Brandon High School’s Marching Eagles band performed ahead of the 68th annual Daytona 500 on February 15. The band played in the infield grass near the finish line at the Daytona International Speedway.
The 2026 Daytona 500 was sold out for the 11th year in a row with an attendance of approximately 150,000 people. The Marching Eagles kicked off the prerace ceremony, thrilling fans waiting for the Great American Race with popular rock-oriented songs.
Peyton Jones, NASCAR group sales manager, said Brandon’s band brought energy and excitement to the prerace festivities.
“As one of the few bands selected for the opportunity to perform before the race, they truly made the moment special. Not only was it a tremendous performance by the students, but it was also a great way to begin the day and welcome fans from around the world to the World Center of Racing,” Jones said.
Brandon’s director of bands, Veronica Jacob, said playing at the Daytona 500 was a tremendous opportunity for the students to shine in front of the largest audience they have ever played for. Previous large events include football games and marching band music performance assessments, both of which may have a couple of thousand people in attendance. From the moment the band arrived and drove under the track to the infield, the students were taken aback by how many people were there. Jacob said it was bigger than she expected as well.
“I am proud of them. This was the largest audience these kids have ever played for by a landslide,” Jacob said.
The band played a 15-minute set of stand tunes, including “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Life is a Highway,” “Disco Inferno,” “Big Ballin’,” “Power,” “Pon de Replay” and “Swag Surfin’.”
Senior drum major Keylan Greene said what he enjoyed most was playing in front of such a large crowd.
“I enjoyed showing off the band’s efforts of how hard we’ve worked in front of thousands of people,” Greene said.
Country music star and three-time Grammy Award winner Miranda Lambert was the headline performer for the prerace concert. Comedian Nate Bargatze served as grand marshal and actor Kurt Russell was an honorary pace driver.
To learn more about the Brandon High School Marching Eagles band, visit www.brandonhsbands.com or email Veronica Jacob at veronica.jacob@hcps.net.
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