Luke Bryan and Joey Principe to serve as grand marshals for the June 1 “FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks”

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Country music artist Luke Bryan and Joey Principe, a 17-year-old Delawarean with Asperger’s Syndrome, have been announced as the grand marshals for the Sunday, June 1 “FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway.

Bryan has quickly become one of Nashville’s most sought after entertainers. His “That’s My Kind of Night Tour” is currently playing across the U.S. and Canada, selling out all concerts to date. This summer, the tour will feature Bryan’s first-ever stadium shows in four cities — Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. His previous tour performed for 1.3 million fans in 2013.

The two-time ACM awards show co-host, who was named 2013 ACM Entertainer of the Year, recently celebrated the No. 1 debut of his digital EP, “Spring Break 6…Like We Ain’t Ever.”

Since the debut of his first album in 2007, Bryan has sold nearly 6.2 million albums, 23.1 million digital tracks from his four studio albums and charted 10 singles at No. 1. His current single, “Play It Again,” from his platinum-selling “Crash My Party” album, sold one million copies in just six weeks and was the best-selling country album in 2013. It contains three No. 1 hits thus far, including “That’s My Kind of Night,” “Crash My Party” and “Drink a Beer.”

Principe is a 17-year-old young man with a high functioning form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. He is about to complete his junior year at Delcastle Technical High School in Newport, Del. in the Production & Imaging Department. He enjoys music and video games, and loves bowling with his friends from school.

Recently, Principe was asked to visit an elementary school to read to kindergarten students. His character voices and enthusiasm helped him become the first student to ever be asked back by the students themselves. He loves watching NASCAR and Darrell Waltrip’s trademark catchphrase, “Boogity, boogity, boogity…let’s go racin’ boys!” is always a highlight for him. His favorite driver is Joey Logano, with whom he shares a first name.

Principe has a 15-year-old sister, Samantha, who has autism.

This marks the eighth straight year the Monster Mile is partnering with Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, to help raise funds and awareness for the cause throughout the weekend.

Dover Motorsports PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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