“Jeff, your little boy has done it!” That call left those watching the Coke Zero Sugar 400 with goosebumps. Harrison Burton overtaking Kyle Busch and cruising for the lead at Daytona was an iconic victory. It marked Jeff Burton’s son’s maiden win and also the 100th for the Wood Brothers Racing. But what made the moment more electrifying and memorable was Leigh Diffey’s commentary.

And even Denny Hamlin is dazzled. Diffey’s passionate delivery which brought us him, made the Joe Gibbs Racing driver momentarily forget about his own misfortune. This has prompted him to place an unequivocal demand on NASCAR – to not let Diffey go.

“Can we sign him up for 36 races?” Hamlin wants more of that electric lap

The Australian commentator moved to the US over 20 years ago for an opportunity to call Champ Car races. But fate led Leigh Diffey into NBC’s booth for IndyCar, the American open-wheel racing series. After a glittering career including notable moments like calling Josef Newgarden’s victory in 2019, Diffey is on the move again.

After calling his last IndyCar race at Iowa, he came to NASCAR and produced gold instantly. Diffey’s captivating voice through the last lap of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 had fans starstruck. Even Denny Hamlin fell in that category, as he recently admitted on an ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast.

“Fantastic, oh my gosh. Can we sign him up for 36 of 36 races? Can we just make that executive decision at NBC or NASCAR?” he said. He demanded that NASCAR should keep him from going back to IndyCar, making a bold 6-word claim: “Let him do all the races.” 

After his IndyCar departure, Leigh Diffey is booked for the rest of NASCAR’s Cup Series coverage this year, including the Phoenix race on November 10th. Although his future is not certain yet, Hamlin and fans may likely make it a NASCAR thing.

Diffey joined NBC in 2013 to lead the network’s coverage of F1 and IndyCar. After F1’s coverage moved to ESPN and ABC, Diffey continued to excel as the network’s IndyCar announcer and called the last six Indy 500 races. During this time, he also became a staple of NBC’s Olympic coverage. He called the track and field competitions at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and  Paris Olympics this year.

Then earlier this month on August 20, NBC announced that Diffey will move to NASCAR’s Cup Series booth for the rest of the season. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 was his first race since moving from IndyCar to NBC’s NASCAR coverage and the play-by-play commentator didn’t disappoint. With IndyCar set to move to Fox, it remains to be seen where Diffey would land next season.

Harrison Burton was placed 34th when he entered the race and was out of the playoff race barring a win in one of the two remaining races. His only chance was to register a first career Cup Series win and that’s what he did. As he crossed the finish line, edging out Kyle Busch, his father Jeff Burton, who was also in the booth let out a fist bump. This moment was made all the more special by Diffey’s poetic words.

“Jeff, your little boy has done it! Harrison Burton wins at Daytona and does what his uncle and dad did,” Diffey passionately said. Harrison Burton’s uncle Ward Burton also won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona in 2002, when it was known as the Pepsi 400.

Diffey’s incredible call at the end highlighted the role broadcasters play in enhancing the viewing experience for fans. Moreover, it just adds to the moment and the emotional engagement of what is happening on the track. Years from now when Burton’s win is recalled Diffey’s iconic words will accompany every discussion.

Denny Hamlin further showered praises on Diffey’s vocal techniques and his understanding of the significance of the moment. “The great ones know how to match the moment with their voice. They change their tone, they change the speed at which they’re calling a race. That’s why he was tapped to do the 100 meters in the Olympics…because that’s what he does and what he’s really really good at,” Hamlin said.

“It had me standing up in the last lap, and I didn’t have a dog in the Harrison Burton-Kyle Busch fight,” he added. Indeed, Hamlin was out of the race at Daytona having been involved in a Stage 2 multi-car wreck, leading to a P38 finish. Thus he was able to witness the nail-biting finish and listen to Diffey’s commentary on NBC.

Denny Hamlin also praised the rest of the NBC broadcast and mentioned what actually made the moment a true spectacle.

Hamlin pointed out what made Diffey’s call in the last moments special

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We had been hearing about Fox’s faults since the beginning of this season. At the Daytona 500 for instance, fans had severely bashed Fox’s coverage of the crucial last lap. Yet when NASCAR returned to the same superspeedway this time with NBC, the tables turned. Leigh Diffey carried forward the momentum of the show, as his presence of mind ruled the audience’s attention. However, his coworkers were also mindful – Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton let Diffey do his magic.

This was unlike Fox’s commentary, as Denny Hamlin pointed out: “You know what was great about it too? They let him have the moment. Steve and Jeff, they didn’t get in it. They knew that this guy’s the play-by-play, let him call. Then we will react to what we just saw after the checkered flag. That’s a little bit of the chaos you have…Fox is like, everyone’s trying to call the last lap, and it’s a little messy.”

Leigh Diffey himself felt proud to be part of the Daytona effort on X. “I really enjoyed it all in @DAYTONA. I’m lucky to be a part of a terrific @NASCARonNBC team, and for @SteveLetarte & myself to have shared that moment w @JeffBurton when @HBurtonRacing won was a lifetime memory. Thx for your lovely comments & support & see you in Darlington👍”

With this win, Burton booked a spot an unlikely spot in the playoffs, but he will be on the lookout for a new team for the next year after being let go by Wood Brothers at the end of the season. Yet, he will take away a memory to cherish forever, enriched by Leigh Diffey’s famous words.