NASCAR names official Lopez chief starter for Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - NASCAR named series official Kim Lopez as the chief starter for Sunday's Daytona 500.
Lopez will become the first woman and first Hispanic to flag the race. Lopez is in her 11th season with NASCAR and has flagged races for the past seven years in the Xfinity Series and Truck Series. She also flagged two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races last season.
The chief starter displays the eight flags that tell the drivers to start, slow down, move over or stop. Lopez also will wave the checkered flag when the winner crosses the finish line.
Lopez says: "You have little girls who can now look up and say, 'I can do this someday, I can be this someday.'"
Fans watch qualifying for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race from the new grandstands at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
The Associated Press
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