U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds to perform flyover for 58th and 59th Daytona 500!

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will perform the flyover for the 58th annual DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, Feb. 21. It will be the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season opener after the completion of DAYTONA Rising, the $400 million frontstretch redevelopment project that will transform Daytona International Speedway into the first motorsports stadium in the world. The Thunderbirds will also commence the 2017 season with a flyover before the 59th annual DAYTONA 500. These performances will mark seven straight years, and eight total, that "America's Ambassadors in Blue" - officially known as the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron - will exhibit their world-class talent and precise choreography flying their signature "Delta" formation over the "World Center of Racing" at the end of the national anthem for "The Great American Race." The Thunderbirds feature six F-16 Fighting Falcons, the Air Force's premier multi-role fighter aircraft. Assigned to Air Combat Command, the squadron is composed of 12 officers and more than 120 enlisted personnel serving in nearly 30 Air Force job specialties. They have a rigorous schedule, performing hour-long demonstrations across the United States nearly 40 weekends between February and November. Since the unit's inception in 1953, more than 350 million people in all 50 states and more than 60 countries have witnessed the distinctive red, white and blue jets in thousands of official aerial demonstrations. (www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com)