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Motorsports

NASCAR News Today: Thoughts on rumours of ESPN’s Marty Smith in the booth + Dale Jr. & Steve Letarte reunion at Amazon/TNT & Adam Alexander to The CW for Xfinity Series

by Sports Benches July 18, 2024

While NASCAR is back racing around left at the Brickyard once again following a few years on the infield with a two-week break around the corner when the Summer Olympics will begin next Friday in Paris, France, there has been plenty of chatter lately about the on-air broadcast talent when the next TV rights deal will begin from next year until at least 2031 – especially when you got so many networks covering the races to tune in throughout the year across all three national series levels.

Whether if it’s on free-to-air or cable or through a mix of both platforms, streaming is set to play a huge role going forward where you would need to tune in from your devices including a Smart TV box for those still wishing to watch through a big TV screen. Not only that, you will also finally be able to see some of the broadcast coverage without ads for the first time but if you wish to subscribe by paying a monthly fee to watch selected Cup races as you would normally do for cable.

Here’s the broadcast partners who will be part of the 2025-2031 TV rights contract in case you missed it as it was originally announced in November last year:

Fox Sports: five free-to-air and nine cable Cup Series races (FS1) during the first-half season, the Daytona 500 and All-Star Race Practice & Qualifying weekend and a full season of Truck Series racing.
NBC Sports: four free-to-air and ten cable Cup Series races (USA Network) during the second-half season including the Playoffs and Peacock streaming access to simulcast the network’s last 14 Cup races of the year.
The CW, the whole lot of Xfinity Series with all 33 events live and free every race weekend across Practice, Qualifying and Race Day.
Amazon Prime: First-half season Practice and Qualifying Cup events except the Daytona 500 and All-Star Race weekend with the first five summer/mid-year Cup races.
TNT Sports: Second-half Practice and Qualifying Cup events on TruTV & Max alongside the second five summer/mid-year Cup races with TNT & Max. Note: A sports add-on is required to stream the races on top of any basic Max streaming service plans.

So far Dale Earnhardt Jr. is already onboard with both Amazon Prime and TNT to be part of their respective commentary booths as an analyst across all ten mid-year Cup races (five for Amazon Prime and five for TNT/Max) off the back of his exit from NBC whose contact was expired and was not retained for renewal at the end of last season.

Meanwhile, Australia’s own and one NBC Sports’s valuable announcing stalwarts Leigh Diffey, who just called his final IndyCar race the other day at Iowa for NBC whose IndyCar commitments will also be ending soon come mid-September with Fox Sports set to pick it up from next year, is expected to replace Rick Allen as the network’s lead NASCAR Cup Series announcer once he wraps up calling Track and Field at the Summer Olympics in Paris in a few weeks time. It remains to be seen where Rick will end up long-term (could see him come back to FOX’s Truck coverage) as he will continue to call the Xfinity Series races in the meantime including the upcoming Playoffs this year via The CW (with short-term production help from NBC).

Now here’s some more names in the mix with the likes of Dale Jr’s former crew chief and recent broadcast colleague who is still at NBC Steve Letarte, FOX Sports’s former Race Hub host and Xfinity Series announcer Adam Alexander and ESPN’s veteran NASCAR and sports reporter Marty Smith. Letarte could reunite with Dale Jr. once more this time across Amazon Prime and TNT while Alexander is considered the favourite to commentate the CW’s Xfinity Series races full-time and veteran versatile ESPN reporter Marty Smith might try his hand at hosting/commentating for the first time at Amazon Prime/TNT.

Marty Smith

It’s a bit of surprise Marty has been mentioned to possibly host and commentate the Cup races for Amazon/TNT who is so good with his brilliant sports reporting work on ESPN, having been covering several sports on top of NASCAR since ESPN/ABC left the sport a decade ago. Now surely ESPN won’t let him go, but they could give him an opportunity to continue his usual craft of NASCAR elsewhere by expanding his skill-set in both hosting and commentating – which is something he has never done before. But surely, he’ll be keen to steer the ship for a couple of hours during the summer as Amazon/TNT sees him as the perfect candidate to guide race fans into a new era of NASCAR with more viewers beginning to tune in from their devices.

