Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to make his second NASCAR Cup Series debut. This time, he is set to do so as an analyst for NASCAR on NBC.
Today’s NASCAR Cup Series race is the TheHouse.com 400. It is the 17th race of the 26-race 2018 Cup Series regular season and the 36-race season as a whole. It is set to take place at the four-turn, 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval in Joliet, Illinois.
This race is set to mark the Cup Series debut of one of the most well-known figures in NASCAR history. In fact, this person has already made one debut in the Cup Series. He did so as a driver back in the 1999 season.
The debut he is set to make today is as an analyst for NASCAR on NBC. The driving making this debut is 26-time Cup Series race winner and 15-time Most Popular Driver Award winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who retired from his role as the full-time driver as the #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet following the conclusion of the 2017 Cup Series season.
Earnhardt Jr., 43, drove the #88 Chevrolet for the team for 10 seasons starting in 2008 after he drove the #8 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet from his rookie season as a full-time Cup Series driver, the 2000 season, through the 2007 season.
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The Kannapolis, North Carolina native, whose Cup Series career ended following 18 seasons as a full-time driver in the sport, also drove the #8 Chevrolet in the five Cup Series races that he started in the 1999 season.
NBC and NBC Sports Network are scheduled to broadcast the remaining 10 races of the 2018 Cup Series regular season in addition to the 10 Cup Series playoff races live. Of those 10 regular season races, three are scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC, while the other seven are scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
Of the 10 playoff races, six are scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC, while the other four are scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network. This means that in total, nine of the remaining 20 races this season are scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC while the other 11 are scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
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Tune in to NBC Sports Network later today at 2:30 p.m. ET to watch the live broadcast of the 2018 TheHouse.com 400 from Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Be sure not to miss Dale Earnhardt’s NASCAR Cup Series debut as an analyst for NASCAR on NBC.