There may not be a weekend that Nascar fans look forward to more than the Daytona 500.
With the annual event scheduled for Sunday, racing fans will be happy to know that Nascar has teamed with Twitter to bring Daytona 500 tweets to life this weekend in an attempt to further entrench and immerse the legions following the sport and capture all the hoopla surrounding its biggest event of the year.
"To help bring Daytona 500 Tweets to life, we've partnered with Nascar on a new #Daytona500 Twitter emoji," Twitter announced on its blog Wednesday. "Fans can tweet and join the conversation to bring color to their Daytona Tweets."
To celebrate the event and partnership, Nascar released this GIF specially designed for the Daytona 500.
However, a quickly-posted GIF is just the beginning of how Twitter and Nascar will be working together to bring even more attention to the Daytona 500, as the social media network vows that Nascar, its racing teams and its drivers will be sharing sharp photos with fans all week long via a Twitter Mirror — having already posted some of the best shots from Media Day.
About the latter, Twitter has seen to it that part of drivers' Media Day experience was answering live-tweeted questions from fans in an excellent and fun give-and-take session.
Part of the immersive experience also had Twitter and drivers teaming up to bring fans closer to behind-the-scenes moments.
To truly put the Daytona 500 experience over the top, Twitter announced its first-ever use of something it's calling "Hashtag 500" with some prize incentives.
"On Sunday, Nascar will invite fans on Twitter to race in the first-ever Hashtag 500 for a chance to win authentic memorabilia from this year's Great American Race," Twitter's blog post about the partnership reads. "Fans must watch the live race broadcast on Fox and/or follow @Nascar on Twitter to receive custom hashtags to Tweet with for a chance to win 10 special giveaways. The 500th person to Tweet the hashtag in conjunction with #Daytona500 wins the race and will take home a race-used item such as a driver firesuit, helmet, steering wheel, pit sign, gear shifter, or Goodyear tires."
Actor Gerard Butler will serve as grand marshal, barking the traditional "start your engines" line to drivers on Sunday, while baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and WWE superstar John Cena are noted celebrities also involved in the pre-race festivities.
Who's going to win it?
