Photo – Rick Allen’s twitter account
Rick Allen Named Lead Race Announcer for NBC Sports Group‘s Upcoming NASCAR Coverage
Rick Allen brings more than a decade of motorsports broadcasting experience
NBC’s Sports Group announces that Rick Allen has signed a multi-year agreement to serve as the lead race announcer for NBC’s upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series coverage beginning in 2015. Alongside Allen in the NBC Sports Broadcast booth will be current driver Jeff Burton, who also announced that he will be joining NBC’s multi-platform NASCAR coverage.
“I met Rick early on in his career and it has been fun to watch him develop into one of the most talented voices in motorsports,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “His energetic delivery, great voice and ability to bring the best out of his analysts have led him to this well-earned position of covering NASCAR’s most-watched events.”
Allen’s sports background is wide-ranging, and includes his own impressive run as a decathlete, sending him to the 1992 USA Olympic Trials. As a broadcaster, he now serves as Fox Sports’ race announcer for NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series. In addition to his on-camera television work, Allen is widely recognized as a top voice-over talent. Allen’s voice has been utilized for narrations and national campaigns for companies including Goodyear, Sears, Alltel and Toyota. Allen has hosted multiple motorsports studio shows on SPEED, has presided over several post season awards banquets, and has served on the Voting Panel for the NASCAR Hall of Fame since its start in 2010. A native of Grand Island, NE, Allen began his career in 1994 as the public address announcer at Memorial Stadium during University of Nebraska football games.
“I’ve had the good fortune to work with some of the most talented people in the industry over the last decade,” said Allen. “Now I’m excited to be a part of the incredible team that NBC Sports is assembling for the NASCAR coverage.”
On July 23, 2013, NASCAR and NBC Sports Group reached a comprehensive agreement that grants NBCUniversal exclusive rights to the last 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, last 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series events, select NASCAR Regional & Touring Series events and other live content beginning in 2015.
With this partnership, NBC’s 20 Sprint Cup race schedule includes a designation as the exclusive home to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, when the élite national series races through its last ten 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 Nationwide Series races will air on NBC, with 15 airing on NBCSN.
In addition to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series races, NBC also obtained exclusive rights to practice and qualifying sessions for NBC’s national series events during their part of the season, as well as rights to broadcast the NASCAR K&N Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Toyota (Mexico) Series, the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony and NASCAR’s season-ending banquets. Further, NBC is granted Spanish-language rights, certain video-on-demand rights and exclusive TV Everywhere rights for its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series events.
