The 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 last Sunday saw the official start of Leigh Diffey’s career as a NASCAR Cup Series announcer. The veteran commentator took to the NBC Sports booth to cover the second last race of the regular season this year. Diffey has been long associated as the voice of America’s premier open-wheeled racing series as the Australian-American has covered the NTT IndyCar Series since 2013.
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Last Sunday saw Diffey take up the role of the play-by-play announcer during the 400-mile-long stock car racing event at Daytona International Speedway. The race ended in spectacular fashion with Harrison Burton claiming Wood Brothers Racing’s 100th victory in the highest echelon of the sport, leaving fans with a feel-good story.
Another major highlight from the event came in the form of Leigh Diffey’s commentary in full force. Diffey’s commentary was praised by a large chunk of the stock car racing fraternity after initial reservations regarding the same.
Leigh Diffey has called it all, from Max Verstappen’s first F1 victory to Harrison Burton’s win at Daytona, and everything in between. 🏁 pic.twitter.com/y6WNyD5mw4
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) August 29, 2024
After having called the 2024 Olympics for NBC Sports as well, Diffey recently spoke about his dedication to NASCAR as a sport and how he has made efforts to improve the experience for the fans.
“I’d like them to know that just how seriously I’m taking it. There’s not a single broadcaster on the planet who’s going to please everybody but my message would be that the NASCAR fanbase is a sacred group of people and I have the utmost respect for it and for the sport and I feel privileged to be here,” Diffey told Dale Jr. Download Reloaded.
He added, “Hopefully people can see from last weekend in Daytona how seriously I take my research and to be prepared not for myself and not for my employer but for the fans, for the viewers. I’m doing my best for you.”
One of the biggest highlights from last Sunday’s race came in the form of Diffey’s description of Harrison Burton crossing the line and winning his first NASCAR Cup Series race while his father and former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton watched on from the commentary booth.
HARRISON BURTON WINS AT DAYTONA! #NASCAR | NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/cEEClLuHi9
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 25, 2024
The call garnered positive reactions from the community. Most recently, Bubba Wallace‘s spotter Freddie Kraft spoke about the same on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. “The last lap call was incredible, I thought. He is the most energetic person on the planet.”
With NBC Sports covering the remainder of the 2024 season as well as a significant portion of the competition next year, Leigh Diffey ultimately is here to stay in stock car racing as a broadcaster, and one of the best ones at that.
