It remains a mystery why NBC Sports chose to replace Rick Allen with Leigh Diffey as NASCAR Cup play-by-play announcer last year. The reality is that we may never learn what happened behind the scenes.
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Allen, a versatile broadcaster, is not just a motorsport-only voice. He’s done virtually all forms of stick-and-ball sports. His time at NBC will be fondly remembered by many. To most TV viewers, Allen will always be an auto racing broadcaster first and the voice of NASCAR.
To say what happened to Allen remains a shock is an understatement. In his first lengthy interview since his complete departure from NBC at the end of last season, Allen opened up to his former NBC broadcast partner, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
One of the most intriguing stories Allen told Earnhardt was how he came to grips with the reality when the word of his departure first got out. Perhaps no more abruptly than when he ran into Michael Jordan on a golf course shortly after NBC announced it was trading Allen for Diffey.
“It hit me like a ton of bricks,” Allen said, “when we were at Michael Jordan’s golf course and … the first thing that Jordan says to me is, ‘What’d you do, man? How come you aren’t announcing the races? You’re NASCAR’.”
To hear an icon like Jordan, who transcends all sports around the world, tell him, “You’re NASCAR”, was not only a great compliment, but also an affirmation of a belief shared by many. That includes everyone in the sport, the fans as well.
Despite what NBC thought, Allen WAS indeed NASCAR to millions of viewers.
Alas, that’s no more.
It became clear that he was not going to remain in the NASCAR booth when the Xfinity Series moved to The CW for this season. And there were virtually no other racing opportunities still to be had for Allen in 2025.
While broadcasting can be a fickle medium, Allen is too good of an announcer to be kept sidelined for too long. He’s hoping that something breaks potentially for next year.
In the meantime, he’s looking at other opportunities in “stick and ball” sports like those he broadcast earlier in his career. In hindsight, Allen told Earnhardt he wished he had done things differently.
“By me not saying anything and the way NBC did it, where they didn’t make any announcements, they didn’t say why or whatever, I think it looked like I had done something wrong, and that’s why [he was taken off the Cup broadcasts],” said Allen.
“I would have been more vocal, just so that people understood that it wasn’t my choice, that I did not want to not be back with NBC, I still wanted to call NASCAR races. I wanted to be a part of the CW or Amazon or Turner, or FOX, anybody,” he added.
And missing out on what he wanted so much has been tough to deal with. “I wanted that badly, and it didn’t happen; it never came to fruition with any of the other broadcast partners. And so, it’s been tough,” said Allen.
Where does Allen go from here?
After making numerous memorable calls during his almost decade-long stint of calling NASCAR races for NBC, the 55-year-old Allen is pursuing opportunities in other sports such as football, basketball, track and field, and college sports.
“I still think I’m a good play-by-play announcer and would love to still do something in that area,” Allen told Dale Jr.
While he may not be calling races for a while, one thing is a certainty: We’ll soon be hearing Allen’s voice again somewhere, even if it’s in a different sport.
He’s too good to be out of the broadcast booth for too long.
