Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa changed lanes on Sunday for an enthusiastic delivery of the most famous words in motorsports.
As the grand marshal for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the former Alabama All-American gave the command for the drivers to start their engines before the Dixie Vodka 400.
Tagovailoa gave the command via video as NASCAR continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic into a second season.
Former NFL linebacker Jonathan Vilma served as the honorary starter for the race.
“Having Tua and Jonathan join us for this special weekend is a true honor, and we are thrilled to host them,” Homestead-Miami Speedway President Al Garcia said. “Tua helped to return the Dolphins to their winning ways last year, and Jonathan was a key member of several successful University of Miami teams, continuing the school’s tradition of greatness. We know that many NFL players have recently taken a vested interest in NASCAR, and we are happy that both will have the opportunity to see just how exciting our sport can be.”
The Dixie Vodka 400 is the third race on the Cup Series schedule after NASCAR started its 2021 season at Daytona International Speedway with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14 on the 2.5-mile oval and the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 on Feb. 21 on the track’s road course.
Tagovailoa is preparing for his second season with the Dolphins. The fifth player picked in the 2020 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa became Miami’s starting quarterback in the seventh game of his rookie season.
TUA TAGOVAILOA GIVES NFL OUTLOOK FOR MAC JONES
At Alabama, Tagovailoa came off the bench as a freshman to lead the Crimson Tide from a 13-0 halftime deficit to a 26-23 overtime victory against Georgia in the CFP national championship game.
In Tagovailoa’s sophomore season, the Tide fell to Clemson in the national title game. Tagovailoa was the consensus All-American QB and the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and finished as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2018.
After a hip injury in the 10th game ended his junior season, Tagovailoa headed for the NFL as Alabama’s all-time leader in touchdown passes and the holder of the NCAA FBS record for career passing-efficiency rating at 199.4 (for players with at least 400 completions). Tagovailoa completed 474-of-684 passes for 7,442 yards with 87 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and ran for 340 yards and nine touchdowns on 107 carries at Alabama.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.
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