Royals legend George Brett will serve as Grand Marshal at Kansas Speedway

The greatest Royals player of all-time will serve as Grand Marshal for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Go Bowling 400 on May 7 at Kansas Speedway.

“George Brett is an iconic figure not just in Kansas City but to sports fans across the country and I’m excited to have him take part in the Go Bowling 400,” Kansas Speedway President Patrick Warren said Monday in a release.

Brett will give the starting command — “Drivers, start your engines” — before the race, take a pace-car ride and be introduced at the driver’s meeting before the race.

He was a first-ballot selection into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 and also was among the first people in line to purchase season tickets before Kansas Speedway opened in 2001.

“George has an impressive resume, winning a World Series title with the Royals, a Gold Glove, an MVP award, and I’m thrilled that Kansas Speedway was able to add another accomplishment to this already extraordinary list — Grand Marshal,” Warren said.

Brett spent his entire 21-year career with the Royals, earning 13 consecutive All-Star Game selections from 1976-88 and winning the American League MVP in 1980.

Brett, whose 3,154 career hits rank No. 16 in major-league history, batted .390 that season in helping the Royals reach the first World Series in franchise history.

Five years later, Brett was the AL Championship Series MVP and the Royals went on to win the first World Series title in club history. He also won a Gold Glove that season and one of three career Silver Slugger awards.

Brett — who won batting titles in 1976, 1980 and 1990 — remains the only player in baseball history to lead the league in batting average in three different decades.

He also was the first player in baseball history to collect at least 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, 600 doubles, 100 triples and 200 stolen bases.

Brett led the AL in hits and triples three times and led the league in doubles twice. He ranks sixth in major-league history with 665 doubles and 18th in total bases with 5,044.

Tickets for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra 250 at 7:30 p.m. on May 6 and the Go Bowling 400, a night race with the green flag set to drop at 6:30 p.m., are on sale at www.kansasspeedway.com or by calling 866-460-7223.

Tickets for those races or for the fall races — the ARCA Racing Series finale (Oct. 14), NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 (Oct. 15) and the Hollywood Casino 400, the fifth race in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup — also are available at the Kansas Speedway ticket office.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Royals legend George Brett will serve as Grand Marshal at Kansas Speedway."