NASCAR: Unprecedented Dale Jr. move not controversial

Despite being a NASCAR analyst for NBC, an unprecedented move led to Dale Jr. going to the Fox booth to call this Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Just as it has been for several seasons, Fox covers the live broadcasts during the first portion of the NASCAR Cup Series season, and NBC takes over during the summer and continues their coverage throughout the rest of the year.

This year, Fox’s final race, which is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 12 at Sonoma Raceway.

After Father’s Day weekend, the lone off-weekend of the 2022 season, NBC’s first race of the year is scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 26 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Since retiring from full-time Cup Series competition at the end of the 2017 season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has taken on a broadcasting role with NBC as a full-time analyst for the Cup Series races. He is set to return for a fifth season with them this year.

But in an unprecedented turn of events, he is set to be in the Fox booth for this Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway as well.

Following Jeff Gordon’s departure following the 2021 season, his sixth season as a full-time analyst in the booth, Fox did not elect to fill his seat with a single individual alongside lead announcer Mike Joy and analyst Clint Bowyer for 2022.

Instead, they have welcomed multiple different guest analysts so far this year. Earnhardt is set to become the seventh person to fill the third seat this year, joining Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Danica Patrick, Chad Knaus, and Darrell Waltrip.

But how is an NBC analyst able to join the Fox booth?

According to Sports Business Journal‘s Adam Stern and John Ourand, it was NBC’s new USFL (United States Foosball League) partnership with Fox that allowed Earnhardt to have the opportunity to call Sunday’s race on the latter.

https://twitter.com/A_S12/status/1516479084469100559

As a result, the rival networks, both NASCAR broadcast partners, have opted to work together to promote the stock car racing series as well, and that included NBC letting Fox use Earnhardt for a race at a track where he happens to be a six-time winner — and a track where he is set to be in the NBC booth in October as well.

So don’t miss the GEICO 500, which is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this afternoon. If you have not yet begun a free trial of FuboTV, do so now!