Bill Murray sends message to American military in NASCAR drivers meeting at Gateway

During the NASCAR drivers meeting at Gateway, the Grand Marshal for the race, Bill Murray, got to step up to the microphone. The acclaimed and widely beloved actor is always looking for a way to make people laugh. He did just that while referencing a serious topic.

Bill Murray will help start today’s race by giving the command to start engines. He is also going to be performing with his band today at World Wide Technology Raceway. He broke the ice in the drivers meeting, though.

There are all kinds of guests and others at these driver meetings. Before he went up to the mic, Murray got to chat with a few of those guests, who happened to be members of the U.S. military.

Referencing the political climate in America recently, and the increasing likelihood that President Donald Trump will send National Guard troops to Chicago, Bill Murray took his chance. It did get a laugh.

“I just want to get a word in edge-wise here,” Murray said, via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “It’s pretty impressive to be here with these American warriors, who have served overseas, that have been in charge of the lives of so many people. I just ask you once, in the nicest way, go easy on my city of Chicago, will you please? Don’t rough it up too much, you guys. Each resident of Chicago, they’re just like you in many ways. I’m really happy to be here. … Keep going.”

Bill Murray has a message in the NASCAR drivers meeting. pic.twitter.com/d4pobNeav5

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 7, 2025

Bill Murray got a good laugh out of the crowd, because of course he did. He got up, said what he wanted to say, and stepped away from the microphone before it went any further. During the drivers meeting, the actor shook the hands of every NASCAR driver there.

For one driver, Noah Gragson, it was an interesting interaction. Mostly because Gragson had no idea who Murray was before the two shook hands right there in the meeting room. Bubba Wallace rightly called Gragson out for this on social media, too.

When NASCAR lands these big names for races like this, it’s a big deal. Bill Murray being at he race is a big deal. Hopefully, he has a good time and comes back. Maybe Chicagoland next year?

Bill Murray took a risk getting a little political in the drivers meeting. It went over well with the crowd in the room, though. Besides, everyone is thinking about the playoff race about to happen. Let’s get some laughs, get these cars fired up, and get to racing.