Two weeks after Travis Kvapil cheered his Green Bay Packers to Super Bowl victory in Arlington, Texas, a member of the NFL Championship team will be at the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Fla., to return the favor. Safety Nick Collins, who made one of the biggest plays of the Super Bowl with an interception he returned for a touchdown, will be Kvapil’s guest at “The Great American Race” Sunday.
The driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford is locked in to the race after qualifying 20th in time trials earlier this week and will learn his starting position during Thursday’s Gatorade Duels.
Collins is a Florida native and attended Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. When he wasn’t setting records on the football field, he logged some hours at Daytona International Speedway working on a clean-up crew.
Kvapil attended Super Bowl XLV with his family and vowed to invite members of the Packers to the season-opening race if Green Bay won the title.
“It’s going to be really cool to have Nick at the race on Sunday,” said Kvapil. “His interception at the Super Bowl was one of those great moments where us Packer fans in the crowd just went crazy. Hopefully we’ll give him and his family some memorable moments here at the Daytona 500.”
“It’s a privilege to be invited to the Daytona 500, and it will be cool to go back home where I spent my college years,” said Collins. “My son loves NASCAR, so this will be a big deal for him, too. We’ll be rooting for Travis. It was cool of him to invite us.”
Collins’ return to Daytona International Speedway will include highlights only fitting for a Super Bowl champion. He’ll accompany Kvapil to the drivers’ meeting, ride along with him on the pre-race parade lap and sit atop the Long John Silver’s pit box for the race.
Sunday’s Daytona 500 will be broadcast on FOX, with coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
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