This weekend's Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway will feature some NFL flair as two-time Pro Bowl defender Bradley Chubb takes on a special role during pre-race festivities.
The Miami Dolphins edge rusher will be the grand marshal on Sunday, March 23. He will deliver the most famous words in motorsports when he tells the Cup Series drivers to start their engines for the 267-lap event.
"It's an honor to have an athlete extremely dedicated to their craft like Bradley Chubb help us kick off the Straight Talk Wireless 400 as our grand marshal," said Homestead-Miami Speedway President Guillermo Santa Cruz in a statement.
"Bradley's tenacity and passion on the field embody the spirit of competition that we've continued to produce here at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We're looking forward to him bringing the South Florida sports energy to our fans prior to another fierce Cup Series race next weekend."
Chubb, the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, started his career with the Denver Broncos. He started 49 games and tallied 39.5 sacks while serving as a key presence in the pass rush, but he headed to the Miami Dolphins midway through the 2022 season via trade.
The Georgia native appeared in eight games for the Dolphins in 2022, starting seven, and tallied 13 combined tackles. He added 2.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and one forced fumble.
Chubb returned to the Dolphins in 2023 and started 16 games. He tallied 11 sacks and led the NFL with six forced fumbles as the Florida-based team reached the playoffs. However, Chubb tore his ACL in Week 17 and missed the rest of the season, as well as 2024.
Now healthy, Chubb returns to the Dolphins on his three-year, $54,490,000 deal. He will be tasked with helping this defense shut down such quarterbacks as Josh Allen and Drake Maye so that the Dolphins can contend for the AFC East crown.
First off, however, he will head to the 1.5-mile oval track located south of Miami. He will set the stage for the sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series season, one that will potentially put a new driver into the playoffs.
This weekend marks only the third time that Homestead-Miami Speedway hosts a race early in the season. The first time was in 2020. Denny Hamlin won after a late battle with Chase Elliott. William Byron then won at the Florida track early in the 2021 season.