A pair of NASCAR Hall of Famers who won the last NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway will return nearly three decades later as dignitaries at the May 21 NASCAR All-Star Race.

Jeff Gordon, the 1996 Tyson Holly Farms 400 winner, will serve as Honorary Pace Car Driver in a Chevrolet Camaro, while Ray Evernham – Gordon’s crew chief and leader of the Rainbow Warriors in ‘96 – will wave the green flag as the Honorary Starter.

Gordon and Evernham join fellow Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip, previously announced as Co-Grand Marshals, as NASCAR celebrates its 75th anniversary season with a return to one of its original tracks.

“Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham are recognized as one of the most successful driver/crew-chief duos of all-time, capturing three championships and winning 47 races together,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “Jeff and Ray took the last NASCAR checkered flag at North Wilkesboro in 1996, and now we are honored they will team up again to lead the field to green for a historic NASCAR All-Star Race.”

A four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Gordon won a total of 93 Cup races in his career and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019. After retiring from full-time competition, Gordon joined FOX Sports as a NASCAR race analyst from 2016 to 2021 and now serves as vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.

Evernham, who innovatively called the shots for Gordon in three title-winning seasons, capturing 47 Cup Series wins from the pit box and 13 as a team owner, earning induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2018. A noted automotive enthusiast, Evernham parlayed his love for automobiles into a television career as host of Velocity’s AmeriCarna and NBCSN’s Glory Road.