All-star lineup of talent includes Jeff Burton and Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the time since it was announced in July 2013 that NBC Sports would be returning to its coverage of NASCAR, a snowball effect-type buzz has been building around the media group’s Stamford, Connecticut, studios that would make Winter Storm Juno jealous.
With its first season of Sprint Cup Series coverage in nearly a decade barreling towards us, the buzz reached a paramount on Tuesday when the incoming, all-star team was introduced during the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour.
“Everybody at NBC Sports is thrilled to be back in the sport,” said Jeff Behnke, NBC Sports Vice President, NASCAR. “It’s been eight and a half long years and I can tell you that the buzz around all of our production people, our engineers and our talent, sales, marketing; every group. We are absolutely thrilled to be back in the sport.”
Following Behnke’s introduction, an eye-popping promo video for NBC’s coverage (which begins Fourth of July weekend with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway) was played, featuring enough high-throttle footage of raucous racing and wrecking to get the heart pumping — and the season hasn’t even started yet.
“I wish you could go up to Stamford, Connecticut, and walk through the halls,” said Kyle Petty, former driver and NBC newcomer. “They are truly excited to have this property; it’s crazy. With the Premier League, with NHL, with NFL, some of the other properties that they have, the whole building there’s a buzz, and there was a buzz building all last year.
“That’s the exciting part for me. Sometimes when you drove a race car, all it took was a different paint job on the car and you got excited when you showed up at the race track. Or you put on a different uniform, a different sponsor and you were excited. It was like being a kid again. This group is excited to come back. It’s a new look, it’s a different feel and I think they’re going to bring some stuff this year that hopefully will excite (the media) but I know it’s going to excite the fans.”
Of course, live racing on television can only take you so far without a group of highly talented individuals to call the action, so NBC has arranged a star-studded crew to bring it all home.
Media veteran Rick Allen will helm the lap-by-lap duties while 21-time Sprint Cup Series winner Jeff Burton and former Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 crew chief Steve Letarte will join him for color commentary. Other on-air talent includes Marty Snider — who was part of the original NBC coverage from 2001 to 2006 — NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett, Krista Voda, Kelli Stavast, Mike Massaro, Dave Burns and Rutledge Wood. Motorsports journalists Nate Ryan and Dustin Long have also signed on for editorial coverage.
For Burton, who was in the car for four races just a season ago with Michael Waltrip Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing, this whole “being a media member” thing is a completely new, heavier experience.
“I’ve put on some weight,” Burton said. “The media gets fed well, so that’s been an issue for me. Jeff has done an incredible job of putting a group of people together. This is just like building a team, it really is. It’s the same as being part of a race team. We have a goal that’s different than winning races, but it’s about doing the best broadcast we can and it’s really been fun to get to know everybody.”
In addition to the studio in Stamford where the flagship show “NASCAR America” will be broadcast from, additional support will come from an NBC Sports studio in Charlotte, along with a smaller studio at Burton’s own late model garage — appropriately titled “Burton’s Garage.”
While the long-time driver is more focused on the culinary aspects of being a member of the media, Letarte — an employee of Hendrick for two decades — may find that his biggest obstacle is objectivity.
Even so, it’s an aspect that he’s looking forward to.
“For 20 years, I’ve basically looked at one car and one car only,” Letarte, most recently crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr., said. “…You’re looking at one car and that car is your whole day. The opportunity to step back and see the entire race unfold, all 43 competitors, the different strategies; it’s going to be nice to not have to cheer for one car but to cheer for a good race and to see what competitor can bring his best game that day. That’s a big difference for me.”
The commitment to NASCAR that NBC is making cannot be understated, and it really began last year. The outlet found ways to marry motorsports into its coverage of other sports and entertainment, whether it’s seeing Jimmie Johnson race Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Snider doing a piece with Johnson and his love of bicycles for the Tour de France or Carl Edwards teaming with Kentucky Speedway for a Triple Crown promotion. Dale Jarrett will also have an upcoming segment on the Golf Channel to showcase his links knowledge.
WATCH: Johnson race Fallon in a Cooler Scooter Race
On Friday, we’ll see the newest installment of cross-promotion when the NASCAR Gridiron Challenge airs at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN, pairing drivers with former NFL players for a 20-lap race and an NFL skills-type challenge.