Report: Leigh Diffey Replacing Rick Allen Following Olympics - High Stakes NASCAR Podcast

I want to touch on uh a bit of news that actually really rocked your world uh this morning um and you know is is near and dear for us uh both at NBC Sports uh but a little bit of shakeup in the booth obviously we know that Dale Jr is not going to be in the booth this year and he's going over to Amazon and and Warner Brothers in 2025 um but an interesting move being done where post Olympic break lead will serve as the uh play-by-play guy uh not entirely sure for the amount of races um and I believe this is still just a report hasn't re hasn't been confirmed just yet but I know that you have some thoughts about this sack so I'll kind of let you let you take the floor here um what are your thoughts here on on Lee DIY getting another shot with stock car racing it's Christmas in March can't believe it it literally um so giddy about this man I was dude literally I mean NBC took you know came back to NASCAR in 2015 and I think at at that point we're looking at you know who they chose to be in the booth and I I I liked quite a few of them you know had Jeff Steve and then Rick Allen leading and I I just it didn't really hit me personally with what Rick was bringing to the booth you know I feel like there there was some strengths there that I I felt like could have been um improved on and just every year I I Tred to look for that Improvement um but at the same time you know you're watching indie car and you know for Formula 1 for a little bit uh lee Diffy was uh just killing it you know and I just I love the the torque in his voice and just how he would sell a story um and he just he's a historian of basically every Motorsport somehow if you think of sports car racing open wheels two wheels and even stock cars like he he really does pay attention to every every Motorsport and then just worldwide sports with what he does with Olympics and uh particularly track and field um he just knows how to how to bring that audience and and he knows how to elevate a moment and make it feel like it's a big deal like it can be a very minute thing it can be one driver passing another we saw it on Sunday in indie car that wasn't the best race but any moment any pass that happened he's like oh look at here look at here he's going up the inside he's got the pass on him coming out the turn four you're like wow you got me what happened it was for S7 jacked up for a pass for 15th man I mean Jesus absolutely and that that's something that I think can benefit every single Motorsport because Lee doesn't he doesn't tell you what is happening he tells you why it's happening so two guys would be racing for position really hard and instead of just saying I'm not saying you know Rick did this every time but he'll just go oh he's onto the back bumper to the inside and he completes the pass now like Lee would say oh his contract is up at the end of the year he's on a two-year winless streak and I spoke to him on Friday and he said Lee this is it's time for me to start making moves and being aggressive and he is making those moves right now the time is now and all of a sudden like you don't know who these guys are right but now know exactly why that guy is running hard and why he's making the moves that he that he's making because oh he might be out of a job next year like he spoke to him on Friday and he said now's the time for me to get aggressive so and that just comes out of nowhere that'll be the middle of the race and he'll just spit out this huge compelling story that makes you understand why something is is happening so and he's done that in every Motorsport and he did a few Cup races back in 2017 and and I was hooked I just I loved you know hearing you know just how he how he elevates the series overall and um this was great news um Rick is a great guy he was in a documentary I did last year on the NASCAR Indie Car crossover um great guy he's got a great voice I and he's still doing the xinity series um but overall I think this is tremendously huge for the sport I think Lee is going to bring it to a new audience he's he's going to Captivate people who've maybe never been captivated by NASCAR race cuz that's just he's got that genetic uh skill to to bring people together who've um like anytime I watch the Olympics I don't know a lot of these Runners but literally when they're on the starting on the starting grid he's able to sell each guy what country they're from you know what school they went to um how much um buildup they have you know like this guy he's the one who everyone's talking about and then that's something that not everybody has so um this was tremendous news as you said coming at um after the Olympics not sure which race that would be or if it's going to be uh throughout the entire season through the playoffs we know Indie Car ends uh basically as the playoffs begin so I feel like the schedule will be open a little bit there uh but with you know with Dale out that that was a loss I think having Lee in there and be was like we got somebody here who's who's able to bring to bring that intensity and that enthusiasm and and that professionalism and and all of that just there's nothing that's going to be lost you know it's just going to be um a lot of gains and something that NASCAR needs because um just one more point just you know I feel like most people watch Nascar and they just feel like it's that stereotypical type of fan base and it's just drivers kind of going around visually it's not as compelling as an indie car or an F1 even though the competition and the statistics prove otherwise uh visually it's just a different type of show so to have someone like him to tell you why this is a big deal why this is fascinating you know um that's that's going to be very beneficial so great great news I cannot wait until after the Olympics and and watch him sore yeah he's beaming over there he's beaming over there uh really yeah hey look it is it is exciting and I remember those those couple of races that lead was it 2017 was it that long ago he did Michigan and Watkins Glenn I think it was just those two yeah and that's back before I even really kind of knew who Lee DIY was and you hear this accent and you're like who's this who's this guy calling NASCAR races right um but he is a he is a rockstar and like you said versatile at virtually anything that he calls Motorsport Olympic and he does Captivate those stories that you know you might not need to know but it's like here's why you should know right and I I really love that that point that you make because when races do get strung out and when they do get tired and boring from a fan perspective like you need to be able to find those spots that can kind of inject that energy back into it or try and you know sell something that really wouldn't get sold in like a normal race but just from the complexion of it you got to be able to really find those moments because those moments are what's going to save a broadcast right and it it just allows for a little bit more conversation and a little bit more uh Intrigue so definitely was surprised to hear that this was that this was going to happen um but again like like you said I think that it's it is a really good move that you really don't don't lose much and again to have the two to have the two voices of Rick uh and Lee there kind of splitting time I think is I think is is gonna be a positive move um and I I I certainly think that understanding Lee and what he does on the indie car side of things and the you know obviously the the sports car side of things um he's going to continue to bring that to NASCAR and I certainly that um especially post Olympics it really kind of reignites that you know loss over those last couple of weeks for NASCAR and and bringing it into of course the playoffs obviously one of the more pre probably the most pre well it is the most pressure cooker part of the Season pre playoffs and then getting to it again still reported um but nonetheless I mean it was reported by the sports Business Journal I saw um so I think we're just kind of wait get that information but uh definitely an interesting move there to to put him in yeah and and I am curious how um he is going to fit in with uh the other guys in the booth right because um I think aot lot of what works with Lee is what works with t Townson Bell and James hinchcliff they're very analytical people incredibly smart of course they raced for decades in Open Wheel racing and Lee is able to kind of feed off of them and and have his own personal perspective as just an overall Sports uh professional and I think in the going back to the even to the Formula 1 Booth when F1 was on NBC for a little bit uh Steve matchett he he worked in F1 as a believe a mechanic and he was just tremendously analytical he was able to go down every little technical Innovation that happened and that really worked well uh with the Lee and then they had David Hobbs who comes from a totally different era from back in the 60s and 70s he ran with McClaren and he ran the the Indie 500 for for a while and um to me you know Jeff Burton's not that old but he does come from a different type of era you know the the 90s and the early 2000s he was killing it in cup and I I think I I sense that similar type of kind of back and forth with Steve lart who definitely brings that technical side and then a Jeff who comes from that type of era behind the wheel and then Lee who I think even though he hasn't done a lot of NASCAR he understands the culture and how it stands out from every other Motorsport in the planet especially American Motorsports so I think those three uh will work really well together