The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway last Sunday night launched NBC’s share of the 2024 Cup Series broadcast schedule, even though the event itself was shown on USA Network rather than NBC. Fox had started the year with 16 points races (plus the two exhibition races).
Lead announcer Rick Allen and color commentators Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte shared the broadcast booth for a decade.
However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not return for the seventh year in a row. He joined NBC prior to the 2018 season, having retired from full-time Cup Series competition at the conclusion of the 2017 season campaign.
Dale Jr. is no longer featured on NBC shows
The 15-time Most Popular Driver Award winner acknowledged that his contract with NBC had ended and that he was now weighing his options during Fox’s broadcast schedule earlier this season.
In the end, he decided to sign with TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video for the 2025 season, which is when the new seven-year media rights agreement is scheduled to start. This means he won’t be joining the NBC (and USA Network) broadcast booth for the 2024 season.
The 2025 calendar will feature five races each on Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports, while Fox and NBC will each see a decrease in race count from 18 to 14.
In August, NBC will make more changes to its booth.
Not all of the significant alterations to the NBC broadcast booth for the 2024 season are related to Earnhardt’s departure.