Jewel and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at California Speedway. Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Jewel featured in NASCAR spots

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- She's as comfortable working her Texas ranch as she is strumming a guitar onstage.

Now, she's in the driver's seat with one of the country's most exciting sports.

Jewel -- the decorated singer, poet and songwriter -- is a NASCAR fan. And not a shy one.

"NASCAR!" she calls during a current television spot. "How bad have you got it!"

The 30-second spot was filmed during a pre-race concert at California Speedway on Feb. 26, when Jewel provided race fans with a preview of her latest compact disc -- Goodbye Alice in Wonderland. The CD hits stores on May 2.

The NASCAR spot featuring Jewel first hit the airwaves on March 26 during FOX's coverage of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Expect to see it on FOX, FX and SPEED during race broadcasts and licensed NASCAR programming through mid-May. It features footage of that pre-race concert at California along with cuts from the video of Jewel's song "Again and Again" from Goodbye Alice in Wonderland.

The visit to California Speedway -- where she mingled with the sport's brightest stars, pop culture peers like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart -- was a busy one for Jewel. Aside from entertaining prior to the race, she attended the drivers meeting for Sunday's Auto Club 500, plus visited several teams' pits during the event.

And another performance looms: Jewel will be a musical guest at the 2006 Nextel Cup Series Awards Ceremony on Friday, Dec. 1 at the historic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

A three-time Grammy Award nominee who has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, Jewel is both a contemporary musical force and an example of the ever-increasing symmetry between NASCAR and the entertainment industry.

Although the 2006 season is young, the crossover is significant: In February, singer Fergie of the musical group Black Eyed Peas sang the national anthem for the season-opening Daytona 500.

Actor James Caan served as the grand marshal. The singer Fantasia sang the anthem at California. In March alone, actors David Spade, Rob Schneider and Jonathan Heder attended the Nextel Cup event at Atlanta Motor Speedway to promote their movie, "The Benchwarmers."

Steve Harwell of the musical group Smash Mouth helped sell NASCAR Day pins Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Renowned chef Mario Batali is set to cook up a storm during this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, promoting his latest cookbook, the officially-licensed, "Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style."

All of which validates NASCAR's attraction, echoing Jewel's latest mantra -- "Again and Again."