Today, we're going to take a look at the first Xfinity race of the weekend from Dover International Speedway. For the Xfinity broadcasts, NBCSN decided to experiment a little bit. They chose to go with a three-man booth. The first two individuals in there were not necessarily a surprise, but the third was.
Rick Allen remained on play-by-play like normal, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was there as well. That's somewhat frowned upon since Earnhardt Jr. is a team owner in the series. Over the past couple of years, Earnhardt Jr. has sat out a bunch of Xfinity broadcasts because of this. The third person in the booth was Brad Daugherty, who just started his role with NBC Sports a couple of weeks ago.
That said, it resulted in a rather interesting booth setup. Like Earnhardt Jr., Daugherty brings an owners' mentality to the broadcast booth. While Daugherty's on-track driving experience is limited (yes, he has some), he does bring a passion for the sport that he's had since long before he ever played in the NBA. Honestly, if they were shooting the Peacock series Lost Speedways right now, Daugherty
probably would have shown up on the Asheville episode since he was a regular at the track when he was growing up. If you saw that episode, Robert Pressley appears on there. Daugherty and Pressley were buddies as kids in Asheville. Once he got to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Daugherty started and funded a then-Busch Grand National team for Pressley.
Jesse Iwuji was back in the pits once again as a pit reporter, but I'm trying to figure out his official role. It seems like he isn't a full pit reporter. Previously, he's been working in a role somewhat similar to the drivers during FOX Sports' Drivers Only Xfinity broadcasts. They team him up with a regular pit reporter and have him give reports. Now, I guess it's a hybrid of that with some of his own
original reporting and prep work.
Honestly, I think Iwuji is coming along as a pit reporter. He's far from useless. He has actual seat time in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the Xfinity Series and does very well to relay those experiences. He can also draw parallels between racing in his time in the Navy. While that may have limited returns as to how many viewers will understand what he's getting at, there are a decent number of
race fans who have served (or are currently serving) in the military. They absolutely would understand what Iwuji is getting at. For those without military experience, he's not bad at breaking things down in ways that the general public can understand.
Coverage of on-track racing for position seemed to come and go Saturday afternoon. There was a fair amount of times where you got quite a bit. Other times, you were left wanting for it.
There were also times in which drivers outside of the primary group got some coverage as well. Brandon Brown used an alternate pit strategy to get up front at the beginning of the final stage. He was also very, very loose. It's quite amazing that he didn't wreck his No. 68 because it looked like he was going to do so three or four times a lap.
Post-race coverage was fairly standard since a Post-Race show was built into NBCSN's schedule. Viewers got a few driver interviews and a check of the point standings. There was also some post-race analysis from the broadcast booth and from the NBCSN studios in Charlotte before NASCAR America Saturday began.
Overall, this wasn't the most exciting race to watch. Once Allgaier got the lead on Lap 76, pretty much no one touched him. Only Brown led under green for the remainder of the race from that point on.
The dynamic with Daugherty in the broadcast booth is a little different than normal. Based on what we saw Saturday, this can work. Just have to make sure to keep him away from the oversized novelty silverware.
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
