NASCAR Cup Series: NBC set for broadcast booth change?

Earlier this season, when NASCAR was still in the Fox portion of the broadcast schedule, a number of changes were announced for the upcoming NBC portion, which began at Iowa Speedway back in mid-June.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. confirmed that he would not be back for what would have been a seventh season in the NBC Sports booth this year, leaving only lead announcer Rick Allen and color commentators Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte. Allen, Burton, and Letarte have been together since the current media rights deal began back in 2015.

However, it was later revealed that lead IndyCar and IMSA announcer Leigh Diffey would be taking over the lead announcer duties from Allen following the three-week break due to NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

With the Olympic Games coming to an end on Sunday, August 11, the same day the Cup Series returned at Richmond Raceway, Diffey did not take over from Allen last week.

It was widely believed that he would either make his 2024 debut in the Cup Series broadcast booth either this Sunday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway or next Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

No NBC broadcast booth changes for Michigan race

That debut will not come this afternoon, as Allen is set to call the 200-lap FireKeepers Casino 400 at the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Brooklyn, Michigan oval.

Diffey, whose 11-year run calling IndyCar races for NBC has come to an end ahead of the open-wheel series' full-time move to Fox next year, is set to join the NBC Sports broadcast booth for next Saturday night's 160-lap Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval.

Though Diffey is best known for serving as the lead announcer for NBC's IndyCar and IMSA coverage, he does have limited experience during NASCAR races, primarily in 2017 when he served as the lead announcer for select events.

Next Saturday night's race at Daytona is set to be shown live on NBC, making it the first race after the Olympic break actually on NBC as opposed to USA Network, while the following Sunday's regular season finale at Darlington Raceway is set to be shown live on USA Network.

USA Network is the NBCUniversal-owned alternate channel during NBC's portion of the broadcast schedule which took over from NBC Sports Network after NBC Sports Network shut down at the end of 2021.

The first four races of the four-round, 10-race postseason are set to be shown on USA Network, while the final six are all set to be shown on NBC.

As for Allen, he is still set to serve as the lead announcer for Xfinity Series races. This is set to remain the case even as the series gets a head start on its upcoming full-time move to the CW Network for 2025. That transition is set to start with the regular season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 20. The season's final eight races are all still set to be produced by NBC Sports with its own production and on-air teams.

Tune in to USA Network at 2:00 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway. RFK Racing's Chris Buescher is the reigning race winner. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now if you have yet to do so!