Former NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series Champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett will serve as a pre- and post-race analyst during
live coverage of select NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series racing on
NBC and NBCSN.
Jarrett, a
three-time Daytona 500 winner, will be among the first to welcome fans to NBC
Sports’ 10-year chapter as the home of NASCAR’s championship run when he, Krista Voda and Kyle Petty open up NBC’s live pre-race coverage from
Daytona International Speedway this 4th of July weekend. In addition to
handling pre- and post-race coverage, Jarrett will also serve as a booth
analyst during select NASCAR XFINITY Series races and contribute to NASCAR
AMERICA on NBCSN.
“We are
excited to welcome Dale and his Hall of Fame credentials to our NASCAR
broadcast team,” said Sam Flood,
Executive Producer, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “As a former Champion, his
experience and insights will help us set the stage and break down key races
throughout the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.”
The appointment
of Jarrett follows previous NBC Sports NASCAR on-air announcements for analysts Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Kyle Petty, race announcer Rick Allen, pre- and
post-race host Krista Voda and reporters Marty Snyder, Kelli Stavast, Mike Massaro, Dave Burns and Rutledge Wood.
“I'm very
pleased and excited to be a part of NBC Sports and their NASCAR coverage,” said
Jarrett. “NBC has assembled an All-Star crew for their coverage, and I'm
honored to be a part of this group that will bring NASCAR fans inside the sport
we all love.”
Jarrett grew up
in and around the sport of NASCAR, eventually turning down a golf scholarship
from the University of South Carolina in order to follow in the footsteps of
his iconic father, Ned Jarrett, a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion.
The Newton-Conover, N.C., native earned his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
victory in August 1991 at Michigan International Speedway in a car owned by the
famed Wood Brothers. In the 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons that spanned
from 1993-2002, Dale achieved 29 of his 32 victories, three Daytona 500 wins, a
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in 1999, and seven seasons among the
Top-5 in points. Jarrett raced in his final full season of NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series competition in 2007. He made his final appearance behind the wheel in
the 2008 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge race, and was inducted into the
NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2014. Jarrett joined ESPN full time in 2008, and
quickly took over the reins as their lead NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing
analyst, a position he held for the last seven seasons.
On July 23,
2013, NASCAR and NBC Sports Group reached a comprehensive agreement that grants
NBCUniversal exclusive rights to the final 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races,
final 19 NASCAR XFINITY Series events, select NASCAR Regional & Touring
Series events and other live content, beginning this coming 4th of July weekend
from Daytona International Speedway.
With this
partnership, NBC’s 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race schedule includes a
designation as the exclusive home to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, when
the elite national series races through its final 10 events of the season. The
Chase culminates with the season-ending championship event, which returns to
network television in 2015 for the first time since 2009. Of NBC Sports Group’s
20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, seven will be carried on NBC annually, with
13 airing on NBCSN. Four of NBC Sports Group’s 19 NASCAR XFINITY Series races
will air on NBC, with 15 airing on NBCSN.
Welcome back Dale, it's good to have you back where you belong.
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