THE GREAT GONZO ADDS GRAND MARSHAL TO AN ALREADY IMPRESSIVE RESUME

THE GREAT GONZO ADDS GRAND MARSHAL

TO AN ALREADY IMPRESSIVE RESUME

~ Muppets’ Resident Daredevil to get Auto Club 400 underway with the most famous words in motorsports ~

FONTANA, Calif. (March 13, 2014) – Already a daredevil in his own right, the Great Gonzo will spend Sunday, March 23 among his peers in NASCAR, just two days after his new movie, “Muppets Most Wanted,” hits the big screen. 

The poultry-loving daredevil and plumbing aficionado will give the command “Drivers, Start Your Engines” to NASCAR’s own field of 43 daredevils as Grand Marshal for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.  The race will be televised live on FOX at Noon (PT).

“Going around in circles as fast as possible is how I got my start,” said Gonzo, who counts NASCAR racing among his favorite sports. “So it’s a real honor to be named Grand Marshal of this year’s Auto Club 400! For me, it’s right up there with sword-juggling, bog-snorkeling and competitive dentistry.”

Gonzo stars in the upcoming Disney movie “Muppets Most Wanted," which takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe’s most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine—the World’s Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit the Frog—and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais. The film stars Ty Burrell as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon and Tina Fey as Nadya, a feisty prison guard.

Disney’s “Muppets Most Wanted” is directed by James Bobin and produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. Bobin wrote the screenplay with Nicholas Stoller, who is also executive producer with John G. Scotti. Featuring music from Academy Award®-winning songwriter Bret McKenzie, “Muppets Most Wanted” hits the big screen March 21, 2014.

To experience a once-in-a-lifetime Muppet experience, call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com for more information.

For more information about the movie, visit Disney.com/Muppets, like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/Muppets, and follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/TheMuppets.

# # #

About Auto Club Speedway:  Located 50 miles east of Los Angeles in Fontana, California, Auto Club Speedway is California’s premier motorsports facility, hosting over 320 days of track activity each year including the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 weekend in March and the MAVTV 500 INDYCAR World Championships Finale weekend in August.  The two-mile D-shaped oval is one of the fastest tracks on the INDYCAR and NASCAR circuits.  The Speedway is also home to numerous movies, television and commercial productions, photo shoots, new car testing, club racing and a variety of racing schools. For more information on events at Auto Club Speedway call 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com .  For more information on event lodging, visit the Hilton Garden Inn, Fontana, the official hotel partner of Auto Club Speedway and Auto Club Dragway.