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The 2021 Daytona 500 is close at hand. Here is a look at what Fox Sports is planning for Speedweeks and the Great American Race.
When Darrell Waltrip retired from NASCAR Cup Series broadcasts, Fox Sports decided that Mike Joy and Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon would handle the duties just fine.
But the network wasn’t planning on keeping two men in the booth for long because they were in hot pursuit of Clint Bowyer. Well, the 41-year-old finally relented and called time on his career on the track, trading his firesuit for something more formal.
On Thursday, Fox officially introduced their Cup Series team of Joy, Gordon, and Bowyer; however, that wasn’t the only news coming out of the network. Long-time pit reporter Jamie Little will become the first female play-by-play announcer for a nationally televised motorsports series when she moves into the booth for the ARCA Menards Series.
For the Xfinity Series opener at Daytona International Speedway, Adam Alexander will handle play-by-play but expect a rollicking day of coverage. Bowyer will be the analyst for the Beef. It's What's For Dinner. 300, and alongside will be his former boss Tony Stewart. The pit reporters will be Regan Smith and Vince Welch.
Larry McReynolds, a former Daytona 500 winner as crew chief, is back for his 18th Daytona Speedweeks as the sport’s preeminent race analyst. He will also be in Charlotte's Fox studios with Joy, Gorden, and Bowyer for race coverage.
This year’s Daytona 500 will mark the 42nd year Joy has covered the race on radio and television.
Handling pre-race coverage for The Great American Race on Fox Sports 1 and network Fox will be Chris Myers, working his 18th Daytona 500, and Shannon Spake. They will team with Gordon, Bowyer, McReynolds, two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip and Bobby Labonte.
Jamie McMurray will be racing in the Daytona 500, but after that, he will then return to his NASCAR on Fox analyst role. McMurray won the race in 2010.
Daytona 500 will have a new face
Joining the Fox crew for the first time is long-time ESPN reporter and noted storyteller Tom Rinaldi. He has won 16 national Sports Emmy Awards and seven national Edward R. Murrow Awards and nominated in five different categories more than 40 times.
He will work across all sports offerings, including NASCAR, officially joining the network in early January.
“Tom is one of the all-time great people in this business and a generational storyteller,” said Eric Shanks, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer, FOX Sports, in a release. “The biggest events on FOX just got bigger because of Tom, and we are honored to have him as our newest teammate.”
FOX Deportes returns to the Daytona 500 for its ninth consecutive season, with renowned announcer Tony Rivera providing play-by-play and Emmy Award-winner Jessi Losada and Giselle Zarur delivering analysis.
Here is the breakdown of how Fox will cover Speedweeks:
BUSCH CLASH at DAYTONA (Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 7:00 PM ET, FS1) – Mike Joy (play-by-play), Jeff Gordon (analyst), Clint Bowyer (analyst), Larry McReynolds (analyst), Jamie Little (pit reporter) and Regan Smith (pit reporter)
DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING (Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 7:00 PM ET, FS1) – Mike Joy (play-by-play), Jeff Gordon (analyst), Clint Bowyer (analyst), Larry McReynolds (analyst) and Jamie Little (pit reporter)
DUEL AT DAYTONA (Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7:00 PM ET, FS1) – Mike Joy (play-by-play), Jeff Gordon (analyst), Clint Bowyer (analyst), Larry McReynolds (analyst), Jamie Little (pit reporter) and Regan Smith (pit reporter).
