Dale Earnhardt Jr. heads to TV booth for Talladega

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, but in somewhat unfamiliar territory.

NASCAR’s most popular driver is out of the racecar for the rest of the season as he recovers from concussion like symptoms.  However, he will be spending time in the TV booth starting this weekend.

NBC Sports announced Wednesday on its NASCAR America show that Earnhardt will be in the NBC Sports broadcast booth for portions of two upcoming Sprint Cup broadcasts. Earnhardt, who has not raced since July, will serve as an expert analyst during NBCSN’s coverage this Sunday from Talladega Superspeedway, as well as the following Sunday from Martinsville Speedway.

“I’m excited to see these races from a different vantage point and hopefully offer some insight to the viewers,” said Earnhardt. “I thoroughly enjoyed my opportunity to broadcast the XFINITY race at Michigan earlier this year, so I expect getting to spend time in the booth with the NBC team to be just as fun.”

Earnhardt will bring back together with his former crew chief Steve Letarte, and will give his insight alongside race announcer Rick Allen and fellow analyst Jeff Burton. Sunday marks Earnhardt’s first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup broadcasting assignment.

Through 2016, Earnhardt has 26 career victories, including the 2004 and 2014 Daytona 500s. His 26 victories tie him for 29th on NASCAR’s all-time race winners list.

Alex Bowman will wheel the Hendrick Motorsports Chevy normal driven by Earnhardt.

While Dale won’t be racing the unbroken streak of Earnhardts racing at Talladega will not be broken. An Earnhardt has raced in every Cup race at the Alabama superspeedway every year since 1980.  Dale Earnhardt Sr. won 16 times, Earnhardt Jr. 10 times.  Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of Dale Sr., and nephew of Dale Jr. is entered in a third car fielded by BK Racing.  As of Wednesday, there were 43 entries for the 40 car field,  however the young Earnhardt will be in a charter car guaranteeing that he will be in the field.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.