10 of the Top Moments From Past 10 Years of NBC Sports’ NASCAR Coverage
Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and William Byron to Race for 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship This Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
Pre-Race Coverage Begins with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. ET
STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 5, 2024 – NBC Sports will crown the NASCAR Cup Series champion for the 10th consecutive season this Sunday at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Sunday’s Championship Race punctuates 10 years of NBC Sports’ most-recent media rights agreement with NASCAR, which began in the summer of 2015.
In honor of those 10 seasons, below are 10 of the top notable moments that have helped define NBC Sports’ critically-acclaimed NASCAR coverage throughout the past decade.
1. July 5, 2015 – First Race: Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and Austin Dillon’s Catch Fence Wreck
The 2015 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway – NBC Sports’ first race in its new NASCAR media rights agreement after initially presenting races from 1999-2006 – did not begin until 11:42 p.m. ET due to rain delays and finished at 2:40 a.m. ET. The race, won by Dale Earnhardt Jr., is remembered for Austin Dillon’s wreck into the catch fence at the checkered flag; Dillon was helped out of the car and walked away under his own volition to loud cheers from the crowd.
2. November 22, 2015 – Kyle Busch Wins First Cup Series Championship After Missing First 11 Races
NBC Sports’ first NASCAR Cup Series Championship race of the new package saw Kyle Busch win his first career Cup Series Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch missed the first 11 races of the season recovering from a broken leg and had to win three consecutive races during the regular season to even qualify for the playoffs.
3. November 20, 2016 – Jimmie Johnson Wins Record-Tying Seventh Cup Championship
The final race of the 2016 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway saw Jimmie Johnson win his record-tying seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship in dramatic overtime fashion, tying Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for the most championships all-time. This was also the final race for Hall of Famers Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards.
4. July 1, 2018 – “Slide Job!”
The first race with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the NBC Sports booth saw the 26-time Cup Series race winner create one of the most viral NASCAR moments of the decade. During the final lap of the Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Kyle Larson attempted to pass and then slide up the track in front of Kyle Busch on the inside, prompting Earnhardt Jr. to memorably exclaim, “Slide job! Slide job!” Busch ultimately hung on to win the race in one of the most memorable finishes in recent memory.
5. September 18, 2021 – Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick Post-Race Fight at Bristol
After a tumultuous race that saw Elliott and Harvick clash together multiple times on the racetrack, the two drivers exchanged words in a heated argument on Bristol’s pit road that eventually escalated into a physical altercation. The two then went into a hauler to continue their heated conversation. Note: Kyle Larson was the winner of this race.
6. November 7, 2021 – Kyle Larson Holds On for First Cup Series Championship
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship race from Phoenix Raceway saw a thrilling finish that saw Kyle Larson, who took the lead after a late-race pit stop, hold off a surging Martin Truex Jr. in the final lap to win his tenth race of the season and first Cup Series Championship.
7. October 30, 2022 – Ross Chastain Rides the Wall into the Championship 4
At the 2022 Xfinity 500 in Martinsville – the final Round of 8 race before the Championship – Chastain famously moved up from tenth place to fifth place by riding the outside wall of the track to clinch the last spot in the Championship 4. Chastain’s “wall ride” not only sent him to Phoenix, but also set a record for the fastest lap during a Cup Series race at Martinsville.
8. July 2, 2023 – Shane van Gisbergen Wins First Annual Chicago Street Race
The first annual Chicago Street Race had the drivers race on a 2.2-mile street course that weaved throughout the city and memorably saw Shane van Gisbergen, in his NASCAR debut, take the win. To accommodate the unique nature of the race, NBC Sports presented the race “Radio Style,” where announcers were positioned from vantage points around the circuit featuring around-the-horn commentary.
9. August 26, 2023 – Ryan Preece’s Flip at Daytona
During lap 155 of the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, Ryan Preece’s No. 41 car was hit from behind and started spinning into the infield grass, where the car flipped over 10 times as it barrel rolled through the grass in one of the most visually stunning crashes in recent NASCAR history. Thankfully, Preece exited the car safely and was able to race the very next weekend.
10. August 24, 2024 – Harrison Burton Wins Daytona with Father Jeff Burton in the Booth
NBC Sports motorsports play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey’s first race in the NASCAR booth was a special one for the NBC family, as Harrison Burton – son of longtime NBC Sports NASCAR analyst and 21-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton – earned his first career Cup Series victory at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in Daytona, winning in dramatic fashion in the last lap. “Jeff, your little boy has done it!” Diffey yelled alongside an exuberant Burton.
Honorable Mention:
October 25, 2020 – Parker Kligerman Confirms That Water is Wet
During a rain delay at Texas Motor Speedway, NBC Sports’ Parker Kligerman, in a groundbreaking day for meteorological reporting, confirmed that water is wet while describing the scene at the racetrack. To his credit, he was not wrong, as the race had to be finished three days later.
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