Yes, I know lots of race fans will begging Allen Bestwick to come back who used to call lots of races for MRN, TNT, NBC and later ESPN/ABC for over many years and decades. However, times have changed since then for a decade now after ESPN left the sport and I don’t think any network out there covering NASCAR would hire him anytime soon. Looks like Marty calling the races is something new should he accept the offer, which is similar to what we currently see with former ESPN colleague Jamie Little over at FOX who now calls the races sometimes in Trucks and ARCA on top of her usual Cup pit reporting gig.

Adam Alexander and FOX Sports going their separate ways?

We thought Adam Alexander would initially be the favourite to call the IndyCar races for FOX when the network picked up the rights last month off NBC including the Indianapolis 500 but considering FOX will see their NASCAR content levels slashed going into next year, it’s no surprise considering he’s also the favourite to call the Xfinity Series once again but via The CW who will be carrying the exclusive rights there at the same time from next year. His hometown may be from Indiana but has been covering all of NASCAR everyday in Charlotte over the last decade and his close connection with the sport and the Xfinity Series in particular could continue to see him turning up for many Saturdays and some Fridays throughout the year.

Also, keep an eye out for veteran racer and current FOX NASCAR analyst Jamie McMurray. He too might be on the lookout elsewhere since Race Hub has just been axed last month and any future FOX NASCAR races (at least the Cup events) would likely be presented 100% on-site rather than splitting the studio and on-track broadcast presentations. That doesn’t mean their famous “Hollywood Hotel” on-site studio is coming back when it was retired back in 2018 with just a couple of on-air talent continuing to be around pit road during the pre and post races. McMurray is someone who always love hanging out in the FOX Charlotte studios also everyday alongside Adam Alexander and Larry McReynolds & although he has been on-site several times before, but not so much since he wants to be closer to home with family. If Amazon/TNT wants to implement some studio coverage and it does come from Charlotte, then no surprise he will want to be part of it with less travel 100%.

If someone is going to call the Indianapolis 500 race for FOX at least the next couple of years, they might give Mike Joy (the lead NASCAR and Daytona 500 announcer) his wish to see all things Indy. Yes, he might be somewhere in his 70s and isn’t done commentating just yet but he used to call open-wheel racing a long time ago – such as the old IndyCar series in CART as well as Formula 1. Him calling the other 500 mile race in Indy towards the end of May would be the perfect next step to complete his impressive commentary CV while Kevin Lee can fill in for the other races since he’s been with IndyCar for so long.

Dale Jr and Steve Letarte reunion Part 3?

And lastly, it would be great to see Dale Jr. and Steve work together as broadcast colleagues once again this time for Amazon Prime and TNT. They’ve forged a successful partnership initially on the race track with Hendrick Motorsports for many years before Steve retired from the pit box a decade ago before they saw each other again on TV with NBC a few years later from when Dale Jr retired at the end of 2017 until his dismissal at the end of 2023. Now it’s no surprise if Steve leaves NBC soon enough to be with him again so they can both make great insightful commentary and content together that the race fans like to receive every week where Dale Jr. has his own Dirty Mo Media business while Steve got his own podcast via Dale Jr when it comes to the day-to-day operations outside weekends. Gotta say this is an offer Letarte cannot refuse as this is a partnership that wouldn’t have gone anywhere had Dale Jr. & Steve not have worked together the first time when they were at Hendrick.

July 18, 2024 0 comment

Other Sports

Looking back at the 2022 IndyCar season-opener highlights race on 9Go, with Scott McLaughlin as the race winner for Team Penske

by Sports Benches March 3, 2022

I just had the chance to watch a bit of the IndyCar highlights today on 9Go, where I took a few shots of Sunday’s season-opener round (Monday morning here) that was held from a street circuit in St Petersburg, Florida.

Hats off through a fantastic drive from Kiwi & 3 x Supercars Champion Scott McLaughlin, who sealed his first IndyCar race win for the No.3 Penske Chevy, during Race 1 of 17 in the new season. Not only he dominated final practice and qualifying, where he started from pole but also on race day, having fended off a fiercely competitive battle against reigning champion Alex Palou in the No.10 Ganassi Honda, who hails from Spain.

And once he got into the podium/victory lane, we loved how he reached out to those back in Australia during the post-race interview, where they are experiencing a tough time right now with the ongoing floods over in Queensland and New South Wales. He also mentioned how he missed seeing his parents by his side from Cambridge, NZ, who were unable to attend his races or see their son in person right now for over two years due to COVID. Glad to see them chat once again via facetime, as McLaughlin not only hopes to bring home the famous Indy 500 in late May but also the series’ title.

