‘They Had to Hire Me’: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Uncovers How Rick Allen’s First Impression as an Announcer Solidified His Career in Broadcasting

Rick Allen was a play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports in the Cup Series for nearly a decade before being replaced by Leigh Diffey in 2024. Fans have dearly loved his wordplay, and he is the golden standard for anyone trying to find a job behind a mic. But where did it all begin for this iconic voice?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. uncovered the story in a conversation with him on The Dale Jr. Download podcast. Allen grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska, and attended the University of Nebraska, where he was a part of the Track and Field team.

Allen went on to tell Junior that he used to pick up the public address microphone between competitions and engage the crowd with simple instructions like, “Quiet for the start, please.” Picking up an affinity, he’d eventually approached the university’s sports information director.

He narrated, “I said, ‘Is there a sport that I could announce? I mean, I’d like to announce. Think it’d be fun.’ And I did a women’s gymnastics meet. The very first thing I ever announced as far as a sport was a women’s gymnastics meet.” The event was a success, and Allen was encouraged to delve deeper.

The football game that changed Rick Allen’s career path forever

Rick Allen then announced a baseball event, among others, and eventually ended up asking if he could announce every sport available. However, there were others to do that job, and he was left hanging. A golden opportunity came up in the spring of 1994 when the announcer for football couldn’t be at a game. Allen was asked if he could take his seat, and he gladly agreed.

“The athletic director got all of this praise,” he said about the audience reaction at the end of the game. “They were like, ‘You know we love that new sound system. It sounds so great. We can understand and hear everything that is being said.’

“And the athletic director was like, ‘We haven’t put the new sound system in yet. That was just the new guy.’ And so, he said he pretty much had to hire me.”

Rick Allen went on to serve as the voice of Nebraska football for the next ten years. But his origin story goes even further back. He remembers an episode from one of his schooling days when he had just finished reciting a speech during English class. The teacher just stood there watching him in awe and later said, “You’re going to be on the radio someday.” Allen just replied with an “Okay. Maybe.”

Little did either of them know then that he would become a beloved name for millions of NASCAR fans across the world.