NASCAR: How will a two-man booth work for FOX?
NASCAR on FOX will only have a two-man booth in 2020. The departure of Darrell Waltrip makes it very different for FOX going forward.
On Thursday, April 4 of this year, Darrell Waltrip, long-time broadcaster for NASCAR on FOX, announced that he would be retiring from broadcasting at the end of the 2019 season. Waltrip, who spent 19 years at FOX, decided to call it quits due to age and wanting to spend more time with his family.
That left NASCAR on FOX with a problem. What do they do with the empty spot that Waltrip is leaving behind?
The answer to that is nothing.
FOX is going to leave the spot there and let Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon on their own in the booth for the 2020 season.
Why not bring back Larry McReynolds?
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Larry McReynolds has been a name brought up to return to the booth to replace Waltrip. He was in the broadcast booth for NASCAR on FOX from 2001 to 2015. Since then, he has been in the FOX studio during races and is only brought in to talk about race strategies and to be a rules analyst.
McReynolds has stated in the past that he does not want to do all the traveling that goes along with the job of being in the broadcast booth. He likes where he is at and FOX has honored that request of keeping him in the studio in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The two-man booth for FOX
The booth will now consist of Joy and Gordon. Joy has been with FOX since its arrival to NASCAR in 2001. He is set to enter his 20th year of being the voice of NASCAR on FOX, and not much changes for him moving forward. Experience will help him through the loss of Waltrip next season.
Gordon entered the NASCAR on FOX booth in 2016, a season after retiring from full-time Cup Series competition in 2015. He is set to enter his fifth year in the booth for FOX.
Gordon is known mostly for his analysis of the cars and the drivers, as he still plays a major role at Hendrick Motorsports.
With the departure of Waltrip, Gordon will have more time to explain his thoughts and give an even more in-depth look into the races for fans. He will be the only color commentator, and there will be no other former driver there to give explanations.
This may also lead to more of Gordon saying his catchphrase, “Look at this!”
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It has been over 20 years since a NASCAR race was broadcast live on TV and had only two people in the booth for it. This will be an interesting element to watch, especially when comparing the quality of the broadcasts on FOX with two guys in the booth with the quality of those on NBC with four guys, Rick Allen, Steve Letarte, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton, in the booth.