Dale Earnhardt Jr. joining Amazon and TNT Sports as NASCAR commentator starting in 2025
With NASCAR set to enter its new media rights deal next season, one of racing's greats will be joining the new TV teams.
Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be joining Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports as a commentator for both networks when NASCAR's new TV deal begins in 2025. The two-time Daytona 500 winner has been an analyst for NBC's coverage of NASCAR since 2018, but his contract with the network was set to expire by the end of 2024.
TNT Sports will be airing NASCAR races for the first time since 2014, and Earnhardt Jr. will be an on-air commentator for NASCAR Cup Series races. He will also be a contributor to a Bleacher Report content series where he will "capture the thrilling NASCAR experience as he interviews special guests while driving each of TNT’s five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tracks with them in the passenger seat."
“It is such an exciting time to welcome TNT Sports back to NASCAR,” Earnhardt Jr said in a statement. “I remember watching the races on TNT back in the day, and it’s so nostalgic to see them return to the sport and to be a part of their team."
With Amazon Prime Video joining the NASCAR world next year, it gives the streaming service another big-time name to its live sports coverage. When Amazon began streaming the NFL's "Thursday Night Football," it nabbed notable announcers Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit to call games. With Amazon, Earnhardt Jr. will be a broadcaster for races and will have other roles that have yet to be announced.
"I’m honored to be a part of Prime Video’s entrance into NASCAR," Earnhardt Jr said in a statement. "It is an exciting opportunity to have the chance to give our NASCAR fan base yet another way to watch the sport. It will be exciting to see the innovation that Prime Video is going to bring to our sport and the fans."
NASCAR's new media rights deal will run for 2025-31, and still includes NBC and Fox Sports in addition to TNT Sports and Amazon. NBC and Fox Sports will each have 14 NASCAR Cup Series races, while TNT Sports and Amazon will split 10 midseason races. Amazon will also get the rights to air practice round and qualifying events to start the year and TNT Sports will air the final practice and qualifying rounds of the season on Max and truTV.