Circuit of The Americas.”

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In addition to being a WWE world champion in singles competition, Calaway is a six-time tag-team champion and has won the Royal Rumble, a match where up to 30 wrestlers hit the ring at intervals and attempt to eliminate other competitors by throwing them over the top rope.

The Undertaker character has been a force in the WWE since Calaway debuted the character in 1990.

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