In 1978 Mercedes-Benz brought its world champion 300 SLR and had Phil Hill, the former champion, drive it.
Can also claim to have brought Michael Schumacher to international prominence when the seven-times world champion drove their Mercedes-engined sports cars in endurance races in the early 1990s.
A big pole-day crowd went wild as Waltrip, a three-time Nascar series champion, drove his Ford Taurus slowly down pit lane.
Sebastian Vettel, the 2010 and 2011 Formula One champion, drove the course in June for a promotional event before appearing on "The Late Show With David Letterman," during which he discussed the race.
The nine-time world rally champion drove a specially prepared 875-horsepower Peugeot to a staggering 8 13.8 for the 12.4-mile climb, bettering the old record by more than a minute and a half.
Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 champion, drove the specially numbered 26 racecar that day with a ribbon on the hood and "Newtown" painted on the sides to honor the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut and to help raise money for the grieving community.
The British world champion drove with pace in hand, unleashing his potential only when needed around the pit stops.
A Djokovic double fault gave Federer break points of his own at 5-5 and the defending champion drove his advantage home with a forehand winner to edge ahead.
But then it could also have been a shocking denouement and that it wasn't, that the new champion Synchronised – driven home with all the ferocious ambition that has become the trademark of A P McCoy – was saluted for his own magnificently combative nature without any shadow of tragedy, was cause enough for another round of cheers.
It will not be accompanied by the outpouring of blogs and comments, testifying that parenting methods like those the article champions have driven their writers (or siblings) to therapy (or suicide).
Hornaday, 42, the two-time Craftsman Truck Series champion who drives the No. 3 Chevrolet for Winston Cup star Dale Earnhardt, was without a victory in 18 starts this year.
