Puka Nacua set for NASCAR 'Speed Seat Thrill Ride' with Kurt Busch ahead of Daytona 500

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is set for NASCAR’s ‘Speed Seat Thrill Ride’ with Kurt Busch ahead of the Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway announced. Nacua will get a whole new experience, taking a lap ahead of the race. No better person to operate the two-seater vehicle than Busch, a Hall of Famer.

“As a kid, we all craved that adrenaline rush of ripping a stock car around the World Center of Racing,” NASCAR Vice President, Signature Experience Group Michael Verlatti said via Jayski. “We’ve witnessed Puka’s incredible speed on the football field, and now we’re going to see how that compares to being a passenger in a stock car on the high banks at the World Center of Speed.”

Busch won the Daytona 500 back in 2017, also winning the Cup Series in 2004. His recent induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame solidified his legacy in the sport, winning 34 times over a career spanning just over two decades.

The Daytona 500 is set to take place on Sunday, being one of the highlights of the NASCAR calendar. FOX will broadcast the race, scheduled to begin around 2:30 p.m. ET. Fans from across the globe will tune in to see who eventually takes the checkered flag. Getting somebody like Nacua involved should only make the viewing experience better.

More on Puka Nacua, fantastic 2025 season with Los Angeles Rams

Three years into his NFL career, Nacua is off to an incredible start, and then some. Nacua has fit in perfectly with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. The two have created one of the best combinations in football. After all, Stafford did just win the NFL MVP for his efforts this past season.

Nacua was on the receiving end of 1,715 yards and a league-leading 129 receptions. Converting 80 plays for first downs was also the most in the NFL. The touchdown tally also reached double digits for the first time, getting to 10. In the previous two years, Nacua had combined for nine scores.

Of course, Los Angeles was hoping to go one step further in the postseason. Losing the NFC Championship game stung, watching division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, eventually win the Super Bowl. A tough pill to swallow.

Everybody with the Rams will get some much-needed time away from the field in order to reset. Getting back near the top will certainly require another monster year from Nacua.