Great race to reflect with Australia’s own Leigh Diffey calling the shots for NBC Sports, which is the host commentary feed we get for IndyCar globally.

This series is moving onto an oval layout now at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth for Round 2 of 17, as the next race will be on Monday, March 21 (Sunday, March 20 over in the USA) at 3-4 am AEDT via paid streaming service on Stan Sport. You can either try out Stan Sport on a seven-day free trial or pay $20 a month on top of the basic Stan package. Otherwise, 9Go will be back airing highlights of Race 2 from Texas free of charge at 2-3 pm on Thursday, March 24.

March 3, 2022 0 comment

Motorsport

Thoughts on NASCAR on TV right now in Australia as the competition between paid streaming services heat up

by Sports Benches February 27, 2022

In addition to IndyCar being aired on Free TV in Australia, NASCAR was also aired for free nearly a decade ago on Network 10’s former digital channel, One, when Australian Marcos Ambrose was around at the time.

But Fox Sports/Kayo only show highlights nowadays via subscription, while the only way to watch live and on-demand NASCAR here is the sport’s in-house paid Trackpass service.

If Stan Sport was to add NASCAR, it’s going to be a tough ask since NASCAR has a similar service here & both of them offer $20 a month unless NASCAR discontinues Trackpass for the Australian market. But it’s possible though, with Trackpass unavailable in New Zealand right now due to an exclusive streaming deal with Sky Sport to prevent direct competition.

Time will tell as Stan Sport has quickly increased their suite of motorsports content in no time against Foxtel/Kayo Sports’ offering of Formula 1, Supercars, World Superbikes & MotoGP.

P.S. Foxtel/Kayo now returned airing live NASCAR Cup Series races again predominately on Monday mornings this season, having aired selected races in 2020 & 2021 when the series was abruptly paused for a while between early March to mid-May due to COVID-19. I guess Foxtel/Kayo used the unexpected break when they got the revised agreement they wanted with NASCAR, as explained above in addition to highlights every week.

Then you look at the recent loss of IndyCar, Australian Superbikes, World Rally Championship & some Motocross rights to Stan, which opened the return of live NASCAR Cup racing for all races on Foxtel/Kayo. They just re-added them in a bid to boost competition and prevent subscribers from switching to Stan, so race fans can watch the best of motorsports on Kayo/Foxtel if they don’t want to pay more than one streaming service. There’s Formula 1, MotoGP, Supercars, World Superbikes, and AMA Supercross content there other than NASCAR Cup racing.

And regarding the Xfinity & Truck Series, there may be no plans to put them back on Foxtel/Kayo like it was in the past. However, Trackpass is still the only way to tune in to these other two national series, with both Trackpass & Foxtel/Kayo currently showing all Cup races live here in Australia.

February 27, 2022 0 comment

Motorsport

IndyCar returns on free-to-air in Australia for the first time in 15 years, but only through one-hour highlights on 9Go

by Sports Benches February 27, 2022

It’s been a long time coming since an American motorsports series such as IndyCar were last shown on Free to Air in Australia in 2008 on the Seven Network, after these open-wheelers no longer race on the streets of Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast, Queensland.

There was also every race in Champ Car/IndyCar back then for the North American races other than the Gold Coast, having been tape-delayed on Tuesday mornings at 12 am/1 am either on Nine or Ten. Although both networks did cover the annual Indianapolis 500 race live through the 1990s and early 2000s.

Fifteen years on, the Nine Network brought it back this time as one-hour highlights of every race on Thursday 2-3 pm via their digital channel 9Go. It comes after their subscription streaming partner, Stan Sport, who recently snatched the Australian IndyCar TV rights off Fox Sports/Kayo, will air every practice, qualifying, and race, live without ads and on-demand.

And fans will not have to wait long now to subscribe and tune in to Stan Sport for tomorrow’s season-opener at a Street Circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida, 4 am AEDT.

We would’ve loved to see Nine simulcast the annual Indy 500 live with Stan Sport on 9Gem in late May, but then not many people here will stay up all night & watch it in the early hours of Monday AM. The only way Nine will air an IndyCar race live is if the IndyCars return for a weekend racing here like they did in the past, but someone local has to promote it where none of them are willing to take this step forward any time soon.

