Dale Earnhardt Jr. brings Rick Allen to CARS Tour this week as Rick Allen, former lead voice for NBC’s NASCAR broadcasts, makes his return to live racing commentary. The highly anticipated appearance happens June 14 at Virginia’s Dominion Raceway, adding to the year’s significant shake-ups in media and racing circuits.
NASCAR Commentary Faces Change as Familiar Voices Move to New Platforms
This season, NASCAR audiences have watched major shifts in broadcast teams. Early 2025 coverage started with Kevin Harvick leading Fox’s efforts, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., joined by Steve Letarte, has since stepped into a new role as commentator for Amazon Prime’s coverage.
With the NASCAR Cup Series heading to Mexico City and international circuits gaining more attention, smaller tours are also evolving. The CARS Tour, a grassroots racing series, will welcome not just regional drivers but also a broadcast team featuring industry veterans. This Saturday at Dominion Raceway in Virginia, Rick Allen will join Blake McCandless in the commentary booth for the Mini’s Mission 125 event, revitalizing his connection with motorsports fans.
Rick Allen’s Departure and Unexpected Return to the Microphone
Rick Allen spent almost a decade as NBC’s lead announcer for the NASCAR Cup Series before stepping away after the 2024 broadcast season. Previously known for his enthusiastic coverage of the Craftsman Truck Series, Allen was left without a network seat as NASCAR restructured its media contracts for 2025.
The return of Allen to live racing calls didn’t come from long-term planning but rather a chance interaction. Appearing on the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast in May, Allen and Earnhardt Jr. joked about Allen filling the booth for CARS Tour races. That joke gained traction due to the regular announcer, Eric Brennan, being unavailable for the June event.
Explaining how the opportunity started, Rick Allen said,
“Dale had me on and we talked about what I was doing and what I wanted to do, and I think jokingly he said, ‘I’ve got two CARS Tour races I need an announcer for. So I raised my hand and said, ‘I’m available.’ He thought I was joking, but I said, ‘I’m not joking.’ I’d do it for him as a favor.”
—Rick Allen, Announcer
A Broadcast Booth with a Unique Purpose
For Allen, stepping into this role carries a special significance. In his own words:
“I’ve been put into this broadcast for a reason. There’s a reason it was this on.”
—Rick Allen, Announcer
The podcast moment soon led to a real job offer. Allen recalled ,
“A week after the podcast, [Earnhardt] reached out to me and said, ‘Are you serious about potentially doing one of the CARS Tour races or both of them?’ I told him I’d love to look at it and see if my schedule would allow it. I said, ‘Let me do the June 14 race at Dominion and we’ll go from there.’ So for the immediate future, we’re doing this one, and we’ll see how it goes.”
—Rick Allen, Announcer
Allen Faces a New Challenge as CARS Tour Adopts Its Own Rules
As Rick Allen returns to the booth, he encounters a distinct set of variables compared to the top NASCAR series. One notable difference in the CARS Tour is the allowance of cars with duplicate numbers—a contrast to NASCAR’s strict one-number-per-car limit, which may provide a test for Allen’s trademark clarity and pace during race calls.
Fans at Dominion Raceway and those watching through FloRacing will see the result of this unexpected reunion. As the 2025 racing year continues to push both established and up-and-coming talent into new settings, this event speaks to how quickly the motorsports world can change and redeploy its most familiar voices into roles filled with both history and new meaning.
