NASCAR TV announcers Leigh Diffey and Steve Letarte are storytellers, not star makers.<\/p>\n
When asked during an NBC media call of NASCAR announcers this week whether or how their roles help lift drivers\u2019 stock with fans, in essence making them stars, both announcers said they are merely telling each driver\u2019s story and that whatever they say is simply a reflection of each driver\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a good question with not such a simple answer,\u201d Diffey said. \u201cIt\u2019s a challenging objective, but one that we always try to help with and do.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just try and highlight for the viewing audience, maybe a little bit \u2014 dig a little bit deeper on the star\u2019s personality, the driver\u2019s personality, maybe away from the track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Letarte agreed<\/a> <\/strong>but said the top priority is always what a driver does on-track before attention is given to what the driver may do off-track.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our job is to cover what they\u2019re doing on the racetrack, and when they do amazing things on the racetrack, we have to cover it as such,\u201d the 46-year-old added. \u201cWe have to remind the fans and the viewers that what they\u2019re doing is over and above what normal people can do.\u201d<\/p>\n Letarte brings a different approach to the broadcast booth than Diffey, as before he became a TV analyst, Letarte was a very successful crew chief with Hendrick Motorsports<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the ability to cover this race, yet I\u2019ve never driven the car,\u201d Letarte admitted. \u201cI was a crew chief. So that covers the drivers from a slightly different look.\u201d<\/p>\n While Broadcasters Give Background on Drivers, It\u2019s How Those Drivers Perform That Makes Them Stars<\/p>\n In the end, it\u2019s the fans who cheer for and make drivers stars in the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fans get to determine who the stars are, and the performance of the athletes determines who the stars are,\u201d Letarte said. \u201cI don\u2019t think the coverage gets to decide who the star is.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Letarte<\/a><\/strong> and Diffey then mentioned Ryan Blaney<\/a><\/strong> as one of today\u2019s top stars. While Blaney is a third-generation race car driver and is very popular among fans, he\u2019s also achieved things that naturally attract fans to cheer for him, such as when he won the 2023 NASCAR Cup championship.<\/p>\n \u201cOne guy who carries himself in a certain way and has that swagger in a superstar way is very much Ryan Blaney,\u201d Diffey said. \u201cWe always try the best we can to elevate them any way we can, and it\u2019s a multi-level thing, right?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s what they do on the track. It\u2019s what they do off the track. How many times have they won? Their personality, both on track and off track. It\u2019s all of those contributing factors.\u201d<\/p>\n Letarte agreed with Diffey about Blaney\u2019s star power. It\u2019s something he\u2019s earned because of what he\u2019s done on the racetrack.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we all love sports, the excitement of victory and the agony of defeat, and I think the excitement of victory and the continued performance on the track allow Blaney to stand out amongst the fray. I really think it\u2019s our job to highlight what they\u2019re doing that makes them special.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think Leigh does a great job of that, and Jeff (fellow analyst and former Cup driver Jeff Burton), too. I think it\u2019s our job to identify extraordinary performances when we get them.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Broadcasters Agree Ryan Blaney Has Earned His Star Power<\/p>\n