For now, it’s great to hear fellow Aussie Leigh Diffey commentating for host broadcaster NBC Sports throughout the 2022 IndyCar season, including the Indianapolis 500, both on Stan Sport and 9Go.

February 27, 2022 0 comment

Motorsport

Thoughts on Stan Sport acquiring IndyCar, World Rally Championship & World Endurance Championship rights that will begin in 2022

by Sports Benches December 15, 2021

Can’t believe this when Stan Sport is going way faster next year that goes from athletic sports such as Rugby Union, Tennis & Soccer to motor sports like IndyCar, World Rallying & World Endurance Championship.

This is going to be intense competition up against the likes of Foxtel, who currently covers Formula 1, Supercars, MotoGP & Superbikes, which does tell why race fans would have to fork out a few different subscription services if they wish to watch every premium racing competition just like the soccer.

While Stan will offer the whole lot of IndyCar, World Rallying and Endurance sportscars through every session live without ads, there are several reports about Foxtel’s successful renewal of Formula 1 from 2023 but nothing official came out at this stage.

There significant changes to the new MotoGP contract from next year, however, with Foxtel & Kayo acquiring the exclusive content to every race that includes the possibility of Seven or SBS airing the Australian Round live as Network 10 will no longer air motorcycle racing after covering them for 25 years.

Ten still has a season left in their current Formula 1 contact with Foxtel where they’ll get to air a live race at home for the first time in two years due to COVID, but if Foxtel officially renews Formula 1 for another five years then don’t expect Ten to stay on as it’s best if they get the whole lot like they did with the A-League, Socceroos & Matildas rather than having to keep sharing with Foxtel.

For now, it’s great to see Nine as a whole media organisation return into Motorsports & show it only on Stan but hopefully they can get them back on their free to air channel at least for the Australian GP & a couple of selected races if they can steal the Formula 1 content away from Foxtel which is unlikely at this stage but we’ll wait and see in the next few months.

December 15, 2021 0 comment

Other Sports

What does the exclusive multi-year renewal of the MotoGP rights from Fox Sports/Kayo mean for Network 10 in Australia?

by Sports Benches August 12, 2021

Image Reference: Box Repsol via Wikipedia, 16/5/21

Fox Sports/Kayo have retained the MotoGP broadcast rights in Australia for another few seasons during a press release early yesterday, but this time it’s under an exclusive deal through free and paid content.

That marks the end of Network Ten’s relationship with the sport as their Free to Air partner after 24 years when they first acquired the rights from the Nine Network back in 1997 & will still air eight Premier Class events left (Live) on 10Bold until the end of 2021.

Although there is a possibility that Network 10 could still the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix as part of the government’s anti-siponing laws that must be available for Free, but they will need to deal with Fox Sports/Kayo first rather than Dorna Sports, the sports’ commercial rights holder.

As it stands, Network 10 will only have one motorsports product after this year which is the Formula 1 with every round as highlights & one live race at home (not happening this year due to COVID).

Now these rights are also up for renewal at the end of 2022 in conjunction with Fox Sports/Kayo with no comment made at this stage but they have recently changed their sports strategy after the exclusive acquisition of Australian Soccer that will be available on their own Paramount + subscription for the majority as well as a game every week on 10.

So it’s probably unlikely from my assumption that 10 will just keep airing MotoGP as a one-off event at home alongside a shared paid TV partner, the same goes for Nine who launched Stan Sport as their paid OTT service earlier this year which leaves either Seven or SBS as the frontrunners for the annual Australian GP package.

It’s been great seeing Daryl Beattie provide his take on MotoGP for many years after he finished his professional riding career as well as the late Barry Sheene beforehand, plus there’s a couple of hosts to thank ranging from Bill Woods, Greg Rust, Mark Howard & at present until the end of this year both Sam Charlwood & Scott Mackinnon.

We will miss their contribution to MotoGP after the loss of Supercars & RPM at the end of last year with Formula 1 set to follow if not renewed, but there’s a bright future on 10 Sport when it comes to the Melbourne Cup, Soccer & potentially other products that can provide exclusivity on its own paid/free services.

August 12, 2021 0 comment