Former Tennessee QB Dobbs to Serve as NASCAR Race Starter

Dobbs will return to Bristol Motor Speedway to kick off the race 10 years after leading the Vols to victory there.

Apr. 9, 2026 at 10:17pm

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A vibrant, cubist-style painting depicting fragmented, overlapping geometric shapes and planes of color representing a NASCAR race and a college football game, conveying the energy and excitement of both sports.A former Tennessee quarterback returns to the scene of his college football glory to kick off a new era of NASCAR competition.Bristol Today

Former Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs will serve as the honorary starter for a NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, 2026. Dobbs led the Volunteers to a victory over Virginia Tech at the same venue 10 years earlier in front of a record crowd of 156,990 fans.

Why it matters

Dobbs' return to Bristol Motor Speedway as the honorary race starter connects his storied college football career to the world of NASCAR, highlighting the crossover appeal of high-profile athletes and the continued popularity of both sports in the region.

The details

As the honorary starter, Dobbs will wave the green flag to signal the start of the NASCAR race at Bristol. The event will mark 10 years since Dobbs led Tennessee to a victory over Virginia Tech at the same venue in front of the largest crowd to ever witness a college football game.

  • Dobbs led Tennessee to victory over Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016.
  • Dobbs will serve as the honorary starter for a NASCAR race at Bristol on April 12, 2026.

The players

Joshua Dobbs

A former quarterback for the University of Tennessee who led the Volunteers to a victory over Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016.

Bristol Motor Speedway

A NASCAR racetrack located in Bristol, Tennessee that also hosted a record-setting college football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech in 2016.

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What they’re saying

“It's competition at its finest,”

— Joshua Dobbs, Former Tennessee Quarterback

The takeaway

Dobbs' return to Bristol Motor Speedway as the honorary NASCAR race starter highlights the continued crossover appeal of high-profile athletes and the enduring popularity of both college football and NASCAR in the region.