Rick Allen Finds His Way Back into a National Broadcasting Booth

What’s Happening?

Former NASCAR broadcaster Rick Allen will return to national play-by-play work this weekend with the CW, though this won’t be at the race track.

• Allen will serve as one of The CW’s college football play-by-play broadcasters throughout the 2025 season. Per Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, Allen’s work starts with this weekend’s Battle of the Palouse between the University of Idaho and Washington State University.
• Allen, who was the initial lead play-by-play broadcaster for NASCAR on NBC when the network returned to the sport in 2015, was moved out of his role in late 2024. While there were several open spots this year, to the surprise of fans, Allen was not signed on to broadcast for any of NASCAR’s new partners.
• The 56-year-old made headlines in the NASCAR community earlier this year when he shared the experience of his departure from NBC and NASCAR broadcasting in an April episode of The Dale Jr Download. He has found work since leaving the sport, serving as the in-stadium entertainment public address announcer for the Carolina Panthers.
• Prior to his time with NBC, Allen served as the long-time voice of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Speed before shifting to work in the NASCAR Cup Series. Since leaving the sport, fans have started a campaign to get FOX to bring Allen back to the Truck Series booth to no avail.

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