The 2024 season will mark the end of NASCAR?s $8.2 Billion worth broadcasting deals with FOX and NBC. With streaming giants vying for a piece of the lucrative pie, both media giants would attempt to establish their dominance through the coverage of races allocated to them. Interestingly, two racing veterans will play a key role in the upcoming broadcasting tussle.

One of the most popular NASCAR drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr will continue to entertain the racing fandom through his animated coverage on NBC. But, the recently retired Kevin Harvick will prove to be a formidable foe in the Fox booth next year.

Did Fox hire Kevin Harvick for 2024 to retain NASCAR coverage rights?

In the 2023 Cup season, 16 out of 36 scheduled races were covered live by Fox Sports. According to the split coverage deal signed a decade ago, the remaining 20 races, including the playoff races, were broadcast live on NBC Sports. A similar schedule will also be followed next year, after which a new broadcasting deal will be chalked out by NASCAR. It seems, eager to retain their spot, Fox decided to enroll Kevin Harvick as their third permanent commentator, along with Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer.

In the past two years, the third seat had hosted a series of rotating guests, but as NASCAR President Steve Phelps had recently proclaimed, ?It?s an incredibly competitive marketplace.? As reported by autoweek.com, Phelps asserted, ?The amount of interest in attaining our media rights for ?25 and beyond exceeded our expectations,? With the Xfinity streaming rights already assigned to the CW Network, FOX knew it was time to up their game.?

The season opener Daytona 500 will have the seasoned voice of Harvick, in direct competition with NBC?s Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior, who would once again take charge of the highly anticipated Chicago Street Race and the title-deciding playoffs, will follow Harvick?s commanding presence in the first 16 races of the season. At the same time, NBC also has racing analysts Steve Letarte, Jeff Burton, and Dale Jarrett, to lend their expertise.?

Watch This Story: Kevin Harvick’s Last NASCAR Race

Despite the enviable panel and the challenge of broadcasting and streaming competitors like ESPN and Amazon in the talks, the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver declared an advantage he exclusively possessed.

Kevin Harvick is banking on his expertise for an upcoming stint in the Fox booth

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Currently, NBC possesses the racing skills and popularity of Dale Earnhardt Jr and the experience of former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte. But neither of them can claim the unique knowledge, skills, and challenges faced by Kevin Harvick in the Next Gen racecar.

After the announcement of his team-up with FOX Sports, Harvick had rightfully pointed out in an interview with Bob Pockrass, “There’s really nobody else who has stepped out of the car and into the booth with the new car. There’s a lot of new things happening with this particular car that are much different than the way that the other car raced, the way the other car felt.”

For the 2014 champion, this role is a means to tell important racing stories and carry the legacy of the sport forward by meaningfully inculcating the modern generation of racing fans. Could that sincerity and commitment also translate into a profitable deal for his media company? The coming season will unfurl the answer soon enough.

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