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Deontay Wilder named Geico 500 honorary pace car driver

Deontay Wilder v Luis Ortiz

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 03: Deontay Wilder looks on before his fight against Luis Ortiz during their WBC Heavyweight Championship fight at Barclays Center on March 3, 2018 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

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Talladega SuperSpeedway has a reputation for delivering blows to the competition, so it is only fitting that the honorary pace car driver for the Geico 500 will be a man known to deliver knockouts to his opponents. Reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) World Heavyweight Champion and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native Deontay Wilder will pace the field before the initial green flag Sunday.

Wilder, 32, has a record of 40-0 with 39 of his wins by knockout.

Known as the “Bronze Bomber” because of the 2008 Bronze medal he won in the Beijing Olympics, Wilder found boxing as a way to provide for a daughter diagnosed with spina bifida. He immediately found that he was a natural by scoring a technical knockout over Ethan Cox in November, 2008.

Wilder has held the title since January 2015 after defeating Bermane Stiverne in his only bout that was not decided by a knockout. Wilder scored a unanimous decision and has defended his belt seven times since.