Gentlemen, start your engines!
In anticipation of the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in Miami, airing at 1:30 p.m. Sunday on NBC, the four drivers— Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.—appeared on late-night television Tuesday to compete in the first annual Tonight Show NASCAR 500 Race.
Taking place in Rockefeller center, each driver paired up with a celebrity: Busch with The Roots' Tariq Trotter; Gordon with host Jimmy Fallon; Harvick with pop singer Justin Bieber; and Truex Jr. with Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The teams were divided into two, with Busch, Bieber, Harvick and Trotter one team, and Fallon, Ferguson, Gordon and Truex Jr. on the other.
Before they put the pedal to the metal, Fallon explained the rules: "It's going to be Team Jimmy vs. Team Tariq. We're going to do a relay race, OK? First car from each team has to weave through these cones to the end of the lane, switch drivers without leaving their cars, then race back down the other lane and cross this line and tag in their teammates, who will do the same lap. First team to get both of their cars across the finish line is The Tonight Show 500 champion."
Fallon and Trotter (with Busch and Gordon by their sides) went first. While switching drivers, Trotter and Busch took the lead. To see if Ferguson and Truex Jr. were able to make up for lost time and beat Bieber and Harvick, watch the video.
(E! and NBC are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)