On Sunday, July 22, Patrick Chung, safety for the New England Patriots, will trade a football for a steering wheel to take on his new role as the official Toyota Camry pace car driver for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Chung will lead NASCAR's best to the green flag as 40 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers race down the frontstretch to start the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.

"I will definitely check this off my bucket list after I get behind the wheel of the pace car for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301," said 30-year-old Chung. "My teammates and coaches who have had this opportunity before have all said how exciting it is to lead the field to start the race. I never thought I'd get to drive on "The Magic Mile," and in the official pace car, no less. This will be fun!"

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Chung has been with the New England Patriots for eight of his nine seasons in the NFL, helping the team to two Super Bowl victories in the 2014 and 2016 seasons. He recorded a career-high three interceptions and a career-best 89 tackles in 2010 and tied his career-high with 89 tackles in 2014.

In 2017, Chung played all 16 regular-season games with 11 starts and finished second on the team with 78 tackles. He also tallied one interception, nine passes defensed, two fumble recoveries and six special teams tackles.

"Patrick is a proven success on the football field, and I'm confident he'll be nothing less when he leads the drivers to the green flag," said David McGrath, executive vice president and general manager of NHMS. "We're huge New England Patriots fans up here, and I know our fans are too, so I can't think of a better way to start the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301."

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels (July 2017), offensive tackle Matt Light (Sept. 2016), linebacker Rob Ninkovich (July 2015) and wide receiver Julian Edelman (July 2014) have all been pace car drivers, and Chung is the fifth member of the Patriots to get behind the wheel of the Toyota Camry Pace Car for a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Other notables include Richard Rawlings of Discovery Channel's "Fast N' Loud" (Sept. 2017), Dave Matthews Band bassist Stefan Lessard (July 2016), Olympic triathlete Sarah True (Sept. 2015) and Boston Bruins legend Brad Park (Sept. 2014).

For full schedule and ticket information on all 2018 events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the July 20-22 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend and the September 21-22 Full Throttle Fall Weekend, please stop by the ticket office, visit the speedway website at www.NHMS.com, or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.