After winning the American Idol competition on television's biggest stage last spring, Taylor Hicks will now perform on one of NASCAR's biggest stages by singing the national anthem prior to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Ford 400 on Sunday, Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hicks, the 29-year-old Birmingham, Ala. native, captured the hearts and minds of more than 63.4 million people who voted for him in the American Idol competition, which has had a history of producing some of today's greatest singing stars including Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Previous Idol winners and runners-up have sold a staggering 33 million records, which include music from Clarkson, Underwood, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Fantasia and Bo Bice.

Following his Idol victory, Hicks signed a recording deal with Arista Records, and his first single "Do I Make You Proud" debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Hot 100, the Single Sales chart and the Pop 100, with more than 190,000 copies sold in its first week of release.

"The spectacular Ford Championship week will offer not only a coronation of three champions, but will also include a whose-who of celebrities, which will now include the most recent American Idol winner Taylor Hicks," said Homestead-Miami Speedway president Curtis Gray.

Tickets are still available for the NASCAR Busch Series Ford 300 on Saturday, Nov. 18 and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ford 200 on Friday, Nov. 17, which are part of the Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tickets are available by calling 1-866-409-RACE or by logging on to www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com.