Live television coverage of the race began at 5:00p.m. EDT in the United States on Fox. Around the start of the race, weather conditions were partly cloudy with an air temperature between and a track temperature which ranged between . William K. Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Country and pop music singer LeAnn Rimes performed the national anthem, and sponsored contest award winners commanded the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, three drivers moved to the rear of the field because of unapproved changes; Boywer had switched to his back-up car, and David Ragan and Harvick had changed their engines.