NASCAR: Media rights partners lining up on-air talent for next year

NASCAR’s new media rights partners are casting a wide net to find booth talent, with some expected names like Fox Sports’ Adam Alexander and unexpected names like ESPN’s Marty Smith among those in the mix, sources say.

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Fox will still air the first several months of the NASCAR premier series season. Prime Video will follow Fox, and Prime Video and WBD have already signed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to their respective booths.

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Smith, who has become a jack-of-all-trades reporter for ESPN across several sports after the network lost NASCAR media rights in 2014, has had discussions with Prime Video and WBD about being part of their booths, sources say, a move that could involve hosting and play-by-play responsibilities. Smith was a longtime NASCAR reporter for ESPN on air and digitally but was not part of its booth. NASCAR is still one of his responsibilities for the network, but ESPN now covers NASCAR more sparingly.

Steve Letarte, the current NBC Sports broadcaster who is Earnhardt’s former crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports and former colleague at NBC, has also held talks with Prime Video and WBD. And Fox Sports’ Alexander, a versatile broadcaster who has called Xfinity Series races among other roles for the network, has likewise been a candidate for Prime Video and WBD, and has spoken with The CW, which is taking over full-season Xfinity Series rights next year. Alexander is seen as the favorite to take over the lead play-by-play commentator for The CW, some sources said.

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The new-look broadcast teams will likely have a mix of traditional NASCAR talent and some untraditional names, as well as new production elements as they reimagine the experience of watching a race. For example, The CW will likely look to have more NASCAR household names like Alexander in its booth but could bring in talent that is new to the sport for pit road reporting or hosting roles. The media partners will be looking to fill other slots beyond the booth, such as for shoulder programming and studio shows. More at Sports Business Journal.

Spake Out

Shannon Spake, who joined Fox Sports in 2016 and has worked extensively in NASCAR, college sports, and NFL coverage, is reportedly no longer with the company.

“Fox Sports for letting the popular, versatile broadcaster Shannon Spake leave the network,” wrote former USA Today columnist Rudy Martzke on X Friday. “Spake has been the face of NASCAR, along with sideline reporting.”

Before arriving at Fox, Spake worked at ESPN in several reporting and hosting roles around college football, college basketball, NBA Draft coverage, and NASCAR. Before that, she worked for Fox Sports’ SPEED as a host and reporter.