NBC Sports has announced that veteran motorsports commentator Leigh Diffey will serve as the lead play-by-play voice for its NASCAR Cup Series coverage, beginning with this weekend’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 24, in primetime on NBC and Peacock, and continuing through the playoffs and season championship at Phoenix on November 10.
Diffey, who most recently served as NBC Sports’ lead track & field play-by-play commentator at the Paris Olympics, is one of the most prolific voices in motorsports. He has served as NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR commentator for more than a decade, including all six of NBC Sports’ Indianapolis 500 broadcasts, and has handled play-by-play for nearly every major motorsport series, including NASCAR, Formula One, IMSA, Supercross, and MotoGP.
With Diffey assuming NBC Sports’ NASCAR Cup Series play-by-play duties, long-time INDYCAR commentator Kevin Lee will handle play-by-play for the remainder of NBC Sports’ 2024 NTT INDYCAR Series coverage. Lee, whose play-by-play work extends for more than 30 years, has been a host, pit reporter and play-by-play commentator for NBC Sports’ NTT INDYCAR SERIES coverage since 2009, and has handled play-by-play for a number of INDYCAR races this season.
Rick Allen will continue as NBC Sports’ lead NASCAR Xfinity Series play-by-play commentator. Xfinity Series coverage will air on USA Network until the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 20, when the CW Network assumes its role as the television home of the Xfinity Series.
Allen has called NBC Sports’ NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series coverage since NBC Sports acquired media rights prior to the 2015 season. Prior to joining NBC Sports, Allen served as a play-by-play announcer for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for more than a decade.
NBC Sports’ coverage from Daytona International Speedway begins this Friday, August 23, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network with Xfinity Series qualifying, leading into Cup Series qualifying and the Xfinity Series race in primetime. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES rolls on to Portland International Raceway for the Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday, August 25, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock.
