Dale Earnhardt Jr. prior to the NASCAR Cup Series 301 auto race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, July 16, 2017.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (AP)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be joining the NBC broadcasting team after he ends his NASCAR Sprint Cup career. The network confirmed the news by tweeting a link to a Sports Business Daily report Monday morning on the signing.
A more detailed announcement was expected from NBC later in the day.
Earnhardt’s services were reportedly being courted by NASCAR’s two major broadcasters, NBC and Fox, but he’s set to make his debut for the peacock network in January 2018. Former competitor Jeff Gordon stepped into the booth at Fox last year after retiring from the series.
Earnhardt’s exact role on NBC’s programming hasn’t been revealed, but the report says that the sport’s most popular driver may not be confined to stock car racing. His contract is with NBCUniversal, not just NBC Sports, so the Washington Redskins superfan could potentially be used for NFL and Olympics coverage, among other projects.