Caldwell to be inducted into Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE — Bristol Motor Speedway President and General Manager Jerry Caldwell has been named named to the 2026 class of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Caldwell was surprised by Hall of Fame Executive Director Brad Willis during a Tuesday function celebrating Tennessee Motorsports at Lainey Wilson's Bell Bottoms Up. He joins BMS founders Larry Carrier and Carl Moore, former BMS President Jeff Byrd and Speedway Motorsports founder Bruton Smith among those associated with the iconic track. Other motorsports inductees include three-time NASCAR champion and 12-time BMS Cup Series winner Darrell Waltrip. "It means a lot just to be associated with the names that are in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame," Caldwell said. "A lot of great people there and honored. This award is for the Bristol Motor Speedway team. They make me look good, and they're the ones that do all the work." Caldwell started as an intern while attending King College in 1997 and worked his way up through the corporate and marketing departments. He was promoted to general manager in 2012. Besides the two NASCAR Cup Series race every season, he oversaw the 2016 Battle at Bristol college football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech with an NCAA record attendance of 156,990. Last August, BMS hosted the Speedway Classic '25, a Major League Baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds which set a regular-season record of 91,032 fans. "Some of my favorite moments are just being able to do it with our team, when we've taken on hard things and been able to accomplish them as a group," Caldwell said. "To see the pride from some of the biggest NASCAR races on the circuit to iconic events like those others." Willis talked about the impact of Bristol Motor Speedway and Caldwell in particular. "Bristol Motor Speedway has been incredibly important to the fabric of sports in our state," Willis said. "Any time we have a chance to honor someone from Speedway Motorsports, it points back to how much they invest in Tennessee. Jerry might be a better human than general manager, which is impressive since he's top notch." Caldwell is understandably proud of his facility, the largest sporting venue in the Volunteer State, as well as the adjacent Bristol Dragway known throughout the drag racing world as "Thunder Valley." "It is a special place. There's nowhere else like it," Caldwell said. "I tell folks all the time, you have to come see it. You need to really walk in and see it to really appreciate the place."