After Dale Jr.’s Exit, NBC Shakes Up Broadcast Booth
What’s Happening? Following the departure of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. this year, NBC’s NASCAR broadcast booth will reportedly have another change…
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On Friday, Adam Stern reported that some movement is happening amongst NASCAR broadcasters. As a new media rights deal is set to start in 2025, here are the names being thrown around for NASCAR broadcasting in 2025, including some surprising ones.
Stern reports that ESPN reporter Marty Smith is a candidate for play-by-play and hosting at Warner Bros. Discovery/Amazon. Fans would love it if Smith returned to covering NASCAR, a sport he covered for ESPN from 2007 through 2014, just before NBC took over the broadcast rights for the second half of the season. Since then, Smith has stayed at ESPN covering multiple sports, including college football, often pairing with fellow well-known motorsports journalist Ryan McGee.
He’s never done play-by-play for NASCAR, but he has plenty of on-camera experience at the network level, meaning he would seamlessly fit into the hosting role. Even though ESPN does not broadcast NASCAR anymore, Smith still has an immense love for the sport, as evidenced by being featured in “NASCAR: Full Speed,” a docuseries Dale Earnhardt Jr. worked on. Could Dale Jr. be pushing for Smith to join the team?
Stern reports that Adam Alexander is a candidate for play-by-play roles at Amazon/Warner Bros. Discovery and The CW, particularly labeling Alexander as the “Favorite” for The CW. It’s not surprising that Alexander is a candidate to go somewhere, as he’s done play-by-play commentary for NASCAR for over a decade (Cup Series on TNT from 2010 through 2014, Xfinity/Truck Series on FS1 since 2015). Bringing him to Amazon/Warner Bros. Discovery would bring him back to the Cup Series while adding him to The CW would give some continuity to Xfinity Series broadcasts.
However, Fox might have another plan for Alexander, and many fans speculate that he could be Mike Joy’s heir apparent. Marshall Pruett of RACER reported in June that Alexander is a “strong candidate” for the lead Play-by-Play role for IndyCar on Fox. All that to say, Alexander has options.
Stern reports that Steve Letarte has “held talks” with Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon. This is even more interesting because Dale Earnhardt Jr., Letarte’s former driver, will broadcast there in 2025. The pair won the 2014 Daytona 500 and facilitated Dale Jr.’s career resurgence in the 2010s. Letarte has been with NBC since 2015 and worked with Dale Jr. from 2018 through 2023, along with a podcast on Dirty Mo Media, “Dirty Mo Dough.”
The relationship between Letarte and Dale Jr. is still very strong, which likely plays a role in this potential move. Adding Letarte would give Amazon/WBD a solid crew chief analyst, and pairing him with someone he has chemistry with could be ideal.
Stern also reports that Jamie McMurray is a “hot commodity,” but there’s no guarantee he’s going anywhere. McMurray has endeared himself to fans the last few seasons with Fox primarily as a studio analyst but occasionally as a booth analyst. Given that Joy, Bowyer, and Harvick played pretty well in the booth this year for the most part, McMurray probably isn’t joining the booth anytime soon.
He probably has to go elsewhere if he wants to join the booth. Still, he’s done a good job at Fox, and we’ll have to see what Fox’s plans are with the cancellation of Race Hub.
What’s Happening? Following the departure of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. this year, NBC’s NASCAR broadcast booth will reportedly have another change…
This is not necessarily a new story, but Stern reaffirms that Leigh Diffey is set to take over at NBC after the Olympics, putting Rick Allen’s future into question. Diffey seemingly confirmed that he is joining NASCAR, saying that the Iowa doubleheader weekend will be his last for IndyCar despite more races scheduled after the Olympics. With NBC officially losing IndyCar, they may use NASCAR to keep Diffey with the team, but it will be interesting to see if Fox picks Diffey up.
With Allen potentially out of his spot at NBC, he could be a candidate for The CW and Amazon/WBD. He will be broadcasting for The CW later this fall when they take over distributing the Xfinity Series broadcasts for the second half of the season